Teacher Gifts 2012

It is that time of year.  Again.  Ginger finished preschool last week, and I'm not ashamed to say I cried like a little girl - seriously, bawled - at the end-of-year music program.  Saying goodbye to her tiny two-year window of preschooldom was painful, a pain whose only alleviation was the giddy little thrill of putting together a year-end gift for her amazing teacher.

Teacher appreciation week was last month, and our class pooled contributions for a generous restaurant gift certificate for her and the school's music teacher, so our year-end gift was simple.  I'll just let you know now, this post holds no new ideas, just a rehashing of former ones I've posted - ain't broke, don't fix it.  It's just a good way for me to keep track of who we've given what, when.

And while I was on the teacher gift vein, I've ordered/bought/planned the ones for Hazel's teachers, too, even though she still has a few weeks.  Hazel has three teachers - a man and a woman that job share as her 1st grade teacher, and a wonderful grandmotherly full-time teacher's aide.  So here's what we're doing.

For Ginger's preschool teacher AND Hazel's woman teacher - a copy of Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman, a personalized "Ex Libris" stamp, and two different colors of archival quality ink pads.  I ordered the stamps from Etsy - there are a lot of cool ones on there!  This one for Ginger's teacher:

And this one for Hazel's:

For Hazel's man teacher, you have to know he has two children under 2, and the poor man is a walking zombie of sleep deprivation, though he has still managed to teach my 7-year-old to read fluently this year so I'm not complaining.  It's just that every time I talk to him he asks, "How old is Poppy again?" followed by a recent anecdote of extreme parenting that he doesn't remember he already told me last time.  But he's always got a smile on his face, and Hazel adores him.  So, keeping the family orientation of his life in mind, I'm sticking with the no-failer - my favorite ice pops book (or maybe I'll try this one) and a set of star-shaped popsicle molds.  Take a load off this summer, Mr. B.

And for Hazel's teacher aide, who has put up with heaven-knows-what this year, I'm taking an idea from a comment on last year's post.  When we went strawberry-picking last Saturday at Homestead Farm, I stopped into their farm stand for a bag of buttermilk pancake mix and a jar of peach melba preserves.  I hope she can have some leisurely breakfasts this summer on us.

Finally, that picture at the top of this post?  It came attached to a funny - and practical - article I found about teacher gifts here.  It's nice to know I'm at least not on the wrong track.

End of Year Teacher Gifts

This is the last week of preschool. WHAT?! Goes fast when you start in September and end in May, unlike public schools. Snuck up on me a little when one of the other class Moms emailed about a donation for a group gift. I will be giving my $10 for sure - Ginger's teacher has been AMAZING - but I wanted to give something from us as well. So I reviewed this and this post from 2009 to help me decide.

We gave her movie passes and a mall gift card at Christmas. Also she is stylish so I would never presume to pick out an accessory for her. I know she has middle-school-ish kids, so I looked around my house, and Amazon (shockingly few Listmanias with non-cheesey teacher gift ideas), trying to think of something thoughtful, useful, and fun for her and her family this summer.

I decided to get her my favorite popsicle mold and cookbook that I loved last summer and am looking forward to again as our first real heat wave descends. I wouldn't get a big cookbook for someone, like baking, grilling, 30-minute meals, etc. unless I knew their culinary interest better, but everyone likes popsicles, and everyone can make them! Doesn't take up horizontal space (like a plant), doesn't require any special equipment (except the mold), or skill (except reading), and it seems like something older children might enjoy as well. I will have Ginger make a hand-drawn bookmark and we'll put it by her favorite recipe (probably that fancy sundae on the cover.)I have struggled with teacher gifts for years, but I'm pretty confident about this one. Pretty sure I'll be getting the same for Hazel's teachers in June.

How about you - what are your teachers getting this year? Or if you are one, what are the best gifts? Parents like me always need more ideas.

DM's Gift Guide: Teacher

(Happy Half-Birthday to Me...)

I know we just did this, so this is really just a recap of everyone's great ideas, plus a few new ones. If you have more than one teacher to give to, you probably want to keep the cost modest, but that's easy to do and still make it awesome.

