Teacher and Bus Driver Gifts

I'm also a teacher. I while I love getting gift cards ($5 is ok by me). I'm quite content and happy with a homemade card. As a tea drinker, some tea bags also made me happy. The little knick knacks often get tossed at year's end - sorry!

My sil is a teacher and has commented once that she has so much "stuff" for her past/present students that it doesn't mean much to her anymore, just another storage problem. HOWEVER, she loves it when they give her homemade cookies, candies, hot cocoa mix or friendship tea in disposable containers. She doesn't have a lot of time to make Christmas cookies and such, but really enjoys eating and sharing the ones she gets from her "kids".
Hope that doesn't sound to mean, but think about it. If she get 10 ornaments or trinkets every year for say 5 years, thats 50 things to store and display.
She also LOVES handmade cards and pictures the kids give her.
JMO,
Renee

I would find out what kind of "want or need" list your teachers have for their rooms.
They can ALWAYS use paper towels, kleenix,extra supplies!!
When you have 25 or so kids in one room every day, they go through this stuff really fast, even when all the students supply them at the beginning of the year. By mid-year, this stuff starts dwindling. They DO NOT need another ornament, or coffee mug!!
For your driver, think about where they do go for coffee, and get him a gift card. The drivers in our district go to one place between or after their late route almost every day!
Those are my thoughts.
Merry Christmas

My mom drives a school bus and I know she loves all the trinkets and stuff she gets - they mean alot to her - just like the precious cargo she carries. I know she has enjoyed party mix, cookies, and most of all a home-made card from the child telling them Thank you for all they do. This year for my "extra" teachers (music/art/etc...) I am making them flavored pretzels and putting them in a disposable container from the dollar store. I appreciate these people a lot, I really do however, finances only allow the gifts to go so far.

Three suggestions coming from a mom in the same position yet also a teacher. Homebake cookies are always appreciated--not many people do that any more. Candles are always another option that is popular yet inexpensive. Another thing that is well received by my kids teachers are Christmas ornaments. If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area they run specials for 50% off ornaments--makes some of them very affordable yet a memorable gift. Happy Holidays!

My daughter has been in school since she was 3yrs old, and every single year, we make a trip to the Dollar Tree for gifts for her teachers and bus drivers!!! You can make up baskets of gifts there for extremely cheap, and they look like they were expensive!! Everything you need is there, and the teachers appreciate anything you get them.

I'll be baking different kinds of Christmas cookies/goodies and will be giving that to the bus driver. I haven't made a final decision yet for my daughter's kindergarten teacher, but I've been leaning towards a gift card for Barnes & Noble or someplace similar. I don't want to get her any kind of trinket because I've heard that teachers get a lot of those throughout the years. Another idea, would be to do the Christmas goodies and also a big mug with some hot cocoa, marshmallows, and a candy cane all wrapped up nicely. You can get your kindergartner to help you with everything and also have them write on a card for the teacher. That would mean more than anything for the teacher.

My daughter has 2 teachers we are buying for and 4 bus drivers (I am a bus driver too) and we just went to the dollar store and bought each one a mug and then I went to the store and bought a box of Chicken noodle soup (like the soup in a cup) and put a packet in each cup, got ribbon and printed a little card for each that says, "Hope your holidays are Souper!" and punched a hole in that and attached that to the ribbon and tied it to the mug handle.

You are thoughtful...how about a card and some baked goods for each and perhaps a game or supplies for his classroom. If you ask the teachers what they want/need they normally have a wish list of things they would like, but normally have to buy out of their own pocket.

Have your kids make personalized Christmas ornaments. You can make them out of salt dough. You can also make snacks or the jar foods (like from the book Gifts in a Jar). Teachers like gifts that can be usable and practical. Food is always one. Cookies or candies are a great gift. This costs you more in time then money. It sometimes means more to receive a labor of love then a $25 gift that takes 5 minutes to get from a store. Plus the teachers don't have 25 mugs to figure out what to do with.

My boyfriend is a bus driver and he appreciates the homemade cards (he keeps them all) and of course the homemade goodies. He loves being a bus driver. He is not a coffee drinker but enjoy hot cocoa so the hot cocoa idea some one else posted is a great idea. He has enough mugs however just something to put it would be great too. The most wonderful gift is a "thank you" after all it takes someone special to be a bus driver who gets up at 5 am to get to work by 6:30 am to get the bus warm for the kids and then watch them on the bus and drive at the same time. He gets home by 5 pm if the roads are good. So thank you for thinking of the bus drivers.

Make something... an ornament or a magnet are good ideas. You can buy little wooden shapes at craft stores and have your little one paint it or put beads on them. and attach a magnet or a string. Or for the ladies there are little boxes he can paint, for change or jewelry.

I'm a teacher, and I would do two things. First, write a note or letter to each of them expressing your appreciation for all they do for your child. These notes are treasured for years to come.

Then get gift cards. If you can only afford $5, that's totally fine. Teachers get inundated with knick-knacks, and I have to be honest, we get rid of most of them. I don't really like getting food (unless it's luscious chocolate!) because often it's food I don't really like. I really don't like getting mixes, because then it's just something that I have to do. I personally don't like getting ornaments, because our tree is really personal to our family, and all our ornaments are ones that are meaningful to all four of us. An ornament from a child I had in class five years ago and no longer remember all that well....just goes in the trash eventually.

Teachers spend a ton of their own money on the classroom. If you get a gift card to Target or a bookstore, that really helps. Or...you could get a gift card to her favorite restaurant or coffee shop, and she'd be delighted. Seriously. I'm thrilled when I get coffee shop gift cards.

For my children's teachers, I'm writing notes (and having the kids write notes, too), and I'm giving $20 Target cards.

As a teacher, I liked receiving small lotions- try Bath and Body works- they have some sales going right now. Anti-bacterial gels are great, too!!