What to Get a Kindergarten Teacher for Christmas.

GIFT CERTIFICATES! As a former teacher (SAHM now), I could open a store with "gifts" I received over the years.

No ornaments, nothing with Mrs. ______ on it, no statues, nothing with an apple, etc.

Trust me, she'd appreciate a gift certificate most of all! If you're opposed to GC's, then find out what else she likes. If she like KU, then buy something with KU on it; if she likes cooking, then buy a new cookbook (include gift receipt). Avoid "teacher" stuff!

I have a friend who is a kindergarten teacher. I asked her the same thing and told her my idea. She said something a little more personal for the teacher is always nice. Gift cards are great.

I'm getting my daughter's preschool teacher a basket with popcorn, soda, candy and a $10 gift card to blockbuster.

Hope that helps.

Gift cards are always appreciated! Movies, book stores, Target, Starbucks, The Supply Closet, anywhere!

E.,

First let me say as a teacher myself - thank you for taking the time to thank your child's teacher. Next let me tell you most teachers get so much "stuff" especially coffee mugs and ornaments and monogrammed items that what they really need and want are gift certificates. I know a lot of people think they are impersonal, but they are not. To a teacher they are treasured, because we spend A LOT of our own money on things for the classroom, so gift certificates to teacher stores, target, wal-mart etc are really helpful. As far as the amount - I would suggest whatever you are comfortable with/can afford. Believe me the teacher will be grateful no matter what the amount.

Hi E.,

I used to have a stationary business where I made personalized, ribbon-tied notepads. I am not really doing it anymore, but I still have some paper left and am making them for people for just $5 each with the color choices I have available. I have made a LOT of these for teacher appreciation gifts. For teacchers a lot of the time we put, "A note from..." and then "Mrs. ---" on the next line...or we can do the teacher's name and then the name of the school on the next line. This way they can send quick notes home to parents w/o having to write their name on the sheet everytime. I've had many teachers who have received these as gifts re-order through me b/c they love them so much! I would be willing to do colors of paper that I don't have left, but the notepads then would be $8 since I will have to buy the paper by the sheet instead of in bulk like I did in the past. Please let me know if you are interested and I would be happy to give you more information and send pictures of my past work if you would like.

Sincerely,
R.

Hey there!
My son started kindergarten this year also!! We are making his teacher a Batter Bowl gift. It is a Small Batter Bowl from The Pampered Chef and you layer the dry ingredients of a pumpkin bread recipe in it. Similar to the jar ones you see at the store. The Pampered Chef offers 4 different layering recipes and I choose the pumpking bread because I had all the ingredients already at home. My son will be able to make it for her since it is all layering and the gift tag will have the recipes attached to it. I thought it would be fun for him to "make" her a gift. Plus because I already have the ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, pecans, raisins) we only spent $11.50 plus tax & S&H on the bowl itself and it is a gift she will be able to use over and over.
Last year for preschool we did the little Season's Best cookbooks with a note inside from him paired with a Mini Serving Spatula. He had 3 teachers so we choose this one because they were only $5.00/gift.

If you have a consultant already check with her/him and if you don't I would be happy to help you place an order.

Good Luck, you got lots of awesome ideas!!

S. Printy
www.pamperedchef.biz/saraprinty

Hi E.,

I always give pampering gifts from Daisy Blue Naturals. Truly natural gifts without the over powering scents. Nice light to medium scents. I tend to give items that are more relaxing oriented such as Simply Lavender Soap and Lotion. A popular hit is the Sleep Easy Mist. Helps to calm and relax.

Let me know if you are interested in giving some to them.

Another idea is to get something for the school. Toy, puzzles, books, learning tools, etc. Simply tell the teacher you are wanting to give a her gift this year by purchasing something the school needs. I have done this at the end of the year as a thank you for doing a wonderful job with my little guys. They were very excited to accept my offer and even shown me a few ideas in a catalog they had. That way they get something for the kids, something for them, and the teachers home will not be cluttered with stuff they don't want.

Best Wishes,

J. Hobbs
Daisy Blue Naturals
www.3743.daisybluenaturals.com
____@____.com
###-###-####

As a former teacher and now SAHM I think you have a gotten great ideas. One of my all time favorite gifts was from the entire class and was put together by the parents. I know it took a lot of time, but that is what made it mean so much. The parents had each child (2nd grade) write me a letter about what they loved in second grade. The parents all sent them to one mom and she put them all in a scrapbook with their pictures. Like I said I know this was a lot of extra work but it was a fantastic gift if you are looking for something different. Please know I also LOVED gift cards and other gifts that people took time to give. The best gifts to me were ones that kids were involved in making or choosing!

