Daycare Teacher Gifts

sparklepants41

Hello! It's my first time having daycare teachers (well, since I was 4 lol). Babypants has two regular daycare teachers in the Infant 1 room, and then there are two teachers from Infant 2 who help out from time to time. I have a budget of $15-$20 per teacher. What do I get them? And since there are two regulars and two occasionals do I get them all the same? Do I even bother with the occasionals since I don't even know them? If I don't get the occasionals gifts I can go up to $25 to $30 each but I'm still at a loss for what to get them...

I don't know their hobbies at all since we only see them for about 5 minutes each morning (H who does drop off) and 10-15 minutes each evening (me)

edited because I had premature posting 

banana468

I go for gift cards to Dunkin.  Our daycare teachers live off it!   

WinstonsGirl

As a teacher, IF I'm getting anything (the joys of junior high versus elementary), I prefer gift cards or home made baking.  Even with the small number of thank you's I get, I still have too many teacher mugs/ornaments/signs/etc. than I need.  Either something like local coffee chain (yay for Timmies!!) or a local restaurant, movie passes.  

6fsn

I do $25 target gift cards (district max) with a few prewrapped biscotti or some other prewrapped edible that can hold.  For specials teachers, probably your equivalent of a floater, I do $5(10 if both kids have them) to target. A lot of my teacher friends don't like the homemade foods or trinkets so I don't do it. 

ILoveBeachMusic

As a former teacher, I second a gift card to a coffee shop or restaurant. 

ei34

Ditto gift cards to either Starbucks/DD (ifyou know their preferences...maybe H would since he sees them in the morning?) or Target.  

*Barbie*

We would do a g/c to Target, Starbucks, Dunkin, or a local movie theater in the 20-25 range. I would skip the floaters if you don't know them. 

sparklepants41

Thank you all!! Love these suggestions!

One of her teachers is pregnant, so maybe I'll get her a Buy Buy Baby gift card (there's one up the street from the school). 

Had to edit the post title because sleep deprivation combined with this cold are starting to make me lose it lol

6fsn

I wondered about the post title. 

kvruns

I had to laugh because I had these exact same questions to my Bump board. It is so hard to figure out especially with having some subs/floaters who are sometimes in there and sometimes not. Combine that with baby B moving rooms soon and I was all sorts of confused.

You could ask the director if they have a list of who is in there and any things they might like. Our director made a list of who is in each room (but it didn't include which floaters go in which rooms) and then each teacher filled out an "About Me" type of thing that includes favorite stores, hobbies, food/snacks/drinks, etc. 

I am definitely doing his 2 main teachers (there might be a 3rd too I'm so confused as I think she got moved again). One has babysat for us and been there his whole time vs the other who is newer so I'll probably give the one he's closest to something bigger (originally her last day was going to be Nov 30 so I was getting her a going away gift but now she's staying so it will be Christmas). I'm on the fence about floaters as it seems to change from week to week, although I might do $5-10 gift cards somewhere from their lists.

Similarly I'm not sure about the front desk people or director. They are ladies I talk to on the way in/out and have had some convos with but I'm not sure. 

sparklepants41

kvruns said:

I had to laugh because I had these exact same questions to my Bump board. It is so hard to figure out especially with having some subs/floaters who are sometimes in there and sometimes not. Combine that with baby B moving rooms soon and I was all sorts of confused.

You could ask the director if they have a list of who is in there and any things they might like. Our director made a list of who is in each room (but it didn't include which floaters go in which rooms) and then each teacher filled out an "About Me" type of thing that includes favorite stores, hobbies, food/snacks/drinks, etc. 

I am definitely doing his 2 main teachers (there might be a 3rd too I'm so confused as I think she got moved again). One has babysat for us and been there his whole time vs the other who is newer so I'll probably give the one he's closest to something bigger (originally her last day was going to be Nov 30 so I was getting her a going away gift but now she's staying so it will be Christmas). I'm on the fence about floaters as it seems to change from week to week, although I might do $5-10 gift cards somewhere from their lists.

Similarly I'm not sure about the front desk people or director. They are ladies I talk to on the way in/out and have had some convos with but I'm not sure. 

I had initially thought about the front desk person and director. However, I am leaning towards not getting them gifts because the front desk person really only deals with billing and the director doesn't really do much at all with any of the classrooms - she pinch-hits for a bit here and there, but really is more in charge of operations. For the front staff I may bring in some goodies for all of them to share. 

southernbelle0915

When babybelle was in the infant room, I got everyone gifts (the same gift) because I didn't really know what was what. 

This year, I'll be doing the main teachers and then doing a plate of cookies/treats or something for the float teachers. 

I'll probably do a gift card to one of the restaurants near the center so they can get lunch or something. There's a starbucks, a chipotle, a panera, and some local restaurants where they like to go for lunch. 

