A gift for Mrs. Devine - help!

Executive Member Joined: Jan 29 2006 Posts: 416

I work with an amazing teacher. she has been so helpful and generous. She's not Jewish and would never be on this site. Her name (quite appropo) is Mrs. Devine. I would love to buy her a gift or something that says thank you for all of her help/mentoring this year. her classroom is a treasure trove of anything a teacher could possibly need. I would love any ideas on how I can incorporate her name into a personal thank you gift. Any ideas welcome! thanks:)

Gold Member Joined: Jul 31 2009 Posts: 1234

Firstly, it is wonderful that you want so much to express your gratitude and affection for Mrs Devine that you are putting a great deal of thought into just the right gift. I smiled when I read the nice things you wrote about her.

So I am going to be honest and I hope hope hope you will not be hurt by this.

I would not incorporate her name into it. For 2 reasons, one more likely than the other..

1) We never know what life will bring us and although I hope Mrs Devine stays "Mrs Devine" forever and ever, if something unforseen were to happen, it could mean your thoughtful gift gets relegated to the closet.

More likely is this..

She has probably heard her name used/incorporated like this a lot. I have a last name that is also a common word that people see as an attribute of my personality and people cannot stop themselves from commenting on it, in a playful way. Of course I smile as though I had never ever heard it before....but I have....and it's kind of annoying.

When I receive gifts that incorporate my name, I am silently disappointed because they seem kitschy to me. I appreciate the gift of course, but I would enjoy it more without my "cute" name on it.

Just my 2 cents. Please don't be hurt. I'm not critisizing your thoughtful intentions!

Platinum Member Joined: Apr 06 2008 Posts: 5149

Actually I think the main reason you shouldn't do that is because it's not actually how it's spelt. Wink

..that is, if you are refering to anything G-dly.

Divine.

Executive Member Joined: Jan 29 2006 Posts: 416

auntie_em - Thanks so much for your honest perspective! I really appreciate it. Also, it makes things easier for me. I know that there are things that she would enjoy and I no longer feel like I need to do so in a way that uses her name:)

Gold Member Joined: Jun 11 2008 Posts: 1974 Location: NJ

Executive Member Joined: Jan 29 2006 Posts: 416