I have several friends that teach, from grade school thru high school.

Avoid bric-a-brac. You can only imagine the number of apple shaped things a friend had when she retired after teaching for 35years. They feel to guilty to throw them away, but what do you do with 19 crystal apples?

I suggest sticking to things that can be used up...gift certificates for movies, dinner, office supply store, and the ever popular...manicure!

So many of our teachers have to provide classroom supplies themselves. $10 to Staples can go along way!

Or you can ban together with several other parents and get a certificate of substance....like $50 !

Trust me when I say....I hear teachers gush for weeks over useful things!

My sister & bro-law are both teachers, and I can tell you what NOT to get! Don't get anything with teacher or apple motifs (they even listed this on their wedding gift registry). A gift card from Target, Wal-Mart or a food outlet is always welcome. Teachers are so underpaid in this country, that any monetary type gift is very welcome. And at the bigger Target/Wal-Mart stores, they can use the money to buy groceries if needed. Depending on your income level, anywhere from $10 to $25 would be a nice gesture. It's really the thought and not the amount that they appreciate. Again, no teacher ornaments or apple designs...I can't stress this enough.

I would go with gift certificates for both...if you live in a large town....go to Restaurant.com and see if there are a number of restaurants in your area that are participating. Right now you can get a $25 gift certificate for $4.00 so you could get them 3 gift certificates for less than $15!!! You have to live in a large city for this to be something you can take advantage of though.
If that isnt something that would work...a gift certificate..you can even get a "visa" gift certificate that is good anywhere!!! I agree with the ideas of nothing with an apple motif or a christmas ornament with "Worlds best teacher" on it....can you imagine how many of those they already have??? Depending upon your financial circumstances...I would say $10 - $25 is a nice amount.

http://www.mandyscandywrappers1.com/
go here my sister has a at home business. check it out. makes gift cans,candy wrappers and much more. really neat

E. - I just bought my son's 1st grade teacher some hot chocolate and other assorted items from Harry and David. They have dips, flavored coffees, candies, flavored creamers, things like that.

I bought his kindergarten teacher a Christmas ornament. I ordered it, and it didn't arrive until after school was out for the CHristmas break, so I called his teacher and asked if we could run it by. She said yes, and then she let Ethan come into her home while she opened it and let him hang it on her tree. She loved it!

Hope these suggestions help!

M. W.

What I have done in the past is get them a small candle and a ornament where I can write the child's name and the year on it.

Ok, I think of it like this. A teacher is like a mom (or dad) for our kids and what do mother's enjoy most, besides their kids? Pampering. We are getting our daughter's pre-K teacher, her teacher's aid and her dance teacher, gift certificates to a salon where the teachers can get their nails done, or get a massage,or their hair done,..something to treat themselves and relax. You don't have to pay for the whole treat, just part of it. Like we are going to spend $15 on each teacher. My mom is a teacher and she has so many knick knacks stored a way that she doesn't even know what she has anymore. Give them something they can use and enjoy.

I've cleaned houses of teachers before. They don't need anymore "teacher" stuff. No matter how cute it is when you have 20+ kids every year that's alot of junk. I loved the platter or gift certificate idea.

I would get them a christmas ornament are a candle.That is what I got my son's babysitter when he use to be at one.Also my daughters you can't go wrong with those.Also there not expensive.I hope this help's

Great responses from everyone!!! I am also a teacher and have receive many gifts over the years. So I tend to give ones that I enjoyed as well The gift ceritificates, of course, are always welcome. But for Christmas I give personalized note cards. Not teacher ones though, they are personalized with their initials. I have been told by teachers that have a younger one of mine after having the older one that they look forward to those because they can be used. I tend to give something to all of my kids teachers, preschool, grade school, psr, etc. They all work hard to teach our kids.

I always pondered the teacher gift issue for years. Then about5 years ago I heard one of the teachers say that they looked forward to break time so they could spend time with family and husband. We have started to give movie tickets and a snack voucher to the teachers. My past work offered the tickets at a discount, which was great for the budget, We have always gotten back such nice thank you notes saying it was great to have a date night without worrying about the cost.

