Not sure if everyone knows of this company, GiftCertificates.com Its great since rather than go out and purchase a gift card from one store, you can purchase a Supercertificate that the receiver can use to get gift checks from THEIR favorite stores. They can shop on line, they can shop at the store. I've learned that teachers like the gift cards, but deciding on where to go is a major decision. ?Do they want to use it for professional or personal reasons? This takes the guess work out since they can select their place, themselves.
They can even take a certificate you give them and divide it up into several stores. So if you are one to give gift cards, consider this. You can get a certificate back from them the same day so its great for last minutes gifts as well. At least check out the stores they offer!
This year I adored my son's Kindergarten teacher. I made her a scrapbook, it had pictures of my son from birth on up. I decorated different pages for the different holidays. I had some pictures of her with my son as well as other kids from the class. The last page was a touching poem and a picture of her and my son. The total cost was around $30. She loved it, said it was the best thing she's ever received. She was so touched that I shared my son's whole life, not just this year. I definately wouldn't do this for every teacher but she means so much to our whole family. My younger son will have her this year and I can't wait to see how far he grows with her too.
For me, the extent of the gift depends on how much I liked the teacher.
I have given $5 items up to $150 gifts (for a truly extraordinary teacher).
Consider something else... instead of a gift, send her/him a heartfelt e-mail (sounds impersonal but there is more). And don't just include her/him in the distribution, c.c. the school principal AND the superintendent. Site your experiences (assuming they were good), give examples of what this teacher did your your child and your family and say how much you appreciate all their hard work. By cc'ing their boss and their bosses boss, your note gets greater visibility and your teacher gets kudos where it counts.
I have done this in the past with 2 teachers who were amazing at their jobs and I got thankful responses from all recipients. The superintentent called me and asked if she could share my note with others on the board of ed. Of course, I said yes. You have to remember that these people get bombarded all year by negativity from parents, give them a breath of fresh air to end the year. Praise will be remembered for far longer than a mug or a gift card.
Depending on your budget, you can buy everyone a mug from the dollar store and fill it with gum, tea, candy, pens, etc. Wrap it in cellophane, and you have a great, inexpensive gift.
You could also buy calendars for the upcoming school year. I actually bought one for everyone (teachers and staff) as welcome back gifts for the new school year. I spent $240.
You could also buy a lunch sack or umbrella and have your school logo imprinted on it. The ideas are endless!
