I Need Some Ideas for Christmas Gifts for My Sons Teachers and His Therapist!

I am a mother of two small ones also who have kindergarden teachers and day care teachers. Last year I cam up with an eacy, affordable and very cute idea. I bought a bag of icing piping bags. You can get a box of them of like 10 or 12 for less than 4 bucks. I made home made hot chocolate of chocolate powder (hershey's) and some sugar. I filled the piping bags and added a few mini marshmallows at the top. I tied it with Christmas ribbon and added a cute Christmas gift tag. I also did this for the ladies I work with. They all loved the idea. They also are talking about doing this for their children's teachers and such this year. If you like it let me know. My email is ____@____.com Hope you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas

C.,

I'm buying my children's teachers Stainless Mini Whisks from The Pampered Chef...(I sell it) I will make a tag and put "whisk"ing you a very Merry Christmas. It has been my standard gift for the Holidays.

Jen

C.,
Try baskets of baked goodies. That is what I will be giving this year, we're in quite the same boat (my daughter recieves physical, occupational and speech therapy for her low muscle tone). You can always find baskets at Goodwill for very little. You can use some tissue paper and ribbon and it will be a gift with lots of love, but it won't break the bank. Also, if you use raw sugar instead of white, and throw in some ground flax seed(it adds taste and omega 3 fatty acids), you can make them nutritious as well as delicous! Let me know if you would like some recipes.
Hope this helps.
-K.

I am in the same situation. My 3 year old daughter has Rett's Syndrome and receives therapy every day. Our therapy clinic is small, so I have decided to give something to them as a group, such as items they need for the clinic; paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates, stuff they use for crafts. And, if I have time, I may give baked goods (chex mix and christmas fudge) in cheap decorative containers. Hope this helps. S..

You can get a candle making kit and make them each a candle. You can also make a print your own greeting cards. Write something in the cards thanking them for being a 'light' in your childs life(the candle representing the light). The best gifts are not ones that are bought, they are ones made out of love. If it is possible have your son help with the candles so that it gives even more personal value.

You could perhaps get a pretty selection of tins, which are available at Wal marts or Dollar stores and fill with assorted candies. That way the gift is disposable and also useful should they have a need for something to use for storage. Candles are nice and useful, also disposable once used. I've read that teachers have a problem with trying to keep the many gifts they receive, so something useful is appreciated. Picture frames, perhaps something you could buy cheap but decorate with some sort of embellishments that add a touch of style and a personal touch as well would be useful. Low cost picture albums you can decorate the front of with a little hot glue, maybe add a disposable camera?
Hope this helps.

Baked goods are always a favorite, and you can wrap them in cute ribbons. It always means more to have a gift from the heart.

K.

You can't go wrong with some baked goods: pumpkin bread, cranberry bread, cookies, fudge. Put the baked goods on a pretty Christmas plate (get these at the dollar store, Dollar Tree or Dollar General) and wrap with cellophane and ribbon. Wahla! Very nice presentation and inexpensive. Hope this helps.

I completely understand the one income budget. You can always try an maybe buy a pie from Strawn's, or something special from Julie Anne's. I used to work in the Medical Field and patients would always give us sweet treats for holidays and were always a great hit.

C.,
Do you live in Murfreesboro? They have just opened a Michael's there. Go in there and they have all sorts of stuff for gifts. They have bath salts and note pads and pens and little boxes and individual ceramic baking dishes all for $1 plus if your child wants make something him/her self then they have alot of little Christmas things that they can put together and glue or paint that would be little Xmas projects or ornaments. That would be something that you and your child could do together and let the child give as gifts. They also have little frames in there for $1.50 and some bigger ones that are on sale less than $5.00... that always makes a good gift. You wouldn't believe the things that they have in there. I could spend hours in there.
Just a thought and a few suggestions.

My cousin and her kids always do Christmas cards with lottery tickets in them. For a more personal touch you could have your son make the cards or make some that have a picture of him at school or in therapy. :)

You can't go wrong with chocolate. The dollar stores have some really cute seasonal coffee mugs - get one of those for each person and fill it with Hershey's kisses and stick a candy cane in each one. You can cover all 9 people for about $15.