I dont know if you live near a bath and body works but they have these really nice lounge socks or aloe socks that are awesome they are on sale now for 2/$12 so they are not really to pricy and would be a great gift! Hope this helps

Hi E.,

I have an Arbonne store and we get a lot of requests for teacher gifts that are customized to your budget. Teachers love to get pampering items they can use, anti-aging products to spa, dry skin and rejuvenation products. Call or e-mail me and I'll share some of the awesome gift giving ideas we have. ###-###-#### or ____@____.com

Gift cards to a restaurant, store, or teacher supply store are the best gifts. Teachers that I know say that they get too many "teacher" gifts like mugs, ornaments, etc. They love the gift cards because it's something they truly can use.

Good Morning E., I see that you have tons of responses but I haven't read of them. But I wanted to tell you that the Crayola store in Crown Center has amazing teacher gifts!!

Or you can order a Lap blanket from me at www.kates_craft_corner.webs.com for the teachers as well. You kids can pick out the colors too.

Good morning, E.! My daughter just goes to "school" a couple of mornings per week, she is almost 3. Last year, I took her and let her pick out a Christmas ornament for eachof her two teachers. They might have been $5.00 or less a piece! They seemed to enjoy the gift from her!!

Take care.........L.

A gift card to a book store is always nice. I have a reciepe for making the jar cookie mix in a canning jar. Then I have my daughter decorate it with stickers. I have several reciepes for the dry ingredenst. If you want them email me with your email address and I will send you them. You put all the dry ingredants in the jar and then put a ribon on the jar with the instructions on what needs to be added and what temp. to set the oven and how long to bake them. Her Preschool teachers loved it.
I usually try to spend $10.00 to $15.00 dollars on preschool teachers. The other thing that we did last year was that we made orniments out of cinnimon (sp?) and applesauce. We waited a couple of days for them to dry and painted them. Again send me your email if you want this reciepe and I will email it to you. I am wanting to do either of them again this year.

Gift certificates are great ! Restaurants, spas, school supply shops, arts and craft centers, etc.
Also, a gift basket with things they can use in the classroom, like rolls of stickers, stampers with ink pads, colored markers and pens, and other items that can be used as incentives for the children, post-it notes, notepads, thank-you cards, etc. School systems do not pay for these "extras", the teachers pay for them out of their own pockets, and they do it because they want YOUR child to succeed. So any help with "extras" is MUCH appreciated.
Why not ask the teacher what would be helpful for her ? Not all gifts have to be a "surprise". Some of the most appreciated are gifts that were asked for in advance.
Also, a small tree ornament with your child's name and year painted on it would be a nice finishing touch.

I have always given teacher/daycare provider gifts. You can always go with a gift card to a restaurant or some place like Target. Recently I have been giving gifts that are monogrammed. Like tote bags, coffee mugs, etc. If you can find out their initials that would be a great start. And then you can fill it with homemade cookies too. :)

My mother-in-law is a paraeducator and gets tons of candles and bath and body works stuff. Problem is she's allergic to most of the scents. I benefit from this because she gives me the stuff that bothers her nose. I think teachers would appreciate a gift cert. to a movie or a place to eat. Not very personal but I'm sure they would enjoy an evening out. Personalize it by having the child make a card writing down some of the things they appreciate about the teacher.

Gift cards. To St. Louis Bread Co, Starbucks if she is a coffee drinker. When Tippins was around I used to give certificate for a pie. After a while they get every 'apple' item that exists. If you know their favorite resturant get a certifiate for that even if it is small.

I do belive that teachers get gifts at Christmas and year around.I would give a Christmas card with a $10-15 gift card that way the teacher will be able to get what she needs for herself or classroom.Or make up a package since it is Germ season put together Purell, kleenexs, lotion, chapstick in a cute box as a gift

I have given my daughter's teachers the teacher ornament from Hallmark. They get it out once a year and it has the year on it that they got it.

I let my children go to the store and pick out a small $5 gift for their teachers. I also add a $10.00 gift certificate. We buy one for Cracker Barrel so they can have a meal or buy something that they like.

I think the Entertainment coupon book is a fantastic gift: http://www.entertainment.com/save/home

Most teachers don't get paid nearly what they're worth--and can use many of the deals in the book! We gave one to our daughter's home daycare provider last year. It was a HUGE hit.

