How much do you spend on gifts or gift cards for teachers at school?

[Anonymous]

We do $50 Target gift cards. But I am pretty terrible at giving end of year gifts, so I try to just give a nice Christmas gift and go from there. It's a tight budget time for so many! There is a Target one mile from the school, so I feel confidant they can use it. I like that they can buy supplies, toys for their own kids, WINE, clothes, whatever they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do $100 per child, but my children’s school does a pool so it’s from the whole classroom. I greatly prefer this as I want to be generous (they do so much!) but don’t want to be seen as trying to curry favor.

Is that even allowed?

Why wouldn’t it be? I just got a room parent email last week with suggested amount of $50 per kid. But this was just a suggested amount and we could choose to give more or less. They also collect for teacher and assistant birthdays and teacher’s appreciation.

In VA public school teachers are not allowed to accept gifts at or valued at anything over $100 total FOR THE YEAR. They can lose their job if they do. I suspect enforcement is low on that, but it puts the teacher in an awkward spot of maybe having to turn down a gift if it's too pricey.

But this is a class gift pool, not an individual gift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do $50 Target gift cards. But I am pretty terrible at giving end of year gifts, so I try to just give a nice Christmas gift and go from there. It's a tight budget time for so many! There is a Target one mile from the school, so I feel confidant they can use it. I like that they can buy supplies, toys for their own kids, WINE, clothes, whatever they need.

Do young teachers is their 20s like Target too or is it mostly a mom thing?

[Anonymous]

I do Amazon email gift card, does not get lost and I can resend if they don’t open it.

[Anonymous]

We give the max allowed of $50 gift card to main teachers and $25 gift cards to art, science, gym etc. I do still contribute to the pool gift as well

[Anonymous]

If there is a class gift you contributed to, do you give an individual gift as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do $50 Target gift cards. But I am pretty terrible at giving end of year gifts, so I try to just give a nice Christmas gift and go from there. It's a tight budget time for so many! There is a Target one mile from the school, so I feel confidant they can use it. I like that they can buy supplies, toys for their own kids, WINE, clothes, whatever they need.

Do young teachers is their 20s like Target too or is it mostly a mom thing?

DP. Our PTA gives the teachers a questionnaire about what kind of stuff they like for holiday gifts and teacher appreciation. Most of them say Target and TJ Maxx are their favorite stores to shop at and it seems to be consistent for 20s through 50s+.

[Anonymous]

I chip in for whatever pool the room parents are organizing. Usually $25. Most years someone organizes a pool for the specials and/or other staff and I throw $20 or $25 to those as well.

Middle school-I don’t do anything. My daughter sometimes decides she wants to give a token gift (like those small Lindt truffle boxes) and I’ll pay for those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do $100 per child, but my children’s school does a pool so it’s from the whole classroom. I greatly prefer this as I want to be generous (they do so much!) but don’t want to be seen as trying to curry favor.

Is that even allowed?

Why wouldn’t it be? I just got a room parent email last week with suggested amount of $50 per kid. But this was just a suggested amount and we could choose to give more or less. They also collect for teacher and assistant birthdays and teacher’s appreciation.

In VA public school teachers are not allowed to accept gifts at or valued at anything over $100 total FOR THE YEAR. They can lose their job if they do. I suspect enforcement is low on that, but it puts the teacher in an awkward spot of maybe having to turn down a gift if it's too pricey.

But this is a class gift pool, not an individual gift.

NP. Right, but the $100 per child the PP mentioned is maxing out what that family can give that teacher for the whole school year. So nothing additional for teacher appreciation week, end of the year, etc would be allowed.

The answer the OP, I don’t give teacher gifts. My kids make small handmade gifts & cards for them. I do volunteer for teachers a lot, though.

[Anonymous]

I spend about $25 per teacher for elementary. Usually a combo of a gift card to somewhere they like (our PTA has teachers fill out a Favorite Things survey early in the year) and a regiftable item, with a note from my kids. We don’t give to specials teachers every year, but this year I’m doing $10 gift cards (total, not per kid) with handwritten cards.

My youngest’s preschool does a voluntary gift pool with a suggested amount of $30 per kid (that covers lead teachers, aides, and the director).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do $100 per child, but my children’s school does a pool so it’s from the whole classroom. I greatly prefer this as I want to be generous (they do so much!) but don’t want to be seen as trying to curry favor.

Is that even allowed?

Why wouldn’t it be? I just got a room parent email last week with suggested amount of $50 per kid. But this was just a suggested amount and we could choose to give more or less. They also collect for teacher and assistant birthdays and teacher’s appreciation.

In VA public school teachers are not allowed to accept gifts at or valued at anything over $100 total FOR THE YEAR. They can lose their job if they do. I suspect enforcement is low on that, but it puts the teacher in an awkward spot of maybe having to turn down a gift if it's too pricey.

But this is a class gift pool, not an individual gift.

NP. Right, but the $100 per child the PP mentioned is maxing out what that family can give that teacher for the whole school year. So nothing additional for teacher appreciation week, end of the year, etc would be allowed.

The answer the OP, I don’t give teacher gifts. My kids make small handmade gifts & cards for them. I do volunteer for teachers a lot, though.

I doubt each parent in the pool is maxing out and giving $100. And typically people don’t keep track of what amount each family gave, just whether they donated to the pool. So OP could give $100 to the pool (basically giving extra to cover other family who won’t give or who give under the suggested amount), but still give at the end of the year.

[Anonymous]

So if you are part of the class pool to provide the teacher a gift, do you give another, individual gift from the student?

[Anonymous]

None. Most parents do not give, BTW, or give very little (much less than the amounts given on this wealthy board).

Gifts are optional. If you want to throw money out of the window, sure, go ahead. But if you don’t feel like it, it’s not a sin or social faux-pas to give nothing.

[Anonymous]

None. I just can’t get on board with teacher gifts. Christmas, teacher appriciation week, end of year…just no. My kids write notes of appreciation, but no gifts or gift cards

[Anonymous]

$100 to each teacher.