EIGHT Daycare Teachers to Buy For! YIKES!

do not buy individual gifts!!

Give a gift basket full of fruit & sweets for the entire facility...."for the staff".

My daughter is 18 now so it doesn't apply but I always gave gift cards to the after care teachers ($20 or so) as well as her regular teachers (more in the $40-$50 range) in elementary school. I avoided crafts, trinkets, ornaments and more cookies.

Yep, it's a lot of money but really, we know when Christmas is every year. There isn't a service I appreciated more than someone teaching/taking care of my daughter...even if it is their job!!

added- my daughter has remained in contact with many of her former teachers and their new families. She even took her first grade teacher out to lunch this summer before she started college. Loved it!

This would be a no brainer for us. We have never bought/made gifts for teachers. I don't understand the 'need' to do so. Good Luck.

Wow, I am shocked by Rondas response.
The teachers I know cannot be bought for any amount of money. They are professionals that never expect anything but their salaries.

Most of them honestly beg just for Thank you notes and do not need another mug or thing that will sit around or take up space.

I love "treating" the teachers. Maybe a dozen assorted Bagels from Einstien's and juice and coffee. Set a morning that you promise to bring them so they will look forward to it.. even if it is January when it is super cold..

Take a photo of each teacher with your child. Once they are printed. Walgreens prints are very inexpensive. Give them each a copy and then let them know you are keeping one for your child's scrapbook.

Our daughter is 21 and still has the photos of Miss, Candy, Miss, Becky and Miss Vanessa from her daycare years.

Here's my thinking:

You have two lead teachers; do the nicer gift card and hand off discreetly.

Then, for assistants, I'd do one larger gift certificate for a nicer coffee shop in their area. Maybe $40 total, and put on the card "For your next team meeting". Everyone can get a nice cup of coffee and some treats, AND no mug storage, or things which need to be eaten right away.

I'm going to try to sweet talk some of the other parents at my son's preschool into going in on a gift certificate for a nicer deli/restaurant for the teachers. Together, we can afford a larger sum and yes, I'll be inviting them to feast during their next planning time/team meeting together.

I am sure whatever you choose will be great.
(and I never looked down on families which didn't give a gift... good gravy! Gifts were a treat, not an expectation. I also want to add that for some preschools, perhaps the assistant and lead do the same work, but that's not what I've experienced in my work. Lead teachers are usually in charge of shaping/planning the curriculum, keeping up with parent/teacher communication, and doing much of the planning/assessment for conferences as well as guiding the classroom team. It's fine to give them all the same amount of gift, but know that its not usual that they all do the 'same' work.)

Starbucks has $5 gift cards with holes in them.
You could make cookies, wrap them in paper bags the kids decorate and attach the gift cards with ribbons. This is what my daughter's high school teachers are getting.

Flower pots the kids decorate. Then wrap fake flowers and bees, butterflies onto pens with floral tape. Put aquarium rocks in the pot and the pens stick in the rocks. Mason jars work for this too.

Mason jars filled with the dry ingredients for Christmas cookies, or anything, muffins, brownies. We did this for all my son's HS teachers one year.

A huge cookie plate delivered to the school for the teachers and staff. Include brownies, chocolate covered pretzels, and a gallon of eggnog. And a nice note thanking all for their care of your children.

And I was a preschool teacher in a very poor area. Some of my favorite little ones were also the ones who didn't have winter coats or appropriate shoes, in Illinois. I did not treat them differntly because they could not afford to buy me a Christmas present. If anything I had more empathy towards them and the situations they were living in.

As a previous teacher, a thank you is wonderful. A little gift is very nice and appreciated. More than that, made me feel weird. I also taught at-risk kids....so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

I have 5 gifts to give for my 1 daughter's preschool. I am making chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge (I checked for allergies), divinity, and maybe some chocolate covered pretzels to be put in individual containers.

If you feel you need to do more....do another gift or special luncheon later in the year as a "just because." It will be remembered and appreciated, too. It will make this season a little more affordable.....teachers of all people know all about having less money!