I do agree with the other moms that gift cards are great- especially when a nice hand written note from you about your appreciation for her impact on your son's life is included. If you've ever been up at the school on a holiday it's a little shocking the volume of junk some of the most beloved teachers receive! I generally try to donate $10-20 for a group gift card - for the kid's main teachers and then $5-10 for "specials" (gym, music, art, etc.) teachers. I usually get a Starbuck's card and put something like "Thanks-a-LATTE for being a great teacher" for the specials teacher.
I think the best thing to do is either find something that ties to a personal interest or love of the individual or keep it safe and do a gift card. How many apple pencil holders can one teacher love forever?
One unique one I did- last year my daughter's teacher was known for loving Snickers Bars. So I searched the internet and found a slew of recipes containing snickers or things to make that taste like snickers. I formated it so all the recipes looked consistent, and fit on a half sheet of paper. I printed it out on white cardstock and then got it spiral bound at Kinkos. I think the whole thing cost me $5. I then put it in a little basket with snickers bars. I didn't think it was that unique, but when I went up to school the teacher had shown all the office staff and other teachers because she was so touched by the personal effort. Now I have something to live up to! :)

After having 4 children go through kindergarten and seeing all of the "apple stuff," ornaments and cute things on the teachers desks, I decided to take a different route. For one, I found out her favorite restaurant and got a gift certificate she could enjoy with her husband. For another I did a small gift bag with her favorite handcream and maybe a magazine, tea bags or hot cocoa mix, or candy. In other words something more personal or consumables that she doesn't have to dust or store. A book store gift certificate is always popular. I spent about $10.

I have found teachers like gift cards to Hobby Lobby, Starbucks, QuikTrip, etc. In the beginning, I tried to find out what the teacher was interested in (angels, snowmen...) and give them something along that line. I usually have spent anywhere from $10 to $20 on a gift. And I would give something to the preschool teacher as well.

Good Morning E.. How about new calendars for the teacher's, small decks size or one for the wall she can write on. Gift card for lunch or something small. New pencils or crayons. Gift card to a teachers supply store or Michael's.

It's ok to get a gift for the preschool teacher also. It's always up to you E..

God Bless
K. Nana of 5

E., I have a lot of friends that are teachers. The answer from them has always been, "No Greatest Teacher Stuff!"

I think any kind of gift certificate would be appriciated. Also, a personal note of "thank you for what you do" goes a long way!!

M.

I did not read the other posters' suggestions, but gift certificates are always nice (movie tickets, Wal-mart/Target gift cards, a certificate to a book store or teacher supply store). Good luck!

E.,
Thank you for thinking of the teachers in your children's lives. Most teachers would like a simple card with your feelings on it. If you want to inclose a small gift card to a restrant. They are always welcome.
Thanks again!!!!

I think a gift card to someplace like Bath & Body Works, a book store, Wal Mart, the mall or one of your favorite stores is the best option. Somewhere between $5-$10 is usually what I would spend, depending on your budget. My daughter is a kindergarten teacher and I know gift cards are very appreciated, teachers get so many little gifts from their students at holiday time that they sometimes don't have room or a use for everything they get, but a gift card allows them to put it towards something they need or really want. Maybe you could suggest to some other parents if you know several of them a gift card from the whole class, with each child contributing to it a fair amt. say $5, that would add up to a very nice size gift card if there are several students and makes it very easy for parents when one parent is willing to take the responsibility of getting it together. Of course there will always be ones who want to do their own thing which is fine, going in on a gift should be an option.

My kids are all grown and I am now a grandmother, so I learned a lot of this from going through it a long time ago.

hello, maybe you could check out www.highlights.com. there are several items to choose from and different price ranges. if this isn't what you're looking for, a gift card would be a great idea

Hi E.,
I have been a teacher myself too, nick-nacs don't work, some are cute and you love to have them around becasue they remind you of each child, but after so many they start to seem like too many:) I would only suggest decorative item if you can get somethign really special, like I still have the Tah Mahal from an indian boy in a nice place in my living room and will always remember him. Or a beautiful bell handcrafted from Malaysia (cute girl that I will always remember too).
One of my favorites was a glass serving dish or plate, usefull, I still have it and I am sure you can find those form $5 to $10. I gave one of my kid's teacher a plate of home made brownies (I knew she loves them)but the plate was including and it was a Pirex pie plate that she can use every day. She loved it!
To my daughter's preschool teacher I gave them some personalized jewelry pieces (I make jewelry) and a salad bowl that I got at wal mart for about $12 with wooden serving spoons. Every day useful items works great if you don't like the gift card idea. These salad bowls are gorgeous! I get them myself too!
I think that the key is to think if you like the item and if you'd use it, don't give them something you wouldn't use yourself. Unless you don't like the teacher:)
You can always write in the note all the nice things you or your child would like to tell her, but a useful thing will last for a long time.
Hope it helps,
Mariana

Our teachers love to get Walmart cards so they can stock up on any classroom supplies that they need. There is also a teachers store Supply Closet and they love getting stuff from there too. I think $10 is sufficient. I also send in some of my homemade goodies for them. Have fun!!!

