Teacher Gifts Gone Wild

I dread shopping for teacher’s gifts. I mean how many bars of soap and how many mugs does a teacher actually want or need? Can you suggest any gifts that might be a little more meaningful? Also, do I really need to send a gift to the secretary, the janitor, the principal, the lunch supervisor, the librarian, and everyone else on staff at the school. This is getting really expensive.

In light of that simple (but often overlooked) fact, many parents are choosing to stray a little off the beaten gift path, opting for homemade gifts that are a little more personal and a whole lot less cliché. You might think about creating a mini-recipe book on your family computer or decorate a flower pot and filling it with a few holiday goodies.

Of course, this assumes that you decide to give teacher presents at all. Some parents choose to make a donation to a local charity in lieu of sending a gift. (Some schools routinely send notes home at the start of the holiday season suggesting that all parents go this route.)

Some parents and kids get a huge amount of pleasure out of making or buying gifts for teachers and other staff members. But you shouldn’t feel obligated to give a pricey gift to each and every person on staff, just because other parents at the school may be into gift-giving overkill.

Your best strategy if you do decide to go the gift-giving route? Recognize those people at your kid’s school who have made a genuine difference in your child’s life this year. That list will inevitably vary from year to year, so, in the end, everyone will get their just desserts. (Or flower pots!)