The big day has come. The one where your kiddos come home from school hopped up on sugar along with a box of even more sugary stuff. Yes, the joys of school Valentine’s Parties.
But what about the teachers? Do they need treats too?
Throughout much of my childhood, my mom was, and still is, an elementary school teacher. Each year on Valentine’s Day, she would bring home her bag of “loot”.
I remember dollar store gifts and trinkets like really awful perfume, or candles, and lots and lots of candy. More often than not, the sweet gestures would end up in the trash, or the abundance of chocolate devoured by her four hooligans children.
Ever since then, with my own children, I have made it a point to give useful or meaningful gifts to their teachers. Of course, this is not a requirement by any means. But as the daughter of a teacher, and a former preschool teacher myself, I have a special place in my heart to let teachers know they are appreciated.
I generally give their teachers a Christmas gift, a Valentine’s gift and an end-of-the-year gift. Now this can really add up if you are not careful. Can teachers’ gifts be frugal? Absolutely! You just need to think outside the box (of chocolates, that is).
So here are a few frugal, yet much appreciated teacher gifts I suggest, with a little help from my Mom:
- A handmade card with a personal note- trust me, this goes a LONG way.
- Homemade edible goodies- I have received everything from cookies to chocolate dipped pretzels, to homemade hot cocoa mix.
- A potted plant, like an orchid or small rose bush- just make sure your child can get it to school in one piece.
- A basket of fresh fruit from your local farmers market.
- Classroom supplies- post-its, nice pens, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, ziploc bags, highlighters, colored sharpies, etc.
- Nice, quality hand cream- Bath & Body Works is my favorite, which you can often find a coupon for.
- A Gift Card – I know, it seems impersonal, but teachers LOVE them. You can include a cute note with a handmade card to make it special.
Children just adore giving their teachers gifts, but the best policy is to gently guide their selections. If they have their heart set on a particular teddy bear or trinket for teacher, go with it, but add something a little practical to go along with it.
You would be amazed how much money teachers spend out of their own pockets to make their classrooms the best they can be for your children. My Mom, a 20-year veteran, says her favorite gift is something useful for the classroom, or a gift card to a book or office supply store.
Giving teachers gifts is also a wonderful way to demonstrate the importance of generosity to your children. My daughter makes a very big deal over selecting the perfect gift for her teacher.
Do you have more ideas for frugal teachers’ gifts? Share them below, and help spread the love this Valentine’s Day!
LOVE the basket full of fresh fruit. It’s different and it encourages healthy eating! 🙂
LOVE the basket full of fresh fruit. It’s different and it encourages healthy eating! 🙂
LOVE the basket full of fresh fruit. It’s different and it encourages healthy eating! 🙂
LOVE the basket full of fresh fruit. It’s different and it encourages healthy eating! 🙂
I love to give mini-teacher survival kits throughout the year. (My aunt and grandfather both were teachers.) I collect them at various sales, getting much of it for free. Air fresheners (classrooms sooo need it!), tylenol, kleenex, hand sanitizer, nice lotions, chocolates, flameless candles, etc. Just little goodies that make a teacher’s life a little easier. Goodness knows, they deserve it!
A Valentine gift too? This is spinning out of control more than I thought.
I volunteer as a Sunday School teacher and I do not expect gifts from my grade school students.
I was quite surprised the first time that happened, and even more surprised that some families take this so seriously. So far, I have seen some Christmas gifts and end-of-year gifts, but most certainly not from everyone on either count. And nothing has yet shown up for other special occasions.
As someone who has been on tight budgets, and now as a frugal living blogger, I assume that the parents who choose to provide me gifts are those who can afford it. Start adding up how many teachers are on your list by the time Sunday School teachers are included, and wow, that’s a lot of money.
If you can’t afford it, please don’t do it. A pretty thank-you card is sufficient if this is a custom you wish to follow.
A gift card to the office supply store, book store or craft store would be the most practical item for those who wish to spend real money. But I have enjoyed the potted plants and bakery gift cards too.
It’s funny that this is your topic today, because I just sent my three year old to preschool today for her first Valentines Day party. I want my little girl to be grateful for her teachers and show her appreciation for them and this, for me, is shown easily through gifts on holidays. I only became a couponer, stockpiler, or bargain finder (whatever you want to call it) this past summer, but it has been so cool to come up with useful gifts as opposed to junkie trinkets for these holiday gifts by going to my attic shelves. I took some chocolate kisses and put them in red tin buckets with a new red nail polish, nail clippers, nail files and a glade candle, all of which I got for free. With some red heart garland that I got on clearance after Vday a couple of years ago, they looked so adorable and I had three teachers gifts that hopefully showed our appreciation but didn’t even dent our budget. People laugh at my stockpiling, but I can do so much with my bargains outside of supplying my family at minimum cost, from donating to charities much in need to making holiday gifts that people enjoy getting.
I don't get too worked up about sending teacher gifts with my Kindergartener. As a matter of fact, I felt so overwhelmed this Christmas that I gave myself permission not to worry about a teacher gift. We did send in a Christmas card with a family picture though.
As a former teacher, I can say it is so much fun to receive gifts from students. The biggest thrill of it was seeing how excited the children were to be giving something. What they actually gave was secondary.
