holiday gifts for teachers

[Anonymous]

To all the parents stressing about gifts.....I'm an MCPS teacher and a parent. While our family chooses to give gifts, it is NOT an expectation...honestly! As for "how much is enough?" if you want to give...whatever you are comfortable with...a $5-$10 gift or $25 - $50 gift. It always makes me a little sad this time of year when these threads come up because all the teachers I know honestly do not expect anything and don't "judge" what is given. We are too busy celebrating the chance to have a little downtime with our families! : )

Nice little notes are very much appreciated. Honestly, as silly as it sounds, I love the family picture holiday cards....and love when I go into other classrooms and they are displayed on the desks. There is something very warm and personal about that.

SO....don't stress...

[Anonymous]

We contribute to the class gift (usually $10) AND give a separate gift to the classroom teacher ($25 gift card) AND give $10 gift cards to the bus driver and specials teachers (art, pe, music, library). Easy peasy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the parents stressing about gifts.....I'm an MCPS teacher and a parent. While our family chooses to give gifts, it is NOT an expectation...honestly! As for "how much is enough?" if you want to give...whatever you are comfortable with...a $5-$10 gift or $25 - $50 gift. It always makes me a little sad this time of year when these threads come up because all the teachers I know honestly do not expect anything and don't "judge" what is given. We are too busy celebrating the chance to have a little downtime with our families! : )
.

Thanks for this post! Good to hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does every parent give holiday gifts to teachers? For a K kid - do you send the gift in with the kid and hope it gets there?

I put it in the folder. Our MCPS has a folder for the Kindergarteners that gets sent home daily and checked by the teacher/aide. Just put it in there. The teacher will get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the parents stressing about gifts.....I'm an MCPS teacher and a parent. While our family chooses to give gifts, it is NOT an expectation...honestly! As for "how much is enough?" if you want to give...whatever you are comfortable with...a $5-$10 gift or $25 - $50 gift. It always makes me a little sad this time of year when these threads come up because all the teachers I know honestly do not expect anything and don't "judge" what is given. We are too busy celebrating the chance to have a little downtime with our families! : )

Nice little notes are very much appreciated. Honestly, as silly as it sounds, I love the family picture holiday cards....and love when I go into other classrooms and they are displayed on the desks. There is something very warm and personal about that.

SO....don't stress...

I agree - DH is a teacher and while gifts are lovely, he doesn't expect them and certainly doesn't judge anyone for giving nothing, or for whatever they give.

I will say that the gifts he loves the most are the heartfelt notes of appreciation from parents (and students).

[Anonymous]

20 years of teaching.....and I still have all the heartfelt notes!

[Anonymous]

How exactly are MCPSs free? I disagree strongly, taxes we pay in real estate and everything else pays for schools. As for teachers Christmas presents, I usually buy Starbucks gift cards, but as I have two kids in middle and high school, it is a 5 dollars certificate, not ten, I used to do more for elementary, I do it more as a gesture now than a real gift. Basically to say thank you for your work.

[Anonymous]

I save a gift for the end of the year. We're only 4 months in, there's another 5+ to go.

[Anonymous]

HS teacher here. I teach 140+ students. I received one Starbucks gift card. Much appreciated and, obviously, not at all expected.

I was, however, floored when own child's preschool requested that we donate $200 to the teachers' gift fund.