What to Get Daycare Provider for Christmas??

Hi K.. I am a mom and a daycare provider. To be honest, I think a gift card makes the best gift. After years of doing daycare, you get tired of the same old "Best Daycare" ornaments or candles/lotions. A nice bath salt sounds wonderful-but for me...I never have the time for a regular bath :) Gift cards to restaurants or department stores are always nice because we can get something we really want. It's a nice reward to treat ourselves for doing a job that can be very exhausting and crazy at times.

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I am a daycare provider and let me tell you what a treat you are! Trust me, it seems we are very rarley thought of. I would however not so much suggest Bath Salts, as another response stated, we make very little money and any extra help you can provid is great. Gift Certificates to Target, Walmart, Grocieries, even gas are greatly appreciated. Even a little $5.00 G.C. to a coffee house for a special cup would be great. Another idea, if you don't want her to know how much you spent, maybe something she uses often, If she feeds your kids get her some quick prep meals, or if she provides diapers like I do, diapers! The lotion is another great idea, as we wash are hands all day. Again, make sure you tell her how much you appreciate what she does, not just at christmas or at holidays, but just a little extra note durring the year is so appreciated! Thank you for being a great parent to your child care provider!

You are so sweet to think about the day care provider. I am a day care provider and I can tell you anything that told me you were thankful for me would be wonderful. Even a card that expressed your feelings means so much!

I have gotten my daycare provider a gift certificate to a nice restaurant. She really liked it because she does the cooking in the house and it was a nice night out for her family. I also have given her some items to pamper herself such as Mary Kay satin hands and Satin Lips.

I run a small at home daycare and i love getting the visa gift cards you can use them anywhere target, cub, and coffee places work great as well. hand soap and lotion fancy good smelling ones like from bath and body or victoria secret are great because we wash our hands a hundred+ times a day.

For the past few years, I've gotten my daycare people at Kindercare a "SuperCertificate" from GiftCertificates.com. The recipient then exchanges the Super Cert for anywhere they want. There are literally 100s of stores on the website and that way, they can choose where to us it. So, if they want to pamper themselves, they can use it to go to a spa and if they want to go out to a nice restaurant, they can use it there too. I figure everyone probably thinks of getting lotion and stuff like that. She may get a lot of that stuff already.

I agree it should be something to pamper themselves...because they rarely make enough money for their important jobs. I think gift cards are the best gift...I've heard great feedback about Target gift cards. I usually buy gift cards to the movie theater...enough that they can take a friend or spouse with them and maybe buy a bag of popcorn.

I just bought these really cute candle holders last night at bath and body works, dancing tea lights: http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/family/index.jsp?category...

They were 50% off...$3.75 a piece (cheaper in the store than on line). I am going to fill with hot chocolate and candy. I have 5 teachers to buy for so try to stay around $5.00 - $7.00 a piece. but if you have one lady to buy for, maybe something like this with a little gift card....when we were at a home daycare with one provider, we bought her a $25 card to cub foods. She had 3 kids on top of daycare kids so I am sure this was useful...who doesnt eat?

Does your Provider have children of her own? If you get her a GF to a restaurant etc,how about babysitting for her for free? Or offering a Saturday so she can go shopping for gifts or run errands alone? Also something fun would be a GF to a maid service?
T.

I would just like to thank you for even asking! I'm a day care provider, and it means the world to me just to know that I'm appreciated. All the things you mentioned (and the ideas the other ladies had) are great. How very sweet of you to want to make a point of letting your day care provider know how much she means to you. I'm sure that she will love whatever you choose.

I was a teacher for 15 years and now stay home with my daughter. I loved receiving good hand lotion as a gift. Go to Bath and Body Works or something like that. I would wash my hands so many times each day that my hands would get really dry. So good lotion is a treat!

I am going to get my provider a gift card to a local restaurant. She mentioned that she and her husband like to go out for a nice meal, and she seemed interested in this particular restaurant, when I mentioned it in the past. It's a pricey place, so I probably won't cover the whole meal cost, but it will help! I would listen to her throughout the year, as she probably will mention something she would like to have or do but cannot afford. Or something she wishes she had time for, etc. Good luck~

Hi I sell dark organic chocolates in gift boxes 14.95 or 19.95 or an assorted tin for 24.95 and also lovely bath salts that are mood elevating and health enhancing because of the essential oils in them. I have found people remember me and look forward to one of these gifts. My office is in Burnsville K. joy ###-###-####

K.-
I'm a daycare provider and whatever you were to choose for a gift would be fine. Maybe some home baked Christmas Cookies and a card. Gift cards are always nice to Caribou,Starbucks,Dunn Bros.etc... or any kind of lotions. Even a 1/2hr. massage would be a good idea. Whatever you choose I know she will greatly appreciate it. Best of Luck!

I love the movie ticket gift certificates! And a dinner gift card if you can afford both! What a great gift an evening out on you!

Yummy smelling hand soap and really good lotion (with pump for convenience!) were favorites of mine as a teacher. We wash our hands constantly!! I also loved getting gift cert.'s to restaurants, movie theaters, or salons (even $20 would allow a minicure). Might be fun to put together a gift basket with a $5 blockbuster gift card, some popcorn and some homemade treats for a movie night!

I wouldn't get her bath salts. Daycare providers make very little money, and tend to spend some of their own money on their jobs, so I would either get her a gift certificate to a place where she might normally shop for things for daycare (Target, grocerty store, toy store, children's book store), or get her a gift certificate where she could shop for herself (Starbucks or Caribou, Target, Macy's, Michael's (if she likes crafts), her salon, etc.).

The most important thing you can do for her, however, is to write her a note thanking her for the work she does. The more specific, the better. Teachers/daycare providers get those kind of notes all too seldom, and they are precious to us.

Instead of the bath salt, maybe a gift certificate to a spa/salon so someone else can do the work. Im not a provider but do have a child in daycare. We were thinking of a gift card for an eating establishment (a fancy place). I had my son pick out an ornament for her too.