As we head towards the end of yet another school year, thoughts are turning to booking time off work for the copious assemblies and productions put on by students and brainstorming ideas for those all-important end-of-year teacher gifts.
If you don’t want to opt for the boring old “best teacher” mugs, because, let’s be honest, every teacher is hiding a cupboard full of those, let’s take a look at some actual gifts teachers will appreciate this summer.
Practical Supplies
This can be anything they likely use during their term time or pay out of pocket for themselves. It can be worth checking in with the teaching assistants or other staff members to uncover what this might be, whether it is pens, pencils, glue sticks, paint, etc or anything else they provide for classrooms or isn’t supplied by the school. You likely find this is a much more thoughtful gift as it shows you understand what they do and the effort they put in by gifting them something they actually use.
Gift Cards
Gift cards can be a great alternative to gifts if you are unsure of what to buy. Whether it’s for their favourite coffee shop, clothing store, cinema voucher, restaurant gift card, or anything else, it’s a gift they can use when they like and is most probably much needed as they want to get off and relax for the next six weeks.
Hampers
Hampers can include anything and everything you wish. They can include a selection of different teas, coffee, biscuits, sweets, and chocolates. You can also make a hamper of toiletries for the ultimate in relaxation gifts, and you can purchase ready-made wine gift baskets or baskets full of other alcoholic beverages; it’s entirely up to you and their preferences.
Homemade Gifts
When it comes to gifts, teachers aren’t focused on the expense parents pay out for gifts; many times, they are happy with anything, even if it’s small. However, homemade gifts from your child can be the perfect way to thank them for teaching them the past school year and showing them what they thought of them. Homemade cards, picture notes or crafts can be perfect low-budget gift options that show the teacher how much your child cares, especially if they include more personal details about the teacher, such as a memorable experience or pay attention to the small details they know the teacher will like.
Class Gifts
Items like pictures of the class in frames, plaques, or pieces of art with all the kids on can be thoughtful gifts for collaborative efforts instead of each parent or child gifting something different.
You can create short videos, including each child saying thank you to the teacher or leaving them a memory they can treasure as they bid your child farewell from their class. You can even do class group collections and give more significant presents from the entire class to avoid them being gifted multiple glasses, mugs, boxes of chocolates, etc. Even a few pounds per child can add up if a significant number of children are in a class, meaning you can opt for a more expensive gift if this is something everyone agrees with.