What about cookie baskets or something like that?
My MIL one year did coco baggies -
took icing bags filled them with hot coco mix, mini marshmellows, and choc. chips. Tied the top.
its called nutty buddies or something like that.

Paint ornaments -
My grandmothers most treasured things on the tree are the ones that her "kids" gave her as a teacher. She can tell you still who gave her what ornament.

I have not decided what to do about teacher's gifts yet, but here's what I was thinking: I picked up some hot chocolate at Sam's. It was $5.88 for 7 or 8 boxes of assorted hot chocolate and each box contained about 5 little packets of one particular flavor, if you gave one packet with perhaps an optional coffee mug that would be pretty cheap or just divide it up until you have 9 gifts. You could buy/make some cookies/muffins wrap them up and give them. It does not have to be big or expensive, it's the thought that counts and I'm sure they'll appreciate whatever it is you do.

good luck

Hi,

My name is M. D. My children are all grown up but, if you are on a budget baked goods are always a plus. And it is something from the HEART.

M. D.

Bake something! Everyone likes food. When I have to give many gifts and don't have much money, food is the fallback. You can make a lot without spending much money, and people appreciate you taking the time to make something special for them. I've done cookies, and I've also done little "Italian Cupcakes" (at least that's what my mom-in-law called them) - miniature chocolated cupcakes with a dollop of a cream cheese mixture in the middle. (Very addictive!)
If you do canning, consider homemade jams/jellies. My friends can't wait each year for my grandfather's home-made raspberry or blackberry jelly.

Hope that helps!
J.

Yes! I have a great idea... I am doing this with my son and his therapists, daycare providers and family members as well. We are making salt dough christmas ornaments. The recipe is very easy (microwavable) and you can make whatever you want. We are doing his handprints for all the caregivers, and we are putting his picture on the back of them. I think it would be something personal and thoughtful. Everyone likes something that is handmade and that time and thought has been put into it. My kids and I are doing this for all of their teachers and I am getting them to make some for my co-workers too!

C.,

I realize gifts are nice. But why do we all center everything around buying gifts for everyone. Why not just write them a note and let them know how much you appreciate them for being a part of your sons life. Their probably aware of your one income family and wouldn't expect anything more. On the other hand, I always love something that someone made themselves. Maybe something you and child could do together. Like the cookies in a jar recipe thing.

I have 2 suggestions:

1. Bake something with your son's help. I made cookies last year for the mail carrier and she was thrilled b/c she didn't have time to bake anything.

2. an ornament and a small gift. Last year i gave the teachers (4 total) a small gift bag with a jingle bell ornament and a small candle. I used the bed, bath and beyond coupons you get in the mail for the candles and the jingle bells I got at wal-mart or k-mart or target. I got like a dozen.

We are going to do something similar this year.

Have you checked out Oriental trading Company? Orientaltrading.com

They have great things and sell by the piece or the dozen. I would give the same gift for everyone. Their stuff is nice and inexpensive.

The most efficient thing to do and probably would be the most appreciated , I have a brother who is a school teacher and they get enough things they dont' know what to do with but no one can get enough homemade cookies, or nuts and bolts , party mix whatever you might call it . Go to a Dollar Tree or whatever your dollar and under store might be get some nice gift bags or tins if they have them and you have everyone . Doesn't take but a few cookies in a bag and it was a nice thought and a good snack.

I understand, we've been married almost 14 years and have 6 kids. I'm full time at home, too.

One of the gifts we like to give is homemade hot chocolate mix. It's something the kids can help make at almost any age. Here's the recipe (I forget where I got it from):
8 oz. semi sweet chocolate chunks (I like mini morsels)
2/3C sugar (or appropriate sugar substitute)
1/2C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp anise seed (you can substitute fennel)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Simply mix together. I then pour into a ziplok bag and place into a mug or gift container with a card for instructions:

All-Is-Calm Hot Chocolate

To make 4 servings of hot chocolate:

In a medium saucepan combine 2/3 cup cocoa mix and 1/4 cup water.
Stir over meduim heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Whisk in 4 cups milk (for a richer beverage, try half-and-half or light cream).
Heat thoroughly, whisking occasionally.
Sit back and enjoy!!

