what is a good chanukah gift for teachers?

youngmom

Tue, Dec 20 2005, 9:32 am

I was thinking about this whole gift situation. it can really get out of hand and get quite expensive...
today, I got a bottle of wine and a really nice card with some nice comments from a parent of one of my students. I really appreciated that! it's not expensive but really the thought here that counts. I really dont think that expensive gifts have to be given at all!

↑ willow

Thu, Dec 22 2005, 2:27 am

The problem with homebaked anything is that they may not trust your kashrus. So unless you are sure they will eat it it may just not be worth the effort.

jewgal84

Thu, Dec 22 2005, 11:24 am

As a teacher, a letter/peom/note, is def. more appreciated then an expensive gift nicely wrapped.

At school we'd comment how some parents just give bc they "have" to and the parents who take time in writting notes, show that they really do appreciate you.

I'd gotten all sorts of gifts from a soap set to a coach purse, a dollar to over 100 dollars worth.

It's not the gift that counts, it's what comes with it (attitude, smile etc).

There are classes who get a parent to be in charge and gather money and give the teacher cash. I'd recommend cash rather than a certificate. What use does a 150.00 cash certificate get you at Bloomingdales or Neman Marcus, both very expensive stores, and you may have to add some of your own money as well.

(BTW- this is def. a vent and I aint complaining at all, thank you to all parents who care to give anything. I don't expect anything from anyone rather than appreciation, don't we all Wink

!!)

Signed,
your loving child's teacher

TzenaRena

Thu, Dec 22 2005, 12:02 pm

Quote:

since when has chanukah become a time to give gifts? this seems very much like a non jewish minhag.
there is no source whatsoever for giving teachers a gift for chanukah.

amother,sorry, not trying to harrass you Smile

but I think you are mistaken. It is actually a Minhag Yisroel to give the teachers Chanukah Gelt. It's brought down in seforim. Does the idea of gifts bother you, whereas money would not?

slimnglam

Wed, Dec 28 2005, 5:01 am

Can anyone think of a thank you note I can add on to a teacher's gift (Thanking them for the year and etc...) I'm going to give her the gifty tonight and don't know how to write!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

613

Wed, Dec 28 2005, 12:03 pm

For the main teacher at my kids' daycare, I got a mug that says "world's greatest Morah" and the store filled it w/ jellybeans and put a Happy Chanukah lollypop on top. I wrote a short thank you note (like, thank you for taking such good care of us). For the 2 assistants, I got these pretty notepads w/ matching pens and the store wrapped them w/ a little gold menorah and choc. coins. Altogether that cost me a little over $30.

msym

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 10:22 am

Do u think a nice tablecloth is tacky to give to my sons nursery morah? (brooklyn-ers,im talking about the nice ones they sell at cloesout connection in boro park) . any ideas for the morahs assistants?

lamplighter

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 5:09 pm

I think a tablecloth is a nice gift.
I always enjoy gift certificates to barnes and nobles or for a manicure/massage. Please dont give me any more glass bowls or vases!

flowerpower

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 5:13 pm

Ok no picture frames, lotion, nice soaps, mugs...please! They get a lot of that and they don't really need it. A nice not expensive gift is a nice umbrella. I really appreciated the perfumes I got. I still use them. A nice card with warm words mean more the gift itself.

Barbara

Sun, Nov 23 2008, 5:27 pm

msym wrote:

Not a teacher, but ... if you want to do something nice, organize all of the parents and get a gift card from everyone. If its a group gift, no one person needs to donate a lot of money. If there's a mall nearby, you can buy a mall gift card (that can be used in any store in the mall). No matter how nice whatever little thing you get a teacher is, multiply it by the number of kids in the class. Then multiply that by 5 or 10, or however many years she's been teaching. It becomes overwhelming.

Another idea is something for the class, particularly if the teacher sometimes uses her own money to buy things. DS once had a speech and language teacher who rewarded the kids with pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. I gave her an assortment of them to use.