13:06 here. Also, I write a thank you note on a holiday card for each of the people I give gifts to.

I'm just going to answer this and avoid all the arguing.

We have one child in the pre-k classroom at a center. He switched teachers at the end of the summer. We give Target gift cards, which we have had feedback that the teachers appreciate. We gave $50 to his current teacher and $40 each to the two teachers he had earlier in the year (they each got $50 last year). We gave $15 gift cards to nine different floaters and other teachers that I know interact with my child at various times. We gave $20 to the parent organization fund (they did that for the first time this year and that was the suggested amount per family) that set up a breakfast and gift cards for all staff. We also bring in a big bag of snacks/candy/goodies for all the office staff to share. All together spent about $350.

I think its interesting how everyone buys into the idea that a Christmas gift (and particularly the amount of the gift) is a reflection of how much you appreciate your child's teachers. I suppose there is nothing wrong with this philosophy, but it somehow doesn't feel quite right to me to give cash as a Christmas gift to show my appreciation. Nor does it seem right to suggest that those who don't give a certain amount of money as a gift aren't doing enough to show teachers that you care. For me, Christmas gift giving is really about spreading joy and celebrating the season. I understand that day care teachers are not well compensated but if that's really the issue we are trying to address, why not provide assistance to them throughout the year if you can afford to do so?

Also it seems as though 11:18 is stating exactly what you are saying. Give what you can and show how much the care givers mean to your family.

^^How do you know that the parent who doesn't contribute to the "class" gift doesn't give her own personal gift aside from the class?
We contributed to both the class gift this year and gave another personal gift because we could. I don't think anyone knew we gave a personal gift.

I'm the room mom here again. 11:18, here's the deal. Sorry you can't afford more. I do pay around 3k a month for two kids, and while money doesn't grow on trees (or in a savings account at this point, sadly), we are prioritizing giving to the people who truly love and care for our kids at daycare. Case in point, we made cookies the other night for my oldest to give to her teachers. She INSISTED that we give last year's classroom teachers cookies, too. These people kiss boo boos, create fun, and care about the well being of my kiddos. I'd eat pbj's for a week before I wouldn't show them some form of my appreciation.

The other rub? One of the families who NEVER contributes to anything has the cash. I just went to the kid's birthday party at the zoo ($400- and the Mom loudly let everyone know that's how much it cost since they "included everyone's siblings") and we've been over to their newly renovated house with the two luxury cars out front. Could they be swimming in debt? Absolutely. But you'd be damn sure that it rubs me the wrong way when I overheard the Dad saying, "Christmas gift? I don't get a Christmas gift from my employer!"

So perhaps my frustration is misguided. It's not at the people who don't give or give small amounts because that's what they can afford. It's the entitled yuppie parents who think that the "help" doesn't deserve it. Give what you can. But think about the impact those teachers have on your kiddos. Generosity is a good thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this questions has been asked a hundred times, but I'm getting conflicting advice from friends. Do people generally give smaller amounts to center teachers? This is our first holiday at a center- previously we had a home daycare with only two providers. There, we gave 1/2 of a week's tuition to both which amounted to almost $500 each. I was thinking the same for the center - just $1000 split between 7 teachers (four in my one year DD's room and the two teachers in my oldest DD's room). Is this the norm?

You paid $4000/mo for an in home daycare

You could have hired a nanny.

NP. Many of us don't want nannies, even though we can afford them. Social interaction; set lessons/activities/structure; no caregiver-is-sick-today scramble; several adults on premises at all times; no TV.

I'm assuming $4K/month is for more than 1 or 2 kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this questions has been asked a hundred times, but I'm getting conflicting advice from friends. Do people generally give smaller amounts to center teachers? This is our first holiday at a center- previously we had a home daycare with only two providers. There, we gave 1/2 of a week's tuition to both which amounted to almost $500 each. I was thinking the same for the center - just $1000 split between 7 teachers (four in my one year DD's room and the two teachers in my oldest DD's room). Is this the norm?