I am beginning to like the idea of a group gift for all the teachers. I never felt this way in the past and was always the person giving the big gifts and to all my son's teachers, assistants, custodians.. etc etc..... However, things have changed and money isn't what it once was ... I also don't agree with the statement below that gifts will garner more attention for your child... A good teacher will do their job regardless if they receive a gift or not. My son goes to a private school and this year, I was a little shocked that a gift wish list went out to parents and the minimum on it for each teacher was a $25.00 gift card...WHAT.. whatever happened to , you get what you get and be thankful... I still haven't purchased gifts for all my son's teachers, in fact. .I am not too pleased with one of them and if by not giving her a gift means my son will not get "extra" attention.. then so be it.. If what one poster wrote below that teachers keep track.............. then I can't help but think those people are in the wrong profession let alone wasting time in life keeping a chart of gives them what..

As one who worked as part of a school team, I would recommend giving each teacher and assistant the same amount on a gift card. Our staff worked together for years, and it was sad when I would get more than the assistant. She already received minimal pay and when she received the same thank-you's from parents, it was a wonderful recognition of her real worth. And $10 would be very much appreciated.

I think your amounts are good. I usually gave gift cards to either Target, or Starbucks/Caribou Coffee (in MN). I know how little these daycare teachers get paid, so I stuck with something useful and no trinkets.

When my kids were in daycare we spent a small fotune on gifts for the teachers and assistants. And while Rhonda's response seems cold, there is some truth to the fact that teachers do remember - not neccessarily "keep track" - of nice gifts that parents give. But more importantly is that the parents treat the caregives nicely, as human beings, ask about their families, etc.
I have to agree that the mug idea, although nice, has been overdone. As a sunday school teacher for about 6 years I had collected way too many Christmas mugs and candy dishes with foil wrapped chocolates, etc. I have two nieces and a sister inlaw who are teachers or caregivers and this is what I've heard:
If you can't afford a gift a handwritten note telling them how much you appreciate their hard work, caring for your preciouis treasure is greatly appreciated. (I've run in to some of my kids' teachers, years later who tell me they still have a thank-you note I'd written.)
If you can afford a little more then a group food gift is nice - if the food is nice - cookies have been way overdone. But pre-made meals, a tray of sandwiches with a few bowls of salads or bags of cihps, and a couple of bottles of soda is nice (tell the day care manager ahead of time so she can notify and plan accordingly). Consider asking another mom who you see all the time if she'd like to chip in, or help you make them. Please make them nice - not cheaply. A tray of bagels with various types of cream cheese spreads is nice too if you have them where you are (as a NYer I am a bagel snob <grin>).
Gift cards for $10 each are a very nice option - as someone else suggeted - Target, Dunkin Donuts, Panera, Amazon, etc. As a soccer coach one year I got a few DD gift cards - they were great to get coffee, donuts for my kids and munchkins for my sunday school class.
When our kids were in daycare we had less than 8 daycare providers even with two kids in at the same time. We gave cash, in Christmas cards to each of the 5 teachers / aides. We were paying quite a lot for daycare for our precious children, and we knew that the workers actually made very little hourly and expected that the cash would be appreicated at this time of year. Based on the level of care we gave accordingly. My son was a crazy toddler - so his teacher and aides got the most from us - the same year my daughter was in Montesorri kindergarten & day care, we knew she was a breeze and there were more kids in that room - so those caregivers got less. I think we gave the toddler teacher and aide about $40 each, and the three kindergarten teachers / aides $20 each. Yes - it cost us $140 that year - but we were both working full time and paying about $1500 monthly for day care. I know the caregivers appreciate it because we expressed how much we appreciated their work - we didn't simply throw money at them.

Good luck figuring out what you're going to do. Consider asking the other parents you see at drop-off and pick-up time.

The last thing teachers of any level want are more mugs and statues.

I agree on giving everyone the same amount if you give a gift card but you know better than us how much time each assistant spends w/your child. My kid's teacher has an assistant but she doesn't spend any time w/the kids...just running errands for the teacher. None of the parents know her. I just happen to know her name b/c I am the room mom but she has never helped me out personally. So I won't be getting her a gift...only b/c that would be weird. If your child's assistants spend any/alot of time with your child, then they deserve a thoughtful gift.

I love your gesture. I always go overboard in teacher appreciation b/c they spend all day w/my kid - why wouldn't I want to show them the most appreciation? I put aside money all year long that goes towards teacher appreciation gifts at Christmas. They deserve it whether you like the teacher or not.

