Teacher Gifts
As the holiday approaches, this question from one of our readers might be popping into your head… hope it’s helpful!
My child goes to a daycare that has six full-time teachers and a couple more part timers. I’d like to show my appreciation for their work with holiday gifts but there are so many teachers I’m not sure how to do this without breaking the bank. Do I have to buy for everyone? What’s an appropriate budget?
This is a classic problem that goes on in all areas of life – at the office, with families, among friends and of course – at daycare! As for a specific budget it really depends on your daycare. In general I would say that between $20 and $50 is an appropriate total amount to spend (you should not be spending this times ten for all the teachers involved).
Every situation is different but it’s not absolutely necessary for you to buy gifts for everyone. There is usually someone in particular who has made a bigger impact on your child or who deserves an extra-special thank you. That being said, everyone works hard and you don’t want to make anyone feel unappreciated. To avoid any awkwardness, you can take a few different approaches to gift giving at daycare – see if any of these strategies will work for you:
- Talk to the other parents, pool your money ($20 each is appropriate) and get something great for each of the teachers or the daycare as a whole. Depending on how much money you manage to pool, you could get some new playtime equipment, some new games, a nice sign for the centre or individual gift certificates for each teacher.
- Make or bake something. Pair some homemade goodies with a nice card and this will go a long way in showing your appreciation. Spend some time putting together a pretty package and your daycare supervisors will really appreciate the effort.
- If you don’t have time to bake, why not pick up something at your local bakery? Bring these treats in with fresh coffees for all the teachers on the last day before the holidays. This gesture is even more special if you bring in homemade holiday cards from your child.
- If there’s one teacher in particular that runs the show or does more for the centre, it’s perfectly appropriate to get a gift for him/her and just give the other teachers a nice card expressing your thanks.
- Buy one gift for the daycare itself, get one card and address it to all the teachers. This gift could be a nice basket with books or supplies for the centre, treats for the teachers to eat or a computer program that they wouldn’t otherwise buy.
