I’d like to get gifts for my niece’s kindergarten teacher and aide to show our appreciation for the great job they’re doing. Trouble is, I have no idea what to get. I don’t know them very well on a personal level, so I have no clue as to what their hobbies or interests are. I’m going to help my niece make them cards, but after that I’m stuck. They probably have tons of “#1 Teacher” stuff, so I’d like to steer away from that. So, help me out, what sort of gifts do you like receiving from your pupils (aside from smiles on their glowing little faces)?
How 'bout hints from the teacher’s wife? 
We love it when he gets “edibles.” Baskets of fruit, coffees, chocolates, good cheeses, etc. (Somebody once gave us a whole bag of avocados off their tree!)
Gift certificates to teacher’s supply stores. You’d be amazed at how much of our own money is spent on supplies for use in the classroom, or for use by the students who can’t afford their own stuff.
Again, gift certificates for a nice restaurant, or the movie theatre, or the carwash. Or to any bookstore!
Thanks for thinking of the teacher.
-Melin
How nice to know someone is thinking of us! One of the best gifts I ever got was a gift certificate to a very expensive restaurant. It wasn’t for a full meal but it was enough that it made it possible for us to enjoy a fancy, extravagant lunch for my husband’s birthday. Also, you can’t go wrong with a GC to the local mall. Let HER pick her gift!
Petite Chouchou
Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.
I am getting my daughter’s teachers gift certificates to Bath and Body Works. I, myself would love a similar gift…or a gift certificate to a book store.
–Gail
“Predictable, really I suppose. It was an act of purest optimism to have posed the question in the first place.” --John Cleese
My pupils are aged 11 - 18, so my thoughts may not be so relevant.
Also I’m male (well somebody has to be), and most kindergarten teachers are female in the UK.
Plus you’re not a pupil!
So as an adult giving to a female kindergarten teacher, I would suggest errr anything (because it’s the thought that counts!).
In the bathtub of history, the truth is harder to hold than the soap… (Pratchett)
Tatertot…my mom has been an elementary teacher for 25 years, and here’s her advice:
-Don’t give anything teacher-related or apple-themed. You would not believe the amount of this stuff most teachers already have been given.
-Gift certificates (mentioned above) are good ideas.
My mom asks parents not to purchase gifts, and instead contribute to a room computer or software fund. Unfortunately, very few parents honor this request. We have had a few clandestine yard sales to get rid of the “World’s Greatest Teacher” type knicknacks.
I am not a teacher for an educational facility but am still a teacher in a corporate sense. I usually get GC’s for food and book stores… AMazon being a great choice (music, movies and books in one)
Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
glee’s right. It’s the thought that counts. I’m a high school teacher and I’d take a thoughtful card or a simple “Thank You” over a gift any day. Instead of trying to “show” teachers that you appreciate what they are doing for you or your child, just “tell” them.
Although Mrs. Kunilou always appreciates a gift certificate to the local teacher’s store or mall, the gifts which stay in her collection are generally handmade momentos. She has quite a collection of plates with stick figures painted on them, casts of hand prints, etc. She does not like soap, cologne, wallets, scarves, earrings or other items where her taste may not agree with yours.
Thanks for the suggestions! We only have one store here (we live on a military post), so I will get them a gift certificate that they can use there. I must remember to act early on their year-end gifts, so that I can order gift certificates for amazon.com or barnes and noble.
Again thanks, for the ideas and for teaching our children. 
Doesn’t this just perpetuate the problem? Who are the buyers going to give a “World’s Greatest Teacher” knicknack to… except a teacher?
It is too clear, and so it is hard to see.
mrs mr john is a teacher. How about volunteering an hour or two a week or even a month. Go to the school, help clean up the tables after finger painting,help the little dev…pupils get their mittens and coats off and on, read stories to the class while teacher deals with some that need personal attention. No time? You work all day? Before school, after school, weekends, collate paper work and “send home notices”, help with file work, did suzy turn in her pink form AND the green list etc. help get things ready for craft time cut out intricate shapes for pasting together. ( be the paste monitor to prevent over ingestion) Go along on field trips. Do some of the paper shuffling and babysitting so teacher can TEACH. Maybe make up a lil book of coupons, good for one hours assistance between the hours of X and Y.
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
If it’s a teacher who is worth a gift (in other words, a good one), take a picture of your child and have the child write (after proof-reading) a note explaining why said child thought that said teacher was a good one. you can add to it yourself, if you feel so moved.
Very little in life makes me feel better than getting evaluations like one that I got today. “You’re a great teacher and I know that I’ll be using this in my life. You made me want to come to an 8 am class!”
Bucky
Zenbeam: yeah, but at least it gets it out of your closet for a while!