Merry Christmas!

How about $5 or $10 gift cards to Starbucks or somewhere they like? I am a dance teacher, and I love when I receive those as a little special treat for me. Nothing big - but it's usually money I don't spend on myself so being able to use a gift card is nice. That would be $80 max if you did $10 each. I don't feel you have to "overspend" on teachers to enable your kids to be treated kindly and fairly, but if you have the budget, go for it!

Merry Christmas!

I do $10 gift cards for everyone (garbage guys and mail lady, included). I chose Barnes and Noble because they have books and they have a cafe, so there should be something for everyone. (Starbucks and Panera would be awesome choices, too, if you ask me!)

Last year I misplaced some of our gift cards and had none to give my son's preschool teachers. I suddenly realized it was the last day before break as I was dropping my son off. Not a lot of time to do much. There are no good options right be the school, but there are drug stores that have many $25 options. I ended up splurging and getting both the teacher and the assistant $25 gift cards to Barnes and Noble. They were both very appreciative and nicely indicated that my gift was a bit extravagant.

My son had an amazing preschool experience. These two ladies have known our family for years, my mom used to work with them, my brothers' girls attend the school now. Needless to say, these ladies are very near and dear to my heart, and I really did want to do something to thank them. But now I feel much better about giving everyone $10 gift cards. We have more teachers to give to and our younger son is in daycare now, so it helps that $10 is acceptable. I suppose in a couple of years I'll have to start doing $15, but $10 works right now.

We had this idea to give our kids’ teachers a bunch of school supplies that they needed with some treats for a gift for Christmas. We took it one step further, and added to it much more fun, by turning it into the 12 Days of Christmas. Each day your kid can sneak in and leave a little goodie on his/her desk. My kids were SO EXCITED about this sneaking part! I made up creative little rhymes that go with what is being presented. Some of my favorites are:

For the 2nd day of Christmas,

Your students are busy, little bees…

You can correct their papers

with these 2 red sharpies!

For the 3rd day of Christmas,

I give 3 binder clips,

I’m sure it could be tempting

to use them on my lips!

For the 4th day of Christmas

Dry-eraser markers come in four…

As my 3rd grade teacher,

You really help me soar!

For the 5th day of Christmas,

Some popcorn for a snack,

Sorry, that‘s all the food

I could fit in my backpack!

I found this idea on line, but changed alot of them to fit my budget. Everything on my list I was able to get at the Dollar Store. Every day I would attach a little note to that particular item ex: 2nd day of christmas saying listed above.
The teachers loved it and said it was such a great idea. We gave them things they can use in their classroom.

C.

Here is my teacher response....I would rather have a nice, heartfelt card and nothing else over knick knacks or excessive foods at the holidays. Everyone sends in cookies, candy and so on....and although nice, it gets wasteful.

If you want to do a gift, I would suggest a simple $5 gift card for Starbucks or a local coffee shop= they can get a tea, coffee, treat etc. We don't look for excess at all- a nice thought or "treat" is well received and thoughtful even in a small amount.

If you feel the need to bake or bring food, wait and make it a "Happy New Year" treat and bring something like a breakfast quiche, a fruit pizza, donuts, or bagels & cream cheese. We get overloaded wth sweets. Of course we will be nice and tell you we like it....we do, but usually just the first couple of rounds. We do appreciate the thought, but most likely we aren't eating your hard work x 10 families daily. Food overload!

I sadly give away or throw away a ton of food every year. I hate chocolate and peanut butter and I always have fudge, cookies and so on coming out my ears and I don't even like it.

If you don't have it in the budget, no worries- the card will be perfect if you include a handwritten note.

Oh, I go through the same thing every year. My boys have 2 main teachers. In the past, I've given the teachers $20 target cards and gotten bagels for the rest of the staff (there are separate teachers for art, music, etc). My younger son's birthday is late October, so I always felt bad for his previous teachers who had him for most of the year. Anyway, now we have 3 kids at that daycare; my oldest is there only part-time and goes to a different school for pre-school where he'll start kindergarten next year. Needless to say, our cost for teachers will be pretty high. For this year, I'll either do a $10 Starbucks card or $15 at somewhere they can get lunch, like Potbelly or Panera. I agree about giving the teachers the same amount.