Wow I guess you are probably going with a gift card but if you would like just one more idea I sell all natural food products that are also peanut free and we have a variety of gift sets from $14-$50 they make great gifts and this is what my girls give all their teachers each year. It is differnt and it isn't something that has to be kept forever or displayed. The name of my company is Wildtree if you would like me to send you a catalog let me know. thanks and good luck!

For our K teacher we got her a gift card to Walmart and also a 1 our massage. She loved it. Teachers are like Moms. We never take time for us, but if we get a gift for something, we feel obligated to use it!

My daughter is also in Kindergarten, and we are giving her teacher things to make sugar cookies (cookie cutters, sprinkles, frosting, cookie mix) and putting it all inside a cookie tin. I also have a little poem that I will attach about having a "Sweet holiday season". I know that her teacher likes to bake and has young children.

Teachers spend an enormous amount of their hard-earned money buying things for their classrooms. Gift cards to teacher supply stores, Target, Walmart, Office Depot, book stores, etc. are far more appreciated than a little "#1 Teacher" trinket. Believe me, those get old and are not useful or original.

depends on the amount you want to spend but teachers get so many ornaments and nick knacks that I try to stay away from those type items as they don't know what to do with them when they accumulate so many. a gift certificate for a restaurant would be nice, a box of candy with a nice appreciation card, some teachers even like games for the classroom and a card as those games come out of their budget especially if they are a new teacher and haven't had years of accumulating items for the class. gift certificate to a teacher's supply store, homeade bread, those are just some suggestions.

A basket of snacks and goodies, or even a variety of condiments for the bland food at school with napkins, forks, spoons, because a lot of the schools now don't have vending machines in their break rooms so if they forget their lunch their only option is eating the school lunch ugh which they get charged more for than the students and definately not worth the money.

If you have time to get with the other parents and get a classroom gift, a mini-fridge or microwave would be awesome if the teacher doesn't already have on in the room.

After teaching for 6 years, I could start a store with all the candles, coffee mugs, and bath/lotion items I received. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the gifts very much, but just received too many of the same thing. I agree with the gift card thing. I loved getting gift cards to places like Hobby Lobby Michaels, Office Depot, or Mardels b/c I could purchase stickers or other art project stuff for the classroom, or even items for my classroom to spruce it up (like small baskets, holiday wreaths, educational posters, etc). I also loved getting items that I could use for myself, if this is your intention, like movie theater gift certs., Target, etc. While gift cards may seem impersonal, they are fantastic! If you want to get something personalized, stationary with the teacher's name is great, b/c they are always sending notes home. Check ebay for this, usually fairly cheap. I promise it's not about how much you spend, just in your thoughts about the teacher (even $5 gift card is plenty). I received many notes detailing the child's experience in my classroom and have held on to many of them b/c that meant so much to me. Let it come from your heart.

My suggestion is a bit different than the others.... I was a Pre-School Teacher a couple of years ago. My favorite gift and probably the one that I will always remember was a bouquet of roses from one little boy. Even though they were cut and eventually died, it was such a rare treat! And the sight of this little boy carrying this big bouquet of roses was so endearing........

I like the gift card idea a whole lot, because I could have really used that. A gift card isn't really memorable, but definitely helpful! So my suggestion would be to combine the 2, maybe have a smaller floral arrangement (one rose, 2 rose) and for the card attached, put a gift card.

I hope that you have a blessed Holiday Season!

Hi, I am a former elementary teacher and a current preschool teacher. We teachers love gifts, so yes, do get the teachers something. Favorites include gift cards in any amount, a class-group gift (when everyone pitches in, it makes a big impact on the amount you're able to spend), and we also like the homemade stuff- but not necessarily food. I have ornaments from my first year of teaching, still, 16 years ago! (I have also thrown away some knick-knacks over the years.) As for amount, the average gift card is $10- but usually more for the every-day teacher. Good for you for thinking of these great people in your sons' lives!

When I was growing up my Mom always purchased my teachers a nice ornament whether it was from Hallmark or Kohls or somewhere else. You could always get the teachers chocolate. Who doesn't love that? Good luck!

