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Don’t Break The Bank To Say Thanks

6 Votes

Catherine OehlmanIt’s getting to that time again. Time for breakup parties and concerts. Time for wrapping up the end of this year and celebrating together. Time for saying thank you to those who have journeyed with us and with our children in 2009. But how do you say thank you without breaking the bank? Is the pricetag on the gift really a representation of how grateful you are?

In my years as a teacher I received many, many end of year gifts. Some cost a lot and some cost very little. The ones that I still have today are priceless. They are stuck into scrapbooks, safely stowed in the bottom of my bookcase. My priceless gifts? Page after page of letters and cards in childish scrawl, or from grateful parents, saying... thank you Mrs O.
Catherine Oehlman

I know many other teachers who have similar scrapbooks or memory boxes. We can’t keep every gift from every student, but we can keep letters that remind us we have made a difference in the life of a child. I hope that reassures you that expensive gifts are not required!

So bearing that in mind, here are some budget friendly suggestions for showing your appreciation to teachers and carers – with a handwritten thank you card or note of course!

  • Fruit – there is such a delicious variety of fruit available at this time of year. To turn fruit into a present you could tie a ribbon around the stalk of a pear or apple, tie a bow around a mango, stick a ready made bow onto a punnet of strawberries, or go all out and wrap a small fruit bowl up in clear cellophane.

  • Christmas decorations – teachers often have a tree in their classroom as well as their own home, and you can never have too many Christmas deccies. There are plenty of gorgeous ornaments available for less than $5, or you might like to help your child make a decoration for a personal touch.

  • Stationery – this is a really practical gift for teachers. Think blank cards and envelopes, thank you pads, cute post it notes, pens, fancy paperclips and bulldog clips. There are some lovely specialty stationery stores around that will make a gift like this so easy.

  • Plants – a potted plant always makes a lovely gift, lasts much longer than a bunch of flowers and usually costs a lot less too! Try herbs for something practical or potted perennials for something pretty.

  • A magazine – you might be surprised at how appreciated a home, lifestyle or cooking magazine tied up with a bow will be! Give the gift of a relaxing read.

  • Nice tea or coffee – let’s face it, teachers drink a lot of the stuff. Most teachers already have more coffee cups than they could use in a lifetime, so buy a box of specialty tea or some coffee bags instead.

  • Compassionate gifts – most of us don’t need more stuff, so give a gift on the teacher’s behalf to someone who really needs it instead. Many organisations (Compassion, World Vision, Tear, etc) will give much needed items such as school books, mosquito nets, seeds, chickens and more to those living in poverty.

What other suggestions would you add to the list? Feel free to leave a comment below sharing your ideas for inexpensive thank you gifts.

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Catherine Oehlman is a SAHM currently being raised by a terrific toddler and a curious crawler. Her background in primary education, love of the mothering journey and compulsion for writing collide on her SquiggleMum blog. Cath encourages other parents from all walks of life to maximise the time they spend with their children.

13 Comments

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  1. avatar Narelle Nettelbeck makes this comment

    Tuesday, 03 November 2009

    Great ideas and a great post.

    I've kept a Christmas ornament that a little boy gave me over 10 years ago. He had saved his pocket money and chosen it himself - awww. Makes me teary just thinking about it now :)

  2. avatar JohBD makes this comment

    Wednesday, 04 November 2009

    Great ideas Cath

    for the two years Noah has been in day care I have made sweet presents for his carers and wrapped them up in a little box. They have all expressed their gratitude at the effort we went to so we keep doing it.

    Johanna

  3. avatar katepickle makes this comment

    Wednesday, 04 November 2009

    Fabulous list.. and just in time as I need to get my act together on this, especially this year as the girl's kinder teachers have been really fabulous and we want to do something extra lovely to thank them... now I have a whole list of ideas!

  4. avatar Kathy makes this comment

    Wednesday, 04 November 2009

    we bake - gingerbread, shortbread, and fudge. This year we're trying our hand at potpourri from rose petals & lavendar in our garden.

  5. avatar Michelle makes this comment

    Wednesday, 04 November 2009

    Thanks for the great ideas! This is our first year at school so was starting to wonder what we could do for my son's teacher. Will be coming back to this post :)

  6. avatar Rhubarb makes this comment

    Wednesday, 04 November 2009

    Of course, anything is appreciated and usually with awe - people really are so thoughtful. But one thing I would like to add -

    Teacher's often have 5 or 6 (I have 8!) 'gift packs' of toiletries, soap, lotions etc. The idea of papmering is lovely, and very appreciated, but there is only so much lotion, soap and toiletries we can use in a lifetime - I usually end up recycling them (shhhh).

    Additionally, chocolates, lollies and food (with the exception of fruit - fruit is great) - there is only so much we can eat without being ill. And there is already so much chocolate around at this time of year! Unless you know your teacher really well, I'd avoid this. (I know a diabetic teacher who gets inundated every year. She feels she can't tell her students in fear of the brothers and sisters of years past knowing they gave her useless sweets!)

    Something small she/he can remember your child by is wonderful, and always a reminder of special times.

  7. avatar Marita makes this comment

    Wednesday, 04 November 2009

    I'm sitting her stitching ornaments for my daughters teacher and saw the link to this blog on twitter and was very relieved to read ornaments are okay :)

    If I have the money my preferred gift is a book voucher but not this year so ornaments it is.

    I was also going to send in a plate of cookies for the staff room but like the fruit idea much better. Thank you.

  8. avatar Julia makes this comment

    Thursday, 05 November 2009

    I agree, Christmas needs to be about the thought & not breaking your piggy bank. Even with my friends we've decided to limit the amounts and for the past few years we've given each other a Chrissie deco. I think we're moving away from that this year & either choosing to catch up for a dinner together or to make something little. I'll be making gingerbread reindeer - I think it's something a little bit fun (esp for the littlies) and, for me, better than giving chocolate.
    I do gingerbread bunnies for Easter - again it's an alternative to giving *more* chocolate & the kids love them!

  9. avatar Amanda makes this comment

    Friday, 06 November 2009

    I came across a great gift on a website once and would love to do it one day for my girl's teachers. It was a biscuit mix in a jar. All the dry ingredients including m+ms were mixed up in the jar and the instructions on the outside said what was to be added to make the biscuits mix complete. I thought it was very creative and different Would look lovely with a groovy label and a snazzy lid :-D

  10. avatar SquiggleMum makes this comment

    Thursday, 12 November 2009

    Thanks everyone for taking the time to leave your comments (and for your encouragement).

    @Rhubarb I completely agree!!
    @Amanda We just made those this year as a MOPS craft and they turned out fabulously!!
    @Kathy @Juli I think gingerbread is always a winner ;-)

  11. avatar Kitty Chow makes this comment

    Wednesday, 02 December 2009

    I just finished wrapping up two bowls of nectarines with cellophane for my girl's kindy teachers. They looks absolutely gorgeous for less than $4 each. Have to send you the photo.

  12. avatar SquiggleMum makes this comment

    Thursday, 10 December 2009

    @Kitty
    That sounds gorgeous - I'm sure they were well received. Did you take a pic? We'd love to share it on fb if you did :)

  13. avatar BookChook makes this comment

    Friday, 11 December 2009

    Lovely ideas here, thanks Cath and readers. As well as cookie mix in a jar, another nice one is chai mix, or even some homemade bath scrubs.

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