I would just take a LARGE tray of cookies for all of them....OR bake or buy individual bags of a dozen cookes for each of them....unless you actually have the bucks to spend on people you are already paying.

In some cases, if one does not have extra money, a hand written, heart felt card of thanks means more than you may think.

Blessings...

If you can swing the money then I would give each teacher a 10 dollar gc to Starbucks. Then I would make some cake-pops and decorate with your kids and give them with the gcs and a card with a heartfelt note.

I can tell you as a teacher, mugs, food, candy, candles, Christmas tree ornaments, knick-knacks...I have enough, thank you. And I DON'T drink coffee or hot chocolate, so mugs and Starbucks are wasteful for me. I had SO MANY MUGS that I gave them to a rummage sale.

Kids can draw a picture for the teachers. That is my FAVORITE gift. A hand-written thank you note is appreciated w/your kid's 'signature' :o)

How about a donation someplace in their name? $5 a person would be nice.

Teacher stores for $5 each, Target for $5 each, local grocery store $5 each, local gas store $5 each.

As a public school teacher and the mom of a now college-aged son, the $110 is worth it. That money will undoubtedly give your children more affection and attention than what is given to children whose parents are too cheap to give a gift. It sounds raw, but it is true! Teachers are human and we give so much more than $110 a year to our classrooms, subject matter and students.

Instead of $20 gift cards for teachers and $10 gift cards for assistants, which I feel is actually insulting to the assistants, why not just give $10 to each. Why create that sort of class discomfort between people who work together.

Another idea is to purchase an $8 gift card to a movie theater, which will pay for them to see a movie of their choice in most theaters.

If teachers get more than one of those, they can take a guest with them when they see a movie.

I totally agree with Ann P. Don't give food. We all have different tastes and dietary needs. Do you know if a teacher is a diabetic or might be allergic to chocolate or peanuts? So, the gift card idea is a good one. But, I would not narrow it down to something like StarBuck's unless you know they all like something at StarBuck's. That is just another food issue. But, a $5 card for a book store can buy a magazine, a coffee, or a snack. If the teacher gets 4 or 5 of those, she can buy a pretty decent book.

I'd never do that many gifts, but then I don't have the financial ability to do it.

Here's a thought: Go to Big Lots or Hobby Lobby or Walmart and buy 8 nice looking mugs from the clearance racks. A couple bucks each at most. Buy a box of candy canes, a box of hot cocoa packets, a roll of colored cellophane, and some ribbon. Make hot cocoa mugs with a couple of packets and a couple of candy canes in each. I'll bet you can do them for about $5 a peice and they're a cute little gift.

Can you organize a group of moms in the any of the classes to go in on a group gift? I know that Costco often sells gift cards to local restaurants at a price discounted from the face value (so you pay $80 for two $50 gift cards, for example). If you can get a few families together, you can get the teachers a really nice present for much less money than you would spend on individual gifts.

I've also heard teachers say that they like Christmas ornaments that have pictures of their students and the year on them. It makes a nice keepsake for them.

When I had a similar situation, I simply went to Panera, got a big thing of Coffee, some pasteries and put in the teacher's lounge with a note on it from us - thanks for all you do Love US. (also, one child was in infant room. other in pre-k and had gone all through the center and had had at least every teacher once). I gave a little Chritmas card to the main teachers and pulled out their favaorite treat from the group order and left in the room, so they definately got what they wanted.

Another idea, gift cards to a teacher/office supply store or find out if there is anything they need or want for the classroom. I know of teachers who will supply resources from their own pocket if not available through the facility where they work.

A vanilla votive candle for each of them maybe in a cute but tiny little holder.
Shouldn't put you back more than $25-30 if you shop around - check out your local craft store.
Too many teachers I've known (and my Mom taught 6th grade in public school for 30 years) get so much in the way of dust catchers, ornaments and junk they don't know what to do with it.
It accumulates and they throw it away sooner or later.
A candle or a gift card won't go to waste and they can always re-gift it if they don't want it.

