Gift Ideas for Daycare Providers

I agree with almost everyone as well. Please, nothing that collects dust or needs a spot of its own. I have always enjoyed gift cards, certificates, group lunches that sort of thing. I do want to add, that my daughters worked as supporting staff at a center for many, many years. They were most often forgotten when it came to gift time. I want to say that sometimes those supporting staff come in at the most difficult times of the day and need to be just as loving and caring as the "main" teacher who often times doesnt have to do the tough stuff. Im not trying to dis teachers but this is a reality and I feel for all the ones who dont have a main room. Just a thought and remember it doesnt have to be big, nothing is ever too small...a thanks says just as much as a gift card and such...

Hello, I love homemade gifts that can be displayed for years to come. A favorite being A frame with my little girls hand print on it and a poem above it about fingers prints. You can find the poem online. So easy and meaningful!!!

My mother in law has done daycare for 20 years. I, for a few years also helped her. I never minded the candles, lotions and that type of thing, but being that she had done it so long she hated them! She already had a ton and ended up recycling them. She too has held onto most of the cards that she gets. She does appreciate any extra money or gift cards. She also likes the gift cards to places like Lakeshore learnings since she uses her own money for that. A heartfelt card is really the nicest thing!

You should write them cards that detail how much you appreciate them and the work they do; maybe you can have your children illustrate the cards. These are special, and given much less often than you'd think.

You should also keep in mind that people who work in daycare get paid very little. You could organize other parents to go in with you on a large gift card to Target or Macy's. Or just do what you can afford on your own. You could also do a gift card to a coffee shop or lunch place in the area of the daycare center - that would be much appreciated, I'm sure.

(I used to work in daycare; now I teach in a public school.)

A great gift is Scentsy wickless candles. You can get them at www.scentsy/danacarey.com

Baked goods. Have your children help u bake some cookies, brownies or mini cupcakes, etc. It would be much more personal , not to mention more fun and less expensive, than a store-bought gift. Just as with school teachers, I would imagine they get almost the same things every year from parents, something homemade might be a nice change.

Check out giftcards.com. For my daycare providers I'm going to get pre-paid Visa cards that they can use anywhere. They have the option to personalize them with any picture you want and text, so I'm going to put a picture of my girls with "Thank You!" accross the top. It should be cute. I still have to figure out what the fees are...

I have a couple of things that I have given. I love the Pampered Chef round up for the heart trivet. A certain amount that you spend goes to charity and it is a beautiful trivet. I always order a couple every year and keep them on hand for last minute gifts. If you need a link for a PC consultant, here is my favorite.

www.pamperedchef.biz/karenkunschke

I also love to get a large flower pot (just regular, everyday one) and let the kids paint it. On the top, I paint "You Helped Me Grow" and put their hand prints on it. You can put seeds and a small spade in the pot to complete the gift.

Hope this helps! Have a wonderful holiday! :)

Lot of great ideas. I agree, a personal card with a small "something". Other ideas - Fruit gift basket, holiday homemade cookies (even if there made by someone else :o)), Visa gift card. Loved the flower pot/hand print idea someone else shared.

I am also a consultant for a new unique jewelry line. If you find that this is the "perfect" fit for your gift giving, Just mention this post and I can offer 25% discount. You can check it out at www.snowflakegems.com
Best of luck with your Holiday Season
C.

I've always done a gift basket full of teas and hot chocolates and treats for the center itself and a gift card for my daughters' actual teachers. I think it's important to recognize the entire staff since at least at their preschool each teacher had a hand in their care for at least part of the day.

Last year I cashed in my "Dicsover" card cashback for gift cards! I chose Applebees and then took the big card (it was $45 I think) to the restaurant and had them split it into 3 $15 cards for me. Other restaurants might be a nice option, especially if there are favorites in your area.

cant go wrong with lotion or food!! i have also given gift cards for a free movie rental...

daycare providers do a whole lot of giving, so make your gift about giving BACK. i can almost be positive that they dont get enough time to take care of themselves. i have been doing in home child care for a few years now but most of my families have enough trouble putting food on the table so i have never really gotten a gift... :P

but things i would love would be things like gift certificates to a spa, or haircut, or massage, or mani-pedi... if you know more moms in the same day care, you could all work together to get something like that cuz those thigns can get spendy!

anyway, hope it helps, and im jealous that you are so generous to your provider! wish i cared for your kids! LOL

I usually get our daycare lady a gift card to a restaurant. It's always nice to go out to eat and not have to cook.

Having worked in day care off and on for several years I've gotten everything from homemade cards that the kids made, store bought cards the kids signed, gift cards and treats like chocolates/mini cakes.