1. Ex Libris Custom Bookplate Stamp, $38 - Is this beautiful or what??? Custom initial notecards are also cool but I can't get over the perfection of this stamp for a gift. (That's HICKMAN, or DISCOMOM, for those of you with spelling problems.) Round out the gift with a copy of Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader.2. Custom Alphabet Print, $15-25 - Speaking of custom, who says alphabet signs have to be cartoon-ish, or in primary colors? Sing the ABC's for the 1-millionth time in style.3. Book & bookmark - Just choose your latest favorite read; if you liked it, a teacher probably will, too. Have your kid make a personalized bookmark as a thank-you, and laminate it at Kinko's or at home with contact paper.

4. Gift card - mani/pedi, restaurant, bookstore, carwash, craft store, anything teachers may not have time or money to treat themselves to during the school year.

5. Bath & Body Works stuff (lotion, soap, bath salts) - I load up at their semi-annual sale every January and June - handsoap, lotion, shower gel, lip gloss, etc. It's easy to just plan ahead and have a reserve of these. Then pick up a cute basket somewhere and you've got an awesome gift.

6. Awesome water bottle/travel mug/insulated lunch bag filled with fruit, candy or something homemade. I saw a boatload of these last time I was at Marshall's - very cool lunch bags that look like little purses, funky water bottles, etc. Leave them empty with a ribbon tied on or fill with anything you can think of - hot chocolate, sunglasses, new socks, whatever!

7. Movie tickets - What a great idea my friend Kristin suggested! At our Costco you can buy Regal Cinemas movie passes, 2 for $15 (tickets at the theater are $10.50 each.) So every time I go I pick some up and keep them in my wallet. Just pick up a few more and they make the perfect teacher gift!

BONUS: Feeling crafty? Make a cool decoupaged clipboard with the kids, instructions courtesy of Martha!

End of School Teacher Gifts Follow-Up

Thank you for all the ideas and suggestions. This year, with the new house purchase, I was looking for something with a small price tag (the parents' group gave the teachers a large restaurant gift certificate from our fundraiser treasury.) In the end, I figured, can you ever go wrong with a book? Granted, there's always the chance they've already read it, but that has rarely happened to me, so I think it's worth the risk.

I gave each of Hazel's teachers a thank-you card, a small stack of homemade cookies, and one of my favorite books I read last year, Three Cups of Tea. It's a great way to go because there are always new books coming out and every year I'm sure to have a favorite or two, so it's never the same gift twice. By the way, I'm in a good run of books right now - it's very exciting. First, The Inimitable Jeeves. Then Guernsey, and now The Book Thief.

Very. Exciting.

End of School Teacher Gifts

I was simply mortified when, on the last day of preschool before winter break, I glided in with two gorgeously plated and ribboned goody plates for Hazel's preschool teachers, only to find ten other similar plates lined up along the bookshelves. NEVER AGAIN, I vowed, will I offer goodies as teacher gifts. I should have known. I should have remembered. In my past life I did work in elementary and middle schools for a few years and teachers were always trying to pawn off gifted goodies to each other, most of which just ended up getting stale in the teachers' lounge.

So as the end of the school year approaches, I would once again like to give something small to the teachers as a token of appreciation, but I'm too darn tired to think of something myself. So I called my sister Tona who is a thoughtful, creative Mom and has had kids in school for at least 10 years. Off the top of her head (had to rush off for the American Idol final) she gave me:

• house plant
• 6-pack of marigolds or similar
• travel mug with Dunkin/Starbucks gift card
• plastic beach bucket with sundae supplies (minus ice cream)
• new cool lunch bag
• small tote with sunglasses, sunscreen, book

All of which are awesome ideas. I know gifts for the classroom are nice but I prefer to give something personal like the above. I started a TEACHER page in my GIFT IDEAS spreadsheet and thought I'd hit up the rest of you for even more ideas. 'Cause I'm just too darn tired. And willing to ignore the blinding silence I received in my call for FHE chart help. So let's have them.