I as room mom contact the parents and see if they would like to "chip" in on a teacher appreciation gift. I then take the amount and buy gift cards from local bossiness in the area that the teachers like to order lunch from. I put them on floral picks, mix in some flowers and make a "Lunch on Us" bouquet, I have grown older children and a seven year old and thus far this gift has always been a big hit!
We did a dessert and punch cart in the afternoon and had a choice of 5 different desserts for our teachers and staff to choose from - cheesecake, red velvet cake, chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake, and fruit cups. The teachers and staff all said it was the best gift ever and to please do it again! I was shocked that such a simple thing meant so much. We walked the hallways and went to each room including the office, lunchroom, and clinic. 4 people, 1 hour!!!
The PTO purchased $5 gift certificates from our local sandwich shop for every staff member. Not only did the staff love the gift because they could call in their lunch order and run in to pick it up, we also gave a boost to one of our local businesses.
We got each child a flower and lined the kids in the hallway. One at a time the kids walked in and handed their flower to their teacher while saying something special to her. The teacher cried as well as all the parents that were in the room.