It tastes great!

I am a teacher and a mommy. One of the coolest presents that I ever got was a small scrap book. Each page had the student's picture and a message. Another neat present that I received was a plastic planter with pictures of my students decopaughed (SP???) on it.

Hope that helps!

I think most teachers would appreciate a gift card to somewhere like Starbucks or a local coffee shop. Those would be inexpensive because you could do just $5. Movie tickets are also a good choice but slightly more costly. Hope that helps!

The best gift you can gice is a homemade one. You and your son can make a little frame and put a picture of him in it. The frame can be made with popsicle sticks and colored or designed with sequences or even glitter. Let it be something he created not something store bought.

Dollar Tree is a great place to shop. I found adorable Christmas snow globes at Dollar Tree last year for my son's teachers and bus driver. The year before I bought Christmas shaped glass containers (like snowmen) and filled them with peppermints. They were great gifts for only $1 a piece.

My name is A. and I make stationery note cards and they are very popular for teacher gifts. You can put anything you want on them - name, initials, school name, etc. I charge $1 a card and you can do any number from 1-100. It is very personal, and easy on the budget.

I have been married for 7 years. I have a 4 yr. old boy and a 20 month old girl. I am a stay at home mom, but do stationery out of my kitchen. Please let me know if I can help in any way. I live in Murfreesboro, so if you are close I can meet you with some samples.

My kids have lots of teachers. I always buy something small.One year I bought $1.00 Christmas plates went to Wal-mart and bought their .68 brownies and baked them a heart shaped brownie and wrapped it in that clear wrapping paper and tied ribbons on them. Last year I bought Christmas mugs for $1.00 and filled them with Chocolate candy and wrapped them the same way. And this year I bought Christmas Gobblets(wine glasses) at Krogers for $1.00 and am going to get little samples of things to fill them with. I'll try to think of more if you want to e-mail me at ____@____.com.

Bake cookies with the kids and put them in gift bags. I bought some red lunch bags at Target. The kids could decorate the bags.

If your son is able, have him draw pictures for each of his teachers. If that is too many for him to draw, you could have him draw one and make color copies of it.

You could write a special note to each of his teachers telling them how much you appreciate them and include a candy cane or a few Hershey's kisses with each one.

It really is the thought and not how much you spend that counts. I am a speech therapist and I have several teacher friends. Although it is sweet, most of us have way too many Teacher ornaments and Teacher decorations. Something swet and simple is best. Besides, who can resist chocolate?

Wal-mart has metal tins in all sizes ($1-$5) in the Christmas section (garden area usually). I buy one for each of his teachers and fill it with holiday candy, chocolates, candles (surrounded by candy or glass beads that some people put in vases), a drawing from my son, and other cheap nick nacks. His teachers and coaches always seemed to like it.

Hope this helps,
J.

Jambalaya mix or hot chocolate mix you make yourself, or peppermint bark you make yourself and tie with a nice ribbon. I make cards too; makes for something nice and handmade.

Also Bath & Body works is having a sale $3 for the nice antibac hand soap. That and the similarly scented votive candle makes a nice gift.

Try making hommade ornaments. Take applesauce and adding cinnamon to form a dough consistancy to that of bread dough. Just roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Take a pencil or other object to make a hole at the tope to string ribbon. Just sit out on the table to dry for a couple days turning once or twice a day. Can keep in a zip lock bag over the year and still smells fresh every year. Best of all its non-toxic, so if the kids accidently eat it they wont get sick. Plus its a good project for all ages.

I think a gift certificate for the main Teacher and some nice homemade baked goods for the aides and therapist. I think most people realize that people are on a buget and cannot afford something for everyone. I made a tray of homemade goodies for fertility dr and his staff. He thanked me personally as well as his staff. I know that some dr and offices receive cookies in tins from other offices but this was my way of saying thank you. Or.. you might tell them that you will be bringing in a nice spagetti lunch for their office as a Thankyou and something different than Turkey or Ham. I think that people forget that Christmas is a way of showing others our love and thanks and we think we should spend lots of money and its not necessary. As your son is not their only child it shows that you took some time out of your busy schedule to do something nice for them.