When I was a child, the standard gifts my mother always sent in to my teachers was homemade strawberry jam for Christmas and a bunch of daffodils from our yard in the spring. So, I'm very much in that same train of thought. To me, home-made or home-grown is so much nicer than store bought.
This week I made pinecone birdfeeders with my boys. We tied on colorful ribbon for hanging them from our trees & bushes. My kindergarten son wanted to take one to his teacher. So, I guess that was her Valentine gift.
I usually don’t send in homemade treats b/c in this day and age a lot of it gets thrown away and not eaten. I have several relatives that are teachers and I myself have worked as a substitute teacher.
I think there are tons of creative and frugal ideas that one can come up with for teachers. Like the comment before about her gift with her “free” stockpiles. It’s all about the thought anyway. Teachers are way underpaid for what they do and a little something makes them feel appreciated.
My daughter’s first grade teacher is getting a tiny box of Godiva and a card that my daughter spent an hour making.
Just stay away from the coffee mugs. My mother-in-law gets about a dozen a school year!
I LOVE this post. My philosophy on life is to Pay it Forward in whatever way you can, it honors God and provides a great example for my children. Even when I have lived below th e poverty level, I often get the nicest compliments from teachers about the gifts…whether it be a stack of handmade cards ( I used to sell these), a kind letter of appreciation with a modest gift card ( cvs is a favorite here, lol), o a beautiful gift from my "stockpile" that has cost me little or nothing but my time & energy. I make SURE I give to all the teachers, including gym, art and music and the school nurse too. A little prep and thought & prayer goes a long way I find. Thanks for all you do Alyssa, it really makes my day! ~ Sam
Hmmm…my twins are now 14, and it never crossed my mind to do a teacher gift at Valentine’s day, probably because I never did one as a child. For my kids, I just did Christmas and last day of school gifts. At Christmas I would take them to the teacher store and ask them, what is your teacher running low on? Then for about $10, we would stock up on stickers for sticker charts, sticky-tack, dry erase markers and cleaner, note pads, anything the kids had noticed that their teacher needed. Without fail, their teachers would tell me it was the best gift they had received. It was a gift that was certain to be used, and it was more special because it was obvious the kids had paid attention to their teachers’ needs. End of the year gift was a gift certificate to the teacher store, also greatly appreciated by all!
@Monroe Ummmmm, I don’t think she was talking about Sunday School Teachers and I’m assuming that is why you said “spinning out of control”….anyways, I think that’s lame. Sorry but I think if we CAN do something for someone else, GREAT! If not, no big deal. I’m all for paying it forward to everyone who is deserving and people who EXPECT it, are not.
Just my 2 cents.
@Monroe Ummmmm, I don’t think she was talking about Sunday School Teachers and I’m assuming that is why you said “spinning out of control”….anyways, I think that’s lame. Sorry but I think if we CAN do something for someone else, GREAT! If not, no big deal. I’m all for paying it forward to everyone who is deserving and people who EXPECT it, are not.
Just my 2 cents.
@Monroe Ummmmm, I don’t think she was talking about Sunday School Teachers and I’m assuming that is why you said “spinning out of control”….anyways, I think that’s lame. Sorry but I think if we CAN do something for someone else, GREAT! If not, no big deal. I’m all for paying it forward to everyone who is deserving and people who EXPECT it, are not.
Just my 2 cents.
@Monroe Ummmmm, I don’t think she was talking about Sunday School Teachers and I’m assuming that is why you said “spinning out of control”….anyways, I think that’s lame. Sorry but I think if we CAN do something for someone else, GREAT! If not, no big deal. I’m all for paying it forward to everyone who is deserving and people who EXPECT it, are not.
Just my 2 cents.
Great gift ideas! Can you please email them to my husband since I am my kids’ teacher. I would like any of the things you have mention, lol! Seriously though, I have friends who are teachers and they love gift cards, especially to Starbucks!
Toni
Thanks for the input, everyone. I was actually not thinking about Sunday School volunteers while writing this post. My Mom is a public school teacher in California, where she literally cannot even obtain paper for her classroom right now due the budget crisis. I can guarantee that if she runs out of paper, she will buy more from her own pocket.
I certainly don’t believe a Valentine’s gift for a teacher is mandatory. If anything, it’s just a nice gesture and a great way to show your kids that giving is important. As the old saying goes, it’s the thought that counts!
Unless you’ve been there (which I have, for 8 years) you have no idea the sacrifices teachers make… I say acknowledge them in any way you can afford. Everyone can do SOMETHING.
When I was a child, Valentine’s Day was all about the cards, either homemade or store bought. Only occasionally did someone actually give candy, or maybe a homemade cookie, in school. Nowadays, it seems that it is all about the candy! Hardly anyone makes homemade Valentine cards anymore. That would be the frugal (and more meaningful) way to go!
I have never send a St. Valentine’s Day gift with my daughter to school. For Christmas I make some fudge or truffles or buy some books for the classroom ($1 bboks from Scholastic book orders).
My husband and I don’t buy each other gifts, I can’t stand how everyhting has become so commercialized…
Instead I cook some of our favorite “fancy” foods and make a truly decadent dessert for the entire family. Friends get cookies.
Remember some of the other people at school that help you out
The lunch lady and jantor are most often forgotten
I was a preschool teacher too, and what you listed would have been my suggestion, too! A tip for Christmas gifts: NOT ornaments! I have WAYYY too many!!