1. Home-Delivered Food
Last Christmas, I made several batches of our family's secret recipe for cinnamon rolls in disposable cook-and-serve trays with lids. I put the icing in a Ziploc bag on top of the rolls, wrapped a large bow around the tray, and enclosed a card with instructions for heating. I also wrote that they could request one additional batch at any time in the future. The teachers later told me they began their Christmas with my family in mind and the rolls in their stomachs. The other batches were requested for Easter celebrations!
Variation: We coordinated two meal nights for my son's teacher. Different parents were assigned the main dish, salad, side dish, and dessert. Yet another family delivered it to the teacher. It was a fun thing to do, and our son's teacher and her family loved the idea (and not having to cook for two nights during the schoolweek)!
Variation: My best gift was actually for the end of the year when teachers are extra busy with report cards, programs, and packing up classrooms for the summer, but it would work for any season. I prepared a full meal in foil baking dishes complete with entree, veggie, salad, homebaked bread, and even a bottle of wine. At the teacher's convenience, I delivered the meal to her home with directions on baking time. She was thrilled to have one less meal to worry about preparing for her family during such a busy time.
2. Lunch Delivered to School
Just before Christmas break, we send a card to the teachers telling them that our gift to them will be lunch in January. They pick out what they'd like to eat from a short menu of my best recipes. Then we choose a school day in January to deliver a home-cooked lunch. My kids help make the dessert and take it to their teachers that morning. Then I deliver the rest of the lunch at noon. The response from the teachers is always wonderful. After months of brown-bag lunches and cafeteria food, they are delighted to have some home cooking!
3. Luncheon in Your Home
At the end of each school year we have a luncheon at our home for all my children's teachers/principals. My oldest child, in 8th grade, still enjoys talking with his kindergarten teacher. The teachers really enjoy this time spent with our family outside of the school environment. Not all of the teachers can attend every year, but we always have a good turnout. We have done this for eight years now, and my children look forward to it every year.
4. Pasta Bowl with Recipe and Fixings
For a teacher who loves to cook, my daughter and I went to a paint-your-own-pottery place and chose a large bowl. My daughter put her handprints on it and painted the rest of it. Then we filled it with a recipe for a delicious lemon pasta and added a pasta server, pasta, and some lemons. Her teacher really liked the present and said in a thank-you that she leaves the bowl out on her counter and thinks of my daughter whenever she sees it.
5. Sun Tea Jar with Iced-Tea Mixes
A great end-of-the-year teacher gift is a sun tea jar (the ones with a spout). I put colored tissue paper inside the jar and fill the jar with a variety of iced-tea and lemonade mixes and add a little raffia tie to the lid with a homemade tag. Cute, easy, and a great way to kick off the summer.
6. Teapot with Teas and Cookies
As a small indulgence for my child's teacher, we purchased a small teapot, the kind with the mug on the bottom and the teapot that fits on top, with a small dish for the used teabag. We included a box of special cookies and an assortment of herbal teas.