Maybe you can do mason jars of cookie mix with a cute little decorative recipie attached by a ribbon? I've done that in previous years. One year we just got a few boxes of assorted bagels from a bakery with cream cheese for the entire staff. I think we spent 25$ total. I think it's the thought that counts! Don't go broke, that isn't what Christmas is about.
Good luck!

I'm in a similar boat, and this year I'm not going to do for individual teachers.

They have regular subs in our school, and regular "floaters" who are in different rooms as required. In fact, my daughter's transition to her new room was handled by a regular "sub" who was about to become permanent (I think she's permanent, she seems to be there every day now).

Because of that I brought a huge tray of homemade scones, for the school and also got the regular teachers in her toddler room nice travel mugs with a little packet of cocoa inside. Everyone thanked me for the treats. Nobody thanked me for the mugs.

This year it will be a group meal for the school, or baked treats again.

I think gift cards are fine but not really memorable. Plus while $10 or $20 per teacher adds up really fast for you, $10 is really only 3 lattes for the teacher.

We do Harry & David pears. They are gorgeous, healthy and taste amazing. They are a treat I don't think any of my son's teachers splurge on for themselves. We bought a box for his regular class, the directress/office staff and for his previous daycare (switched in September) last year. This year we will buy for his regular class, his kindergarten teacher and the office staff.

Oriental Trader has great little Christmas ornaments that your kids can make - I know it is a little late this year to order but for future years. My 4 year old put together a set of them for his teachers and I wrote his name and the year on the back. They were delighted to get them and it only cost me a couple of bucks.

You have rec'd a lot of great ideas for gifts. Just another idea for next year. Our daycare's Parent's Assoc. handles the holiday gifts. They give each parent a sheet with all the teachers' names and offer for the parent's to give one lump sum and indicate on the sheet who they want to give to and how much. The teachers give the PA a list of three stores they would like gift cards from. The parents assoc combines all the parents money and purchases the cards. this way the parents dont' have to figure out what to get and the teachers get a substantial gift. As part of our Parent's Assoc, I handled this and saw how much everyone got. It ranged from $2.50 a teacher to $40, but one benefit of this is that the teachers never know and the parents don't have to feel bad if they are not able to give much.
**Also wanted to say I am appalled and sickened at Rhonda's response. Normally I try not to let other people's answers bother me, to each their own. But if that is true it is horrible.

How about $10 Caribou giftcards for the main teachers, and $5 giftcard for the others. That's only $55 and it still shows that you're thinking of them. Also the hand written card.

That's ALOT of money! I like the idea of giving some cookies or brownies wrapped with a little bow and a thank you card. You could also check out the discount websites (e.g. groupon.com, livingsocial.com, kgbdeal.com, etc) in your area. They always have deals for mani/pedicures, hairstyling, restaurants, etc. It's usually a 50-70% savings.

My kids are older and in grade school/middle school now but I never gave $110 "gifts" out while they were in preschool. We paid a fortune for the tuition and gave small gifts out to the main teacher each year. A book for the classroom, gift card, candle, etc. with a homemade card.
The comment that your kid will get more "affection & attention" and be better taken care of makes me sick. I know public teachers spend a lot in the classroom throughout the year but concerning a daycare that you are paying for each month, I would think that most of the classroom needs are met, it isn't a public school. If you want to gift that much and can great but it should not be a way to ensure your children are better taken care of.
Each of my girls have been adored by their teachers just about every year by being themselves, not because their Mom & Dad tried to buy them extra attention with a gift card.
That way of thinking is what's wrong with the world and honestly the teachers I know love to be acknowledged and supported throughout the year but would never be extra attentive to a kid because of a holiday gift. It's sort of insulting to teachers in general I would think.

You could also give a children's book to each classroom, rather than an individual gift for each teacher and assistant.

Get a big tin of chocolate popcorn or different flavors of popcorns or cookies (BIG) or something else yummy and give it to all of them. Write a sincere note complimenting each one and thanking them all.

Bring a big plate of cookies for all to share.

Why do you have to do $20 gift cards to each main teacher? That sounds like a lot to me. I am giving a $10 gift card for the main teacher and to the assistant, that's only 2 people for me and if it were more than 2 people I would spend less. I personally would feel bad giving the assistant less just because she is an assistant, they do the same amount of work with the children (at least at my son's Preschool) so I don't think the assistant should be given less.