Just some ideas... good luck.

Hello, I also had alot of people to buy presents for that impact my daughters life. I found a really neat gift and i did go ahead and by it for them. Its on QVC it was made by Mr Christmas and what it is it comes in a set of 6 it is snow globes that have music that plays with them and in a Christmas theme, they each have there own bag also with the paper to put in them. They were only 34.00, thats not much for 6 seperate gifts. I would have loved to get something like this for Christmas. Just a little thought, hope it helps.

Dear C.:

My husband and I have a brasswares wholesale business and we carried the apple items for teachers. One of them even having a tag said:"My favorite teacher", which costs $1.50 each for wholesale price. If you think that will serve your purpose, you can reach me at ____@____.com, but the UPS freight will cost you at least $7.00. I have a web site"www.mardigrasvilla.com", it posted feather masks and boas.

I will be out of town until the beginning of December.

Best regards,

Fu-mei Chen

My 3 year old is making coffee mugs for his teachers. You can get a plain white coffee cup really cheap and let him paint on it. It is more personal that way.

How about writing them a letter telling them how much you appreciate the job that they're doing? If there's something that someone has helped your son accomplish so far this year, you can point that out and tell them how greatful you are that your son has them in his life. This way you can personalize each letter to the individual. You could buy some pretty stationary for cheap. If you write it out by hand, it will look very nice. Then, maybe you could include a small, pretty ornament with it. Anybody can go to a store and pick out a trinket, wrap it up and hand it out. Doing something like the letter would be heart felt and personal.

Well i am a stay at home mom too so i understand the tight budget. I would go to the dollar store or ever wal-mart and be creative make them a small gift basket, fill it with fruits and some candys and let that be that.

if you live in the Tumbling Shoals area you can go to the Tumbling Shoals Flea Market. Does not look like much on outside but it is a treasure trove of wonderful items that you can buy or get ideas on how to make something yourslef. I do live in Tumbling Shoals and I do attempt to go by there once a week to see what crafters have brought in. Believe me you can afford it. We are not forced to live on a fixed income as my hsband

Being a former teacher, gift cards and candles are always nice. But please, NO COFFEE MUGS! :)

I would suggest gift cards. Maybe from Target or Wal-mart. If you got each one a $10 gift card that would be about $70, not including taxes. OR you can have the kids make each one a christmas oriantmant. Something hand made from the kids can be very inexpensive and personalized.

Cookies, all the way, Girl. They are inexepensive and you can package them in equally inexpensive cellophane with a ribbon. It shows that you are thinking about them around the holidays and that's the important thing!

I have a similar situation.....my daughter wants to give to all of her teachers, teacher assistants and special area teachers at school. I may buy a group of 4 decorative Christmas plates and bake cookies or muffins. Then, we give each teacher on plate with the goodies. It seems to have gone over well the last couple of years.......just a thought.

C.,

You can spend about $5 on each one by going to walmart and buying paper clips, thumb tacks, a pack of pens, a pack of stickers, and a gift bag. Wrap each one individually with freezer wrap that you let your son draw pictures of his teachers and therapists, little notes of how much he loves them, or writing merry christmas all over it all with christmas colors. Put them in the bag with tissue paper and let him give the gift to them. each item will cost under $5 spending a total of $45. If this is too much you can buy 9 individual roses and walk with him around the school handing them out to his teacher and therapists leting him tell them Merry Christmas. This is him acting as Santa giving gifts. He will love it.

I did both of these things and the teachers loved it and so did my children. The rose thing was cheaper and I think the kids enjoyed that the most. I worked at thier school and the teachers always said that they get things they can't use all the time and so they just give that stuff to family members.

