1. Beach Basket Bonanza
The best teacher or school-bus-driver end-of-the-year gift was a beach bag with beach towels, flip-flops, sunglasses, citronella candles, paperback books, an insulated water bottle holder, plastic tablecloths, paper plates, napkins, cups, sunscreen, moisturizer, bug spray, red nail polish (for summer toes!), and coupons for Italian ice at a local shop.
2. Books, Classroom Materials
We gave a much-appreciated gift certificate from a local book store accompanied by a handmade bookmark from my son.
Variation: A great idea is a gift certificate to a teachers' supply store. Teachers often spend their own money on items for school, and this makes it a little easier!
3. Ice Cream Basket
We included two ice-cream parfait glasses with colored tissue paper inside, an ice cream scooper tied with multi-colored ribbons, hot fudge topping, caramel topping, colored sprinkles, nuts, a jar of cherries, and a certificate to an ice cream parlor -- all in a small basket with a "You're the Tops" card.
4. Maid Service
As a teacher the sweetest gift I ever received was four hours of maid service. The reason behind the gift is what made it so special. Whenever a child was picked up late I would tease them about coming home with me and washing my floor or doing my laundry. A few Christmases ago my 2nd-grade class sat me in front of the room and each child stood up and said, "I could wash your floor ..." "I could do your laundry ..." etc. The last student said, "But our moms wouldn't let us, so we got you this!" Then the whole class came up and handed me a card with a gift certificate for four hours of a cleaning service. I was never so touched by another gift. The class incorporated a joke I had with them and made it personal and memorable. I will never forget that class or that moment.
5. Movie Night
I am a teacher as well as a mom. I receive wonderful gifts from my students each year, but one of the most creative gifts I received was a "movie night" kit wrapped in a popcorn box (from the theater). Inside were several packages of microwave popcorn, Twizzlers, Junior Mints, and Dots, and gift cards to a local video store! It was a gift that my family enjoyed as much as I did.
6. Spas & Spoiling
Before school ended we gave our teacher a $100 gift certificate to a local day spa where she could induldge in a facial, manicure, pedicure, massage -- whatever she chose. We included a brochure listing their services along with the gift certificate. Each family was asked to contribute $5 -- an easy way to give a nice gift.
Variation: We purchased a gift certificate for a manicure, and on the card we wrote "This is for you -- after all, your hands are molding the future. Enjoy!" She loved it. We have talked about maybe switching it to a pedicure this year and including this note: "Please enjoy this gift for you. After all, you are busy changing lives ... let someone else change your polish."
7. Welcome Basket
To welcome a new teacher to her school, my daughter and I made a gift basket. We baked zucchini bread so she would have something special for dinner. We made her some bath salts (3/4 cup epsom salts, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 1/2 cups coarse sea salts, 10 drops of essential oils, and 2-3 drops of vegetable food coloring) placed in a canning jar and covered with fabric. We also included bead magnets made from a bead kit (arrange beads in a design, then iron into place and apply a magnet), themed note pads, and stickers. The teacher was quite pleased!