I saw the Hallmark ornaments for teachers last year, there were actually 2 to choose from, and I thought about those for my children's teachers at daycare. However, they were about $10-12 each and I would have to buy for about 7 teachers. If you only have to buy for 1 or 2, those might be good ideas. I thought that they were adorable for gifts.

my husband is a teacher, and he always enjoys receiving gift cards from restaurants, and bread co, einstein's bagels, stuff like that. they are usually five to ten dollars.

You have a lot of great ideas here. I thought I would add something else. If you &/or your kids like to bake - they also enjoy receiving home made goodies too. Right now on my website www.athome.com/tammiekelly there are some mugs and appetizer plates, each a set of four very reasonably priced - aobut $15.00 for the set of four! You could make up some homemade goodies and put on the plate and either make snowman soup or find a small individual serving of a special drink or add that Starbucks Gift Certificate inside and you will have a great teachers/specials gift. They will remember that you made the gift special by taking the time to make some goodies yourself. Just a thought. There are also many other ideas on my website with items up to 80% off!

There are lots of Teacher cups out there.I found a litle crate at a garage sale with chalk and a eraser."Wish you could find one it has a apple on it and you write the teachers name on it its so cute. Good luck

Well first I would recommend spending a little time in the classroom to see what she's like...does she wear perfume? A bath and body basket is always a winner...they typically do huge sales in late summer and after X-mas so I always stock up for later but you could probably get a deal on Black Friday. I usually go for the shower gel, lotion and body spray or anti-bacterial gel (which is PERFECT for winter mos). Apple/Cinnamon and Vanilla are always scents that you can't really go wrong with and you can always get a gift receipt if she would want to exchange.

Another thing I did was to get a book bag embroidered for the teacher (with her name on it)...you could either do it for the schelpping of things back and forth from school or a bag she could use for incidentals when they go on field trips. I also put stuff like apple post-it notes, thank you notes, note paper, etc. in it b/c my son's teacher was a HUGE corresponder and always sending notes home and ALWAYS thanking parents for whatever small thing they did for the class. Another neat thing is if you can find items that they typically use in the classroom (i.e. rewards, stickers, stamps, name cards, bulletin board templates, etc.) Most of these things are out of pocket expenses for the teachers. Another thing you can also do is call Scholastic and get a gift certificate for the teacher so she can spend XX amount on books for her classroom (yet another expense that most parents don't realize...most of the books in those classrooms are personal collections of each teacher NOT school property). Scholastic also has a magazine that most parents don't know about...one is called Parent & Child the other is Instructor (written with teachers in mind)...both are EXCELLENT gifts to give a teacher a subscription to!

Of course, there is always the ultimate indulgance of giving her a gift cert to get a massage or manicure/pedicure...but again all personal gifts that you would have to feel out on your own. As for expense, well, again that is personal...I think $15 is more than reasonable. Also keep in mind that if she has helpers or paras in her class you should not ignore them so that will drive your bill up...i.e. what you do for one you have to do for another. Decide now, how far you want to go with this...remember you still have Teacher Appreciation Day coming up and end of school to also consider...

Also, one other thing I always did...as room mother I found out that my son's teacher had a weakness for candy and would keep a jar on her desk...so I always made sure that at the end of parties there were ALWAYS leftovers to stuff into her candy jar...those would always help her through planning days on Fridays when the kids didn't have school. Good luck & remember to just HAVE FUN with it!

Hi E.,

Great name by the way! That's our 14 year old daughter's name!

I agree with Stephanie, although I am not a teacher, they get all kinds of things for Christmas and many times people will give end of the year gifts as well.
I would hesitate about a Christmas ornament, unless you know she is Christian and celebrates Christmas. You just don't know if a teacher is Jewish and an ornament would be inappropriate.
I always found a gift card goes over well. I know it seems impersonal, but if you've talked to her and found some kind of hobby or interest you could make it personal that way.
Barnes & Noble or Border's gift cards are great. I found one of my kids teachers loved her garden and got a Earl May Gift certificate. Even a small gift certificate at a nice restaurant will go a long way. Or get a Starbucks or Bed Bath & Beyond Gift card so they can pick out what THEY want.
And then just one more thought, as the mom of a college freshman and an 8th grader, if you set a precidence now, be prepared to keep it for years!

In good health,

Lori K

My neighbor is a teacher and she had this candle in her house. Its very nice looking and when you burn it, it crackles like a fire. I was like where did you get it?!? She said one of her students gave it to her. She loves it and I bought one too. They are called Wood Wick candles. I bought mine at Hallmark but I also saw them at bed bath & beyond too. Who doesnt love candles?

We are planning on doing little ornaments for them. I already have a box of little ones stashed away, but anything homemade is nice too!