MissKittyDanger

Gift card always safe. I know there's a gift card here that covers a few stores in the same family company, so depending on what you're looking at price wise that might be a good idea.

Otherwise coffee place is always good At least if they don't do coffee, gift card covers tea, hot chocolate and maybe even a snack depending on amount!

banana468

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

MissKittyDanger

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

lnixon8

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

I mean it's fair but how does banana know that? That's what harsh about it.**ETA: Like did she tell a mom with a plate of cookies that to her face? I would stop getting her anything** I get not being wasteful but as a high school teacher I'm grateful they think of me...if I'm questioning cleanliness I either give to another student, teacher or trash it.

kvruns

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

My H doesn't participate in pitch ins at work because he says he doesn't trust how clean people are.  This coming from the same man who makes his sandwich by putting the bread and meat directly on the kitchen counter but rarely even cleans said counter

banana468

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

MissKittyDanger

banana468 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

While above PP's also make sense, what if the child has food allergies and making is just safer than buying? That would be my only concern. I know they have nut free, gluten free, etc things bought at stores but I know a few people with those allergies and they don't trust the baked goods 100% 

banana468

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

While above PP's also make sense, what if the child has food allergies and making is just safer than buying? That would be my only concern. I know they have nut free, gluten free, etc things bought at stores but I know a few people with those allergies and they don't trust the baked goods 100% 

I hear you.   I think if you have a kid with severe allergies you're allowed to send food in for your own child.   It's when you want to bring 15 cupcakes or treats.   Those need to be pre-packaged.

As it is, there are no more birthday foods in Chiquita's school.   Frankly, I welcome it.

southernbelle0915

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

I'm going with fair (mostly) because this is what I think of when I think of potlucks and other people's homemade stuff:



Don't get me wrong, I'll be a good sport about it....but I steer toward the "safe" stuff - like fruit trays and things without meat.

southernbelle0915

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

While above PP's also make sense, what if the child has food allergies and making is just safer than buying? That would be my only concern. I know they have nut free, gluten free, etc things bought at stores but I know a few people with those allergies and they don't trust the baked goods 100% 

Our daycare is strictly no nuts. The whole building. One time, I brought in babybelle snacking on some peanut butter crackers and got scolded. I just forgot. It never happened again.

But in terms of birthday treats, they just tell you if any kids in the particular class have allergies outside of nuts. It doesn't have to be store bought. Parents are allowed to say "my kid can't have anything homemade" and then that kid just doesn't get the treat. But that's the parent's decision.

lovesclimbing

banana468 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

WHAT? So the school is essentially saying, "the possibility that someone maybe licked a finger in the middle of making without washing is worse for kids than the processed crap that's in store bought food and who cares if people don't want to  waste money on buying goods instead of cooking your own."

Totally makes sense. 

banana468

lovesclimbing said:

banana468 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

WHAT? So the school is essentially saying, "the possibility that someone maybe licked a finger in the middle of making without washing is worse for kids than the processed crap that's in store bought food and who cares if people don't want to  waste money on buying goods instead of cooking your own."

Totally makes sense. 

Yeah....That's NOT what they're saying but way to jump on that Jump To Conclusions mat. 

In your home you simply cannot certify that your produced goods are gluten free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan, or whatever.

Did I keep the cookie mix next to the peanuts in my cabinet?   Did they come out after I gave my kid peanut butter?  Was the baking pan previously used for a recipe that has gluten and now I'm attempting to make GF?  Is it possible that there was dairy in the food mix even though I only used oil and one egg to make the cupcakes?  When you bring in store bought food there has to be a list of ingredients and a mark of what potential allergens are contained. 

You simply can't do that in your house and if you take the liability of feeding a group of kids at an age where there are far more allergies, you need to stop the flow of goods that may be possibly contaminated.   It's their way of safe guarding and I actually like it even though my kids haven't been diagnosed with any allergies.  

short+sassy

banana468 said:

lovesclimbing said:

WHAT? So the school is essentially saying, "the possibility that someone maybe licked a finger in the middle of making without washing is worse for kids than the processed crap that's in store bought food and who cares if people don't want to  waste money on buying goods instead of cooking your own."

Totally makes sense. 

Yeah....That's NOT what they're saying but way to jump on that Jump To Conclusions mat. 

In your home you simply cannot certify that your produced goods are gluten free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan, or whatever.

Did I keep the cookie mix next to the peanuts in my cabinet?   Did they come out after I gave my kid peanut butter?  Was the baking pan previously used for a recipe that has gluten and now I'm attempting to make GF?  Is it possible that there was dairy in the food mix even though I only used oil and one egg to make the cupcakes?  When you bring in store bought food there has to be a list of ingredients and a mark of what potential allergens are contained. 

