Hey, friends! I have some really exciting news today!! I am over at Tatertots & Jello sharing a gift idea for Teacher Appreciation Week, which is May 6-10!
I wanted to come up with something teachers would really love, so I polled you all on Facebook {remember that?} and asked anyone who had ever been a teacher to tell me what they liked and disliked when it came to gifts. I didn't give any suggestions or choices, but I was amazed to see the same things coming up over and over again. I thought you might be interested in the results...here's what I found out!
The teachers who responded said, "Please don't give us"...
A whopping 37 percent of the teachers who responded said "no more mugs," and one third of them emphasized, "please nothing teacher-related!" Several also mentioned an aversion to apples, candles, trinkets, and fattening treats. So if teachers don't want those things, what do they want?
Gift cards! Almost half of the teachers who commented said they love receiving gift cards {and/or cash!}. Not surprising since they always fit, are extremely useful, and don't take up a lot of space! What kind of gift cards are best? Here's what they had to say: Starbucks, coffee shops, local restaurants, bookstores, and office supply stores. About a quarter of those surveyed also talked about their fondness for handmade and/or personal gifts. Some of their personal favorites?
- framed photo of the class with student signatures on the mat
- scrapbooks
- poems written by students
- copy of a letter written to the principal and/or supervisor praising the teacher's hard work
- artwork made by students
So, to make a teacher really happy, give him/her a gift card to a favorite place, accompanied by something handmade by the student or by you! Want to see what I came up with? Head on over to Tatertots & Jello and check it out!!
Hugs & Glitter,
This was great, with all the teacher gifts we give each year you hate to give something they don't use or want.
ReplyDeleteLisa
Creative Raisins
Very practical post!Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions! Somewhere around my 5th year of teaching, I gathered up over 50 mugs to donate... and that was after keeping my favorite dozen and talking friends into taking any that they wanted. I always appreciated gift cards, art supplies, books for the classroom, museum passes / movie tickets, and anything else that we could use in the classroom. :)
ReplyDeleteAmy, this is wonderful! I'm pinning this to remember what to do for my son's teachers. Next year is his last year in elementary school, and there are several special teachers that I want him to get gives for when he "graduates."
ReplyDelete~Emily
A Tossed Salad Life
Thanks for the fun guest post Amy!! I loved your idea. You are awesome!!
ReplyDeletexoxoxo
Excellent & timely post, Amy! I'm always in such a quandary when gifting teachers.......what do I give? Is this *too* personal or not personal enough? Does she like....candy, fruit, flowers, lemon scented candles, lavender lotion......? Does she drink coffee, eat out, eat meat?! Luckily, I've just guessed at the repulsion they must have for anything related to teachers/schools/or apples, so I refuse to give them such things. I do like to craft something special (really?! Lol), so I try to have Regan make something sweet, and practical (usually food related or a small frame or trinket with a memory/or 'teachers are great' quote on it) which I then try to supplement with something special they wouldn't purchase for themselves..... I've done mani-pedi or spa gc's, an 'office emergency kit' (cute small cosmetics case/box, filled with 'emergency' supplies-nail files+glue, energy bar, a few dollars in coins and ones, hand lotion, 'blister block' balm, lip gloss/Chapstick, small hairbrush + hairspray, trouser socks or black hose, blotting papers, small Fabreeze/Lysol, toothbrush/floss/paste....you get the idea..) ....last year I did pretty, monogrammed blank notecards....that kind of stuff. This list is a big help though, thanks for doing the legwork!
ReplyDelete