The thing with the roses was good because the red rose has a meaning and you are sending the message you love them to them. This is always appreciated. The bag of useful goodies was a hit because of the presentation of them being wraped in paper that the kids decorated and because most schools don't supply enough of these items and so the teachers are out of pocket for them. Teachers don't have a great income either.
Perhaps you can do both. Give the teacher the bag and give the therapists the roses. What ever you do they will remember it because it is unique and either hits them emotionaly or helps finacialy without giving them something that will tempt them to blow their diet! Most everybody that is apart of a school staff is always watching their weight!

Good luck!

Happy holidays!

Stacy

My aunt has four kids that she buys gifts for all their teachers. I think she's buys them all small ornaments. With the year on them. I think they're pretty inexpensive and something a little thoughtful. Hope that helps!

As a teacher myself, I always appreciated the gifts that were homemade. Cookies, breads, etc., were always the best because they were consumable. Although other gifts are very thoughtful, they tend to accumulate. Imagine all the students giving gifts every year. If your children can help cook/bake, that's even better. Another quick thought. Salt dough ornaments are easy for even the youngest kids to make and they can be personalized by each child for each teacher. Just mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup salt, and 1/2 cup water. Form into shapes and microwave at 30 second intervals until hard. Be careful, they get hot. Paint/color when cool.

Hope these ideas help!
K.

You could make them some pillows with their names on them. It is the cheapest way. I done it for my daughter and her teacher's appreciate them because not all parents are going to appreciate them. Just done a different design for each one.

From: M. F.

As a therapist I can tell you that it is ethically wrong to accept gifts from patients or their families. What you can give is a small plate of cookies or something like that that everyone can enjoy. I hate having to tell families that I can not accept a gift because it can be seen as a bribe. Baked goods are a nice gift because we can share them with the other therapist and not worry about ethics, and its fairly cheap.

Wal Mart has nicely packaged bath salts. You can buy one placstic box taht holds 4 nice size individual bags for only 2.88. I picked up several for people like that in my life. In your case you are buying everyone the same thing and no one feels left out. YOu could get them all a thoughtful gift for less than 10.00 .Hope this helps!

Hi! I'm a teacher and have been for 19 years. I have taught everything from 4 year olds to 6th grade, with the exception of 1st and 4th grades. I have always appreciated gifts that were homemade because they show the person cares enough to spend the time and effort to make me something. Just about anybody can go out and buy something and give it as a gift, but not many people are willing to or have the time to sit down and make something. Those gifts have a llittle more TLC! I have given hand crocheted scarves and hand made wreaths as gifts in years past, hoping the receiver understood that I valued them because I took the time out of my very busy life to make something for them.

Get a cookie recipe and put it together dry in a jar an decorate it! All they have to add is liquids or they can use it for decorations!!! Always a winner that way!

What about a cookie in a jar or soup in a jar. There are some great recipes on line for these. It is something that they can help with as a family activity.

I am a teacher and a $5 gift card from Starbucks always scores with me. You could put it in a christmas card. You can get a box of them at a dollar store for a small price. You could even make your own at home on the computer and paint a cute picture on the envelope.

C. ~
As much as they probably all would appreciate a gift, I am sure that they would rather you not buy them anything. One idea that could not only honor them for the things that they have all done for your son and would at the same time help others, would be to give a donation in their names to either you local food bank or a homeless shelter or womans shelter. A small amount can help many.

Dear C.,
Simplicity is sometimes the most cherished type of gift. Teachers get such an array of gifts each year, so anything simple and homemade...(cut the expense of it) is a good rule to follow. Find what talent you are comfortable with, and use it to your advantage. If you write pretty, use a white lunch bag and decorate with beautiful Scripture Verses. Your child can fill the "gift bag" with the Homemade Goodies (cookies, brownies, etc) individually wrapped in plastic wrap..then they can share their "gifts". As a teacher, I love this kind of gift, because it showed they cared enough to make it and I didn't have to find a place for another "pretty little thing" given to me as a "gift"! Jesus was born in a stable to show us His Love for us....so, keep in mind how basic and simple can we, in return, pass on this Love?!
Just a suggestion from a fellow Mom and now Grandmother.
-M. M