You simply can't do that in your house and if you take the liability of feeding a group of kids at an age where there are far more allergies, you need to stop the flow of goods that may be possibly contaminated.   It's their way of safe guarding and I actually like it even though my kids haven't been diagnosed with any allergies.  

To an extent, I can see both points.  It's just...sad.  Sad that allergies have become such an epidemic that it can be dangerous for parents to bring homemade goods...which are largely going to be healthier, cheaper, and better tasting.  But I understand schools wanting to err on the side of caution.

It didn't used to be this way .  When I was in elementary school (late 70's-mid 80's), there were only a handful of children that had nut allergies in a school of over 600 kids.  And none of them were a severe enough allergy that they couldn't be around nuts.  They just couldn't eat them.  PB&J was the typical school lunch.  Homemade cupcakes or cookies were the norm that children brought when it was their birthday.

I thought maybe it was just my imagination that things are different.  Because I was just a kid.  But I looked it up last year.  It's not my imagination.  From what I read, allergies have been increasing at an alarming rate for the last couple of decades.  Especially with children.  And, although there are theories about this, scientists really don't know why.

charlotte989875

banana468 said:

lovesclimbing said:

banana468 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

WHAT? So the school is essentially saying, "the possibility that someone maybe licked a finger in the middle of making without washing is worse for kids than the processed crap that's in store bought food and who cares if people don't want to  waste money on buying goods instead of cooking your own."

Totally makes sense. 

Yeah....That's NOT what they're saying but way to jump on that Jump To Conclusions mat. 

In your home you simply cannot certify that your produced goods are gluten free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan, or whatever.

Did I keep the cookie mix next to the peanuts in my cabinet?   Did they come out after I gave my kid peanut butter?  Was the baking pan previously used for a recipe that has gluten and now I'm attempting to make GF?  Is it possible that there was dairy in the food mix even though I only used oil and one egg to make the cupcakes?  When you bring in store bought food there has to be a list of ingredients and a mark of what potential allergens are contained. 

You simply can't do that in your house and if you take the liability of feeding a group of kids at an age where there are far more allergies, you need to stop the flow of goods that may be possibly contaminated.   It's their way of safe guarding and I actually like it even though my kids haven't been diagnosed with any allergies.  

My niece had severe food allergies as a young kid. Like carry an epipen and teach-everyone-who-spends-time-in-the-house-where-it-is-and-how-to-use-it servere allergies. She's repeatedly said how much peace of mind it gave her to know that no unknown foods were coming into daycare. Maybe it seems ridiculous but it was the difference between her worrying her kid might die everyday and not. 

She's outgrown many of the allergies and the severity has waned significantly as she's gotten older, but it was a pretty scary time. 

banana468

charlotte989875 said:

banana468 said:

lovesclimbing said:

banana468 said:

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

FWIW, I've thought about making things / baked goods but I know of one daycare teacher who flat out refuses to eat homemade items simply because she doesn't know how clean people are in their kitchen.   

I'm torn between thinking "that's fair" and "that's harsh"

Yeah....it's reality.   

As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties.   Anything contributed needs to be store bought.  

WHAT? So the school is essentially saying, "the possibility that someone maybe licked a finger in the middle of making without washing is worse for kids than the processed crap that's in store bought food and who cares if people don't want to  waste money on buying goods instead of cooking your own."

Totally makes sense. 

Yeah....That's NOT what they're saying but way to jump on that Jump To Conclusions mat. 

In your home you simply cannot certify that your produced goods are gluten free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan, or whatever.

Did I keep the cookie mix next to the peanuts in my cabinet?   Did they come out after I gave my kid peanut butter?  Was the baking pan previously used for a recipe that has gluten and now I'm attempting to make GF?  Is it possible that there was dairy in the food mix even though I only used oil and one egg to make the cupcakes?  When you bring in store bought food there has to be a list of ingredients and a mark of what potential allergens are contained. 

You simply can't do that in your house and if you take the liability of feeding a group of kids at an age where there are far more allergies, you need to stop the flow of goods that may be possibly contaminated.   It's their way of safe guarding and I actually like it even though my kids haven't been diagnosed with any allergies.  

My niece had severe food allergies as a young kid. Like carry an epipen and teach-everyone-who-spends-time-in-the-house-where-it-is-and-how-to-use-it servere allergies. She's repeatedly said how much peace of mind it gave her to know that no unknown foods were coming into daycare. Maybe it seems ridiculous but it was the difference between her worrying her kid might die everyday and not. 

She's outgrown many of the allergies and the severity has waned significantly as she's gotten older, but it was a pretty scary time. 

Yeah - we just had our huge annual party in our house.   In the last year we've had multiple friends come over with peanut allergies, coeliac disease and gluten intolerance plus dairy issues.