You paid $4000/mo for an in home daycare

You could have hired a nanny.

I gave $100 each to three teachers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We give $100 per teacher. That's the norm at our center too. A $15 gift card is offensive IMO. These people take care of your kids all day every day.

It seems as though this same comment has been posted on every one of these threads. I can not think of a person who would be offended by any form of gift card. And if they are they don't deserve it. I hope that our care providers are appreciative. This entire discussion of gift giving to providers varies GREATLY through this entire region. We are in Fairfax county and have always given lead teachers 50$ and assistants $25 and have had two in daycare centers for the at least 8 years(carrying from 1-4 teachers in each room infant-preK). Now it is just our youngest of three in care. The teachers have been very appreciative send notes and pictures each and every year. It is what we can afford and believe me I TELL them how much I appreciate the wonderful care they give my children.

I agree with the previous poster. If your kids are in center daycare, you can afford more than $15 at the holidays. We pay $4k/mo! Give me a break - these teachers deserve th world.

No, I'm not going to give you a break. Everyone is different and every center is different in price. We pay 1K a month at our center-I clearly don't live where you live. These posts are ALL relative to peoples financial situations. Its is great you can afford a 4K/ month center and it is wonderful that you can afford to give more to your teachers but please do not say things like "give me a break". There are ways to show appreciation to providers that are big and small.

When DD was in daycare, each family used to give $25 into a pool. We had about 24 kids in class, which came out to $600 that was shared with 6 teachers or $100 each.

At our school, the director and admin people do receive gift cards and some goodies.

$75 in gift cards to each of the three teachers in my toddler's room with a few little treats in a gift bag (technically there's a lead teacher, but the other two are there just as much).

She's been there since the fall and we'll probably give something between $50-$100/teacher when she transitions out of that room next fall.

Do people get anything for the admin folks, generally?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the room mom for a close-in burb center with a long waiting list.

It's amazing how cheap people are. I get that things can be tight, but like one PP pointed out- these ladies are with our kids more during the week than we are. And at centers, even with exorbitant tuition - there isn't a trickle down. These workers are not making very much money.

I ended up throwing in close to $300 so that both of the main teachers and the two floaters could have a respectable gift.

You have no idea what people's financial situations are on this board. We don't have an extra $300 to give to the caregivers at our child's center. We pay the cost to send him there and we were able to pull together a little extra to buy a small gift and include a nice card for each of them. That doesn't make us cheap, it's what we could afford. So keep your uninformed, insensitive, judgmental thoughts to yourself.

+1 it blows my mind how detached from reality some people are. Get off your high horse and realize that some people don't have $300 left at the end of the month to spend on gifts, no matter how much we appreciate our teachers. Imagine these teachers who you say don't make much giving $300 to their kids teachers - I guarantee you they don't.

I see your point, and I, too, don't have that cash at the end of the month. Which is why I started a savings goal literally in June and have been stuffing in $10 here, $20 there...

In the words of Dave Ramsey, "Christmas is not an emergency. It's held on the same day every year." I'm not saying you need to give more; I am challenging your "it all rides on the month of December budget" mentality.

Why plan ahead when you can just complain?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We give $100 per teacher. That's the norm at our center too. A $15 gift card is offensive IMO. These people take care of your kids all day every day.

It seems as though this same comment has been posted on every one of these threads. I can not think of a person who would be offended by any form of gift card. And if they are they don't deserve it. I hope that our care providers are appreciative. This entire discussion of gift giving to providers varies GREATLY through this entire region. We are in Fairfax county and have always given lead teachers 50$ and assistants $25 and have had two in daycare centers for the at least 8 years(carrying from 1-4 teachers in each room infant-preK). Now it is just our youngest of three in care. The teachers have been very appreciative send notes and pictures each and every year. It is what we can afford and believe me I TELL them how much I appreciate the wonderful care they give my children.

I agree with the previous poster. If your kids are in center daycare, you can afford more than $15 at the holidays. We pay $4k/mo! Give me a break - these teachers deserve th world.