At What Age Do You Stop Giving Teachers Gifts for Christmas?

I did all the way through elementary school until the 12th grade. It's not that they expect it but I wanted to show them they were appreciated for all they do all year long. I don't know how they do it...lol...But they do. When they started Jr. high school one of my son's loved his football coach so he always wanted to do something for him special and my other son loved his orchestra teacher and so he would get her a little something special also. Then I would ask them if they wanted to get their other teachers anything like a starbucks gift card and they liked that idea because it was small enough to hand to their teachers with out you know....All the cool friends watching..lol..And I also did it in high school for them. I really think it is a great thing to do.

We gave gifts all the way through high school (12th grade) especially to teachers who made a difference or had a positive impact.

I've subbed 17 years and I don't know of any teacher who expects a gift. A lot of times the class goes on together and gets 1 gift which is usually something they make together.

A simple card with thank you is also appreciated.

Here we do it up through 6th grade. It stops for middle school because then your kid has 8 teachers.

We did up until middle school. So once in junior high - we didn't. That's because they had so many teachers, it would have been nuts. Some of their favorite teachers at that point were not their homeroom teachers - so it wouldn't have been easy or simple, and no one else did. There may have been the odd kid who did (I'm reading below) but it was not the norm - certainly not like in elementary school.

At our elementary school - which is in our area and a lot of the teachers are well known and live in our actual neighborhoods, etc. - we do give gifts. However, it's simple - and not pricey. My kids know what the teachers' interests are. We give a gift certificate - one year to a garden center we know the teacher shopped at, etc. When we had no clue for a teacher who didn't share a lot of personal stuff with the class, my son noticed the coffee cup the teacher came in with each day - and we gave gift certificates for there. Just something small (we're talking very reasonable amount) and a card from child.

My mom was a teacher and never ever expected it - honestly. It wasn't something that registered with her.

I stopped when they started changing classes and had as many as 7 teachers at a time. I kind of felt bad for those particular teachers, but oh well...

Most people around here stop in 4th grade when the kids typically have teams of teachers.

Also, it's more common for the room parents to collect from families (whatever they can afford, with a suggested nominal donation) and buy one gift from the class. That also helps take care of music, art, gym and other specialists who routinely get left out.

But our town also set up an Education Foundation so that families can make financial donations in the teacher's name. All teachers can then apply for mini grants (usually $250-$500) for special classroom projects that aren't in the main curriculum or supplies they couldn't afford otherwise. There's a joint public/peer review committee that chooses the amounts and the recipients. The Foundation and the local media print a list of what they've supported and it's just fabulous to read the unique things that allow teachers to express their own creativity to expand opportunities for our students.

It's really hard to buy individual gifts for teachers when we don't know their wishes and tastes. When I was teaching, I appreciated the thought but often struggled to know what to do with all the little knick knacks, and the gift cards always had money left on them or required me to lay out my own cash to use them. Even a very generous $25 restaurant gift card required all of us teachers to shell out more money if we wanted to go with out spouses. And sometimes people gave cards at places that teachers might dislike or be opposed to (say, Walmart), so that made things complicated. Many teachers wind up re-gifting what they get, too. It's a conundrum.

Good luck figuring this out!

Many will stop after elementary school.
After that your kid(s) have multiple teachers per child and it gets to be too much.
When you consider the middle school/high school kids changing classes and each teacher sees maybe about 125 kids per day - it gets insane.

My mom taught 6th grade for 30 years.
She got so many gifts - she didn't know what to do with them all.
My sister and I each have a box of ornaments she was given over the years.

The best gifts are things that don't accumulate or can be used up so they don't sit around collecting dust on a shelf or taking up space in the attic.
Candles - something vanilla - is good at any time and can be easily re gifted if there are too many.
If you KNOW she/he has a favorite scent - then get that - otherwise stick with vanilla.
Gift cards - always the right size/color.
Flashlights - we're nuts about flashlights - they are handy at home, in the car, in your purse, in your desk - they are all around useful everywhere!

We did gifts all throughout elementary school, but stopped once they entered middle school because they just have too many teachers at that point.

quit after elementary school, unless it's a teacher who is particularly important to your child.
khairete
S.

I only did this in daycare. I know some parents at our elementary school send them, but I don't. Even in 2nd grade, my child has 6 different teachers when you count art, music, gym, etc. It's too overwhelming to think about.

At the end of the year, the kids write a short thank-you note to each teacher saying what they liked best about their class, but nothing for Christmas.

Until your child has different teachers for different classes -- usually in middle school.

Maybe junior high when they start changing classes and having different teachers for every class.
You can make it something simple like baked goods, savory items, a $5 gift card to Starbucks etc.

I've never given the school teacher a present and I don't know any people that do. So I think perhaps it's districts or something.

I don't think they are ever "expected."
I do not give teacher gifts anymore. I can't afford it.
I do send a card with my child, thanking them for the work they are doing with my kid. I also have my kid (elementary kids...once they are in Jr. High and High School I don't) write a little card and draw a picture.

For mine, it was when they left for college. My oldest told me this was the first year he didn't deliver gifts. :) We do little things (Sonic gift cards) for the multiple teachers once they leave elementary school as well as a note of thanks.

My kids gave gifts through HS. Once out of elementary school though I gave just a small gift like a giant candy bar, a box of sticky buns or a bag of chocolates spending about $3 per gift. (My youngest is in 9th grade and I am buying for 12 people this year. I still give the bus driver cash though).

When mine where little I started baking cookies for the teachers. They said that was their favorite thing cause they get so many mugs and ornaments that they can't use them all. And with baking I could do for more than just their main teacher. My boys loved to give! We would give to their former teachers, music, art, PE, Library, Office, custodians and who ever else they decided needed some. We would do maybe 3 cookies each and for the groups maybe 10 to 12 for the group. I am by no means saying to do all that. That is just what made my boys happy and was cheap and easy. We did it through middle school for my oldest and then only the teachers he really liked in high school. My youngest only went through 6th in public school. Now I only bake for my youngest gym. So last night I baked about 100 cookies.

We did homeroom teachers until 6th grade (which is the last year they had homeroom). After that, I asked the kids each year which teacher they would like to give a gift to and that teacher got one, all the way until they graduated. For our special needs kids, we did their sp/ed case manager instead of their teacher.

I do a gift for office staff and the bus driver every year - as I believe they are very underappreciated by the students and parents alike.

Our gift is a homemade cookie basket - we don't do gift cards or other gifts

I wrote letters of appreciation for my children’s teachers. I sent a copy to the principal for the teachers’ files. When it comes time for a raise, those letters help a lot. I did that until they graduated. Once they got to high school, the kids told me which teachers they wanted to get the letters. (Please note: We were very involved with their educations. We went to every meet the teacher and parent teacher conference, chaperoned, and helped when asked.)
The teachers were all very pleased with the letters.