Honestly, I don't remember what I bought with the gift cards but I still have all the cards in a little box. It was always special to me when a child made the card themselves or showed me their newfound writing skills on a card that was bought. Out of all the gift cert. the best one was Barnes and Noble because I was about to go into labor and it was thoughtful to let me pick out something I could take with me to read since I love to read. The homemade treats were always fun too. I've recieved cupcakes or cookies the kids decorated and those were cute.

So whatever you do get for them, add a personal touch to it :). Let the kids decorate a card for it or something.

I would be careful on the lotions or anything that has a "SCENT" to it since some people are have certain issues with scents that are in soaps, lotions, candles etc. As a child care provider I love the idea of hand made cards, gift cards, baked goods (No Nuts).

I have been doing daycare for about 19 years now. First of all, thanks for thinking of your providers!! Not everyone does. I have to agree with everyone...."stuff" stacks up over the years and you end up passing on a lot of it. I like the visa card idea. I also really like gift cards to go out to eat. It is nice to have some extra money to get out and relax. MY FAVORITE gift is spa money. That is a personal thing, everyone might not enjoy it, but it is so relaxing and some weeks we just need that!!

I taught in Daycare and public school for several years. My favorite gifts were gift cards or something practical. The last thing teachers want is handmade stuff from the kids. I always liked a card made by the kids, but something like a "#1 teacher" mug with your child's face on the side it's going to be appreciated. I know I may be bursting some bubbles with this comment. But I just wanted to get the word out on behalf of teachers everywhere. :) Just give them something practical, useful, and won't take up space or collect dust.

You can't go wrong with gift cards to their favorite stores. They know you appreciate them by the gesture and they can buy something they want rather than get things they might not like or use.

At the small daycare our kids attend there are 3 teachers in each room (and a volunteer in the infant room) and there are other staff that float in and out of the rooms to cover breaks, absences, etc. I don't want anyone to feel slighted, and we just can't afford to do so many individual gifts. So the last few times we have given gifts we have done something that can benefit the all the staff who are in the room. Last year at Christmas we gave the room a gift card to a local pizza place that they could use as a group to order in lunch one day. Another time we brought in fresh bagels from Panera. I have also done baked goods (like breads). You could also give something to benefit the children in the room like art supplies, books, or toys. Being a teacher, I agree that is best not to give things that are just going to collect dust. Almost every year I have a small box of dust gathering gifts that I donate to Goodwill. I just don't have the room for it.

I think a good idea would be to bring some bakery items with a card.

And if you wanted to give them each something you could make (and have the kids help) the cookies/brownies, etc. in a jar. VERY EASY. Affordable. And useful. Google for recipes. You just stack the dry ingredients and attatch a nice piece of material on the top with the recipe of wet ingredients and baking instructions!

.

Hi N.,

First off, thank you for thinking about your childcare provider. I have been a childcare provider for the past 20 years and have received many gifts over time. The best gift of all is cash inside a card where my parents have written a note telling me what I bring to their children's lives. Many times throughout the year I will get the nicest cards telling me how much the special things I do for the children/parents mean to them. It really makes my day and helps me to know that I AM making a difference.

I even received a note the other day from a mom whose children haven't been in my care for almost two years and she told me she had gone to parent/teacher conferences for her twins and recognized how much my influence on her children had helped them develop into the wonderful students they are today. IT MADE MY DAY.

Kind words are always appreciated, as is cash.

C.

we've done homemade cards with a photo glued in of my kid, she's not old enough to write, but i let her "decorate" the card. we also make a paper "pouch" on the inside of the card to hold the gift card to a local store (target, coffee house).

we give a larger amount of money to her "main" teachers, and a lesser amount to the "supporting" teachers, since many of the people that take care of her only do so a few hours a day, but i worry that some teachers are no kid's primary teacher, so they'd never get full appreciation.

i like the other poster's idea of making a gift basket of teas and cocoas for the center, to show appreciation for the rest of the staff too.

on lesser holidays, we've given little baskets of candies and a small gift card to the coffee shop.

The last few holidays and birthdays I have made our daycare provider different themed baskets. One year for Christmas it was only going to be her and her daughter home for the holiday so I bought a nice basket and put all the stuff for a homemade pasta dinner and desert in it. Another year for her birthday I made a ice cream sundae basket with the cute little sundae glasses, ice cream, long spoons, fudge topping, nuts, sprinkles, whip cream, and cherries it was so cute and she loved it. I have also made a coffee and coffee cake basket. You can be so creative and it looks like you put time and thought into is so they know you really appreciate them. She seems to look forward to my baskets each Christmas and birthday.