Some friends simply avoided our party entirely when we said that our turkey was fried in peanut oil.  We moved to fry in canola and then sought other items to prepare that were GF however I'm not going to certify that there's zero possibility of contaminants. 

And kids are GROSS.    You can't trust even a school-aged child to stop putting things in the mouth that don't belong. 

6fsn

My kids have snack in their classrooms and they move around seats.  They are not allowed to take snacks that contain nuts or were processed in a facility with nuts.  My mom was appalled at first. Then I said it was better for my kid to eat chex mix than for a kid to die. 

Preschool used to allow homemade foods with my oldest.  Then it was processed with fresh fruit or veggies brought by a parent.  Now it's only one processed snack.  As long as I don't have to give it or clean it up I'm fine with it.

I have so many allergies in my religion class.  We usually do a party with some sort of treat.  This year we're doing a craft instead and I'm sending home a prepackaged treat.  My allergy parents thanked me.

MissKittyDanger

banana468 said:

charlotte989875 said:

My niece had severe food allergies as a young kid. Like carry an epipen and teach-everyone-who-spends-time-in-the-house-where-it-is-and-how-to-use-it servere allergies. She's repeatedly said how much peace of mind it gave her to know that no unknown foods were coming into daycare. Maybe it seems ridiculous but it was the difference between her worrying her kid might die everyday and not. 

She's outgrown many of the allergies and the severity has waned significantly as she's gotten older, but it was a pretty scary time. 

Yeah - we just had our huge annual party in our house.   In the last year we've had multiple friends come over with peanut allergies, coeliac disease and gluten intolerance plus dairy issues.

Some friends simply avoided our party entirely when we said that our turkey was fried in peanut oil.  We moved to fry in canola and then sought other items to prepare that were GF however I'm not going to certify that there's zero possibility of contaminants. 

And kids are GROSS.    You can't trust even a school-aged child to stop putting things in the mouth that don't belong. 

My friend has friends who also suffer from allergies. Majority of them don't have kids {at least none that would be the age of getting into things, or just out of the age of getting into things}
Typically what she requests is if you're making something, write down the ingredients. Not like "2 eggs, cup of milk" kind. More like eggs; milk; sugar; etc

banana468

MissKittyDanger said:

banana468 said:

charlotte989875 said:

My niece had severe food allergies as a young kid. Like carry an epipen and teach-everyone-who-spends-time-in-the-house-where-it-is-and-how-to-use-it servere allergies. She's repeatedly said how much peace of mind it gave her to know that no unknown foods were coming into daycare. Maybe it seems ridiculous but it was the difference between her worrying her kid might die everyday and not. 

She's outgrown many of the allergies and the severity has waned significantly as she's gotten older, but it was a pretty scary time. 

Yeah - we just had our huge annual party in our house.   In the last year we've had multiple friends come over with peanut allergies, coeliac disease and gluten intolerance plus dairy issues.

Some friends simply avoided our party entirely when we said that our turkey was fried in peanut oil.  We moved to fry in canola and then sought other items to prepare that were GF however I'm not going to certify that there's zero possibility of contaminants. 

And kids are GROSS.    You can't trust even a school-aged child to stop putting things in the mouth that don't belong. 

My friend has friends who also suffer from allergies. Majority of them don't have kids {at least none that would be the age of getting into things, or just out of the age of getting into things}
Typically what she requests is if you're making something, write down the ingredients. Not like "2 eggs, cup of milk" kind. More like eggs; milk; sugar; etc

Yeah - good friend did that for our event and we wrote "GF muffins" or "Full of gluten muffins" for items on the table.

That said, we don't do a lot to prevent cross contamination.   So if your allergy is so bad that a spec of gluten could be an issue I'd rather you not eat here because I simply can't verify it.  

Ditto for something with dairy or nuts.   I know people who have allergies so bad that they can start to get puffy touching the bag that contains the allergen.   I just can't claim that my items are that allergen free.   

OliveOilsMom

Thank you for posting this Sparkle!  I've been thinking about this myself.  DD is also close to moving up to the Infant B class, which could potentially be before Christmas.

I asked my friend with 2 kids and she said to give gifts to the 2 teachers now and not to get anything for the new teachers if she moves up before Christmas.  Penzeys has some assorted gift sets of spices.  I've been thinking of getting them for her teachers.  I'm also thinking of doing gift cards instead.  I will probably bring in a container of cookies for the front desk and DDs room, so the extra helpers will have something too.  I plan to send everything in a few weeks as I'm sure they get overwhelmed with gifts/food closer to the holiday.

As for the allergies.  DDs daycare is store bought only.  I was a little bummed because I love baking and baking up a batch of cupcakes or whatever is easy for me.  But I understand why I cannot.  I don't want to be responsible for accidentally sending a child into anaphylactic shock.