Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Teachers
If you have school-aged children, then you have some very important people to thank come Christmas time. The bus driver gets your children safely to and from school each day, regardless of the weather and other irritations. And, your child’s teacher is tasked with helping them learn to grow intellectually while at the same time generally does the work for a small amount of pay and appreciation.
In order for you to show your appreciation to your child’s bus driver and teacher this Christmas, here are some ideas to help you think of the perfect gift:
Christmas Gift Suggestion #1 – Teacher appreciation gifts should be for the teacher themselves and not so much a gift for the classroom. If your secretary has done a great job this year, you don’t reward her with a new office computer; you give her a bonus which she can spend on herself. The same idea goes for teachers and other service personnel as well. However, the one caveat to that are items which the school will never pay for and the teacher will end up purchasing out of their own pocket-money.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #2 – One of the absolute best gifts that you can give to a teacher or bus driver does not have to cost a dime. What is it? The gift of a hand-written note from your child thanking them for what they have offered your child.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #3 – Many teachers start their day with a quick joke. A nice clean joke book, appropriate for the age of the kids, can make a great gift for a teacher. They can use this for a laugh, and they can also use it in their classroom as well.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #4 – Teachers always need board games to play in class, and even to enjoy at home with their own children. You can very easily choose a good quality game and then let the teacher decide on where she would like to use it.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #5 – Food items always make good gifts. However, you do not need to send in cookies or cakes to feel appreciation from teachers or bus drivers. Try buying their lunch or dinner by giving a gift card to your local restaurant or deli. Or, you can even give a simple gift card to a local grocery store.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #6 – Teachers love books. While books are always a welcomed gift, you can either choose one yourself or you can leave it up to the teacher by buying them a gift card for a book store such as Barnes & Noble which also gives them a discount on their purchases.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #7 – A low maintenance plant is always a good gift option. Try to stick to something easy to grow without too many requirements so they can be grown at school or at home. One of my personal favorites are cactus gardens and Christmas cactus flowering plants.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #8 – If the teacher or bus driver supports a cause make a donation in their name and give them a card with a note that you have done this.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #9 – If you have a talent that you can teach others how to do, why not offer to teach the class something interesting for the teacher. This gives them a break and helps them to plan a fun lesson at the same time.
Christmas Gift Suggestion #10 – Last but certainly not least, do not buy a teacher something with “#1 Teacher” or an apple on it. It is plain tacky and teachers generally have a ton of that stuff. Instead stick to something consumable if you have to send in something like a coffee mug. Replace that mug with some gourmet coffee or tea and the teacher will appreciate it!
Related articles
- Christmas Gift Ideas for Young Parents-to-Be (savingnspending.com)
- Budgeting for Christmas (savealittlemoney.com)
- Festive saving tips for a thrifty Christmas (50plusfinance.com)
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Category: Budget
