Still need a gift for your child's teacher? Teachers and parents offer their tips
The holiday break is near, and as you check things off on your to-do list, you run across that one item — a teacher gift.
What do you get for the teacher your child adores? Do you believe your child when he tells you his teacher wants an air horn, or do you opt for a safer option like a mug?
Teachers we spoke with were quick to say they don't expect, demand or require gifts from their students. And while gifts are always appreciated, the pros will tell you some of their most treasured gifts through the years didn't even cost a dime.
“A gift of words can be one of the most meaningful gifts that we save,” said Allison Thomas, a second-grade teacher at Davis Primary School in St. Charles.
Those notes, she said, bring smiles long after the gift cards are spent. Thomas has saved many of her notes and says she always enjoys reading them.
“A handwritten note expressing your gratitude is always a hit,” adds parent Katherine Dowelski, who has a student in Thomas' class.
Dowelski is a bit of a gift-giving expert when it comes to teachers. At the start of each school year, she makes a habit of giving her children's elementary or middle school teachers a survey to gather intel on the teacher's favorite things. She then uses that intel to surprise teachers with small tokens of appreciation, like a favorite coffee drink or candy, throughout the year.
“I don't feel like they get enough acknowledgment or praise,” she said. “This is my way of showing them that I value what they do.”
For the holidays, she uses the list to purchase a gift or works with other parents to surprise the teacher with a class gift.
Her advice to parents is to get to know your child's teacher. Ask your child questions about the teacher to aid with gift ideas.
“Students are much more intuitive to a teacher's likes and dislikes,” Thomas said.
For example, Lisle Elementary School third-grade teacher Jean Zitt has a large collection of M&M's items given to her by students who noticed she liked M&M's memorabilia.
“They were super excited about giving them to me because they knew that I liked it,” she said, adding that in years past, she has put up a small talking Christmas tree, complete with ornaments gifted to her by students, in her classroom.
Gifts that showed the student's personality also touch the heart, said Zitt, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
“Those kinds of gifts from the heart,” she said, “those make you feel special.”
Both Zitt and Thomas say they use the collection of ornaments they have been given through the years, and many of them bring a smile to their faces as they hang them on their trees. Zitt remembers the young Polish student who gave her a glass-blown ornament made in Poland and another young student who gave her a souvenir ornament after seeing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Thomas has a plant in her classroom that reminds her of the student who gave her the plant, and a personalized embroidered ornament has a front and center spot on her tree at home.
Still unsure what to get? When all else fails, gift cards to a favorite store, coffee shop, a nice dinner out or Amazon always works — but don't forget the note.