What do Teachers Really Want for the Holidays?

Full disclosure: I am the daughter of a former elementary school teacher and spent many happy hours going through my mother's big box of holiday gifts from her students, smelling the Jean Nate spray lotion, trying on the scarfs, wondering why people would every use handkerchiefs--especially scratchy embroidered ones-- when tissues seemed so much less gross. That box grew fuller every year as more unused gifts were deposited, awaiting re-gifting opportunities or the local Goodwill drive.

So, let's just say I know a fair amount about what teachers don't really want. But what do they want? I did a little research on this topic by reading several articles, blog entries and teacher comments on this topic. If your school's policy allows teacher gifts, you might be interested in my findings. Keep in mind, these are generalizations but they did ring true for me, both as a child of a teacher and as a giver of many teacher gifts over the years:

1. They love gifts that demonstrates that the child put some thought and effort into the gift. Handmade gifts accompanied by a hand-written heart-felt card were mentioned by many as favorites. (Shameless plug time (SPT): my company, http://wwww.bijouxinabox.com/, has beaded jewelry and crafts projects that enable home-made/handmade efforts, and are very beautiful and affordable to boot).
2. They also like gift cards that allow them to select their own gifts.
3. They appreciate gifts that enable them to do a better job in the classroom such as books for the classroom or a gift card to a store that sells school supplies.

Being a teacher is hard work and, like all of us, teachers appreciate being acknowledged and thanked in a personal way. If your school discourages gifts, a card or note where you share your observations on the ways that the teacher has helped or encouraged your child is really meaningful. Oh yeah. Christmas cookies are good too.

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