Conference moira::parenting_v3

    
    Ten teacher presents because of 2 preschoolers seems excessive. Three ideas.
    Possibly have the kid give a present "to the classroom" on behalf of
    the teachers, i.e. a book or toy that the child likes and wants to
    share with the school.  A different approach giving things the child
    made, like pictures (effectively turning the tables on the complaints
    in the string on gifts made by kids).  Finally, something simple, 
    cheap, and uniform; Eric decided 3 teachers needed presents from him
    this year, and each is getting a chocolate bar (imported!).
    
    		- Bruce
    

    I am thinking simple, cheap and uniform.  I just hoped to be 
    creative, simple, cheap and uniform!  Gee, is that asking too much?
    
    T.
    

    How about reusing your Christmas ornament idea from the birthday party
    note?  I thought that wa fabulous (not to mention "creative, simple
    cheap and uniform!")
    
    Carol
    
    p.s.  noisey line....igore the control characters!

    
    I bought several red, apple tree ornaments (3 for a $1.00).
    They come in varying sizes, I got ones that are about 2 1/2"
    across.  

    I use a Fine Tip, Silver, Permanent Marker (Pilot and DecoColor
    are two brands that I have used), and print the teacher's name
    on one side of the apple, the year on the other.

    I figure it's appropriate because it's an apple.  It can be put
    away and then used again next year, solving the teacher's dilemma
    of what to do with all the trinkets the students give *and* it's
    inexpensive.  You can do all ten teachers for under $4.00. 

    They look great, in fact, I've had requests from neighbors to 
    make some for them as well.  If you buy an Extra Fine tip marker,
    you can add your child's name on the bottom of the apple.  

    Of course, this would generally apply to only your non-Jewish 
    teachers and caregivers.

    Happy Holidays,
    Jodi

    How about getting some of those small tins and getting some cookies
    from the bakery or candies (Xmas M&M's, etc) to fill them up? The 
    Christmas tins are on sale now but you might be able to find a tin 
    to be used all year round (either in their home for jewelry or at the 
    school as a pencil holder).
    
    Do people normally buy a gift for the director? The director of my
    son's previous daycare didn't deserve one, in my opinion. It is the
    girls/ladies who do all the day-to-day hard work and teaching of my
    son, not the director. 
                                                                      
    We have just moved home from England and my son is in his second week
    at his new daycare. Since I don't feel any "strong" attachments yet to
    the center, I'm a little confused myself on whether to get "gifts" but
    I intend to contribute "heavily" for the Christmas lunch - main meal,
    dessert and candy (and hopefully the candies will remain for the
    teachers, I'm sure the kids will have enough sugar that day).
    
    Andrea

    Last year my son was in a home daycare situation, I bought her a gift
    certificate to a book store.  She bought herself a book and a special
    book to share with the children.  Of course this won't work with ten
    teachers, heavens I'm having trouble buying for AJ's two teachers this
    year!
    
    Maybe it's time to go home and do a batch of jelly or molded chocolate,
    good grief you'd think someone would invent a 30 hour day just for the
    month of December!!
    
    Lyn

    
    My daughter has a Primary teacher in her pre-school that has travelled
    with the class from the Toddler group to the pre-school.  This teacher
    is an extraordinary person and my daughter is crazy about her.  She is
    also the owner/director of the center.  I got her a gift certificate to
    Land's End--the equivalent of a weeks cost of daycare (my daughter goes
    there part-time). 
    
    There is another teacher there that my daughter also loves, but this
    teacher is the toddler teacher.  She "subs" in the pre-school room on
    occassion.  I got her 1/2 lb. of candy at "Wild About Chocolate" in
    Acton (fancy, Godiva-like chocolates).
    
    I've noticed other parents getting their children's teachers everything
    from gift certificates, to cash, to homeade candy, to store-bought
    candy, to a gift of a nice toy for the center.  It seems to be whatever
    the pocketbook can afford and what each parent thinks is fair.
    
    I didn't give anything last year.  Hannah had just started there about
    2 or 3 weeks before the holidays and I didn't feel it was necesssary to
    give just for the sake of giving.  This year however, I felt quite
    differently, after seeing the place in action....
    
    Bonnie
    
    

    I have bought novelty soaps, bubble bath and talcs (Disney characters,
    Thomas the Tank Engine, Snowman etc) for the teachers/carers at my 
    daughter's day-care.  Each item was fairly inexpensive, so I didn't run
    up too much of a bill.  The presents are "from" Alison - but at 18
    months she's too young to choose presents herself, but I thought that 
    cartoon characters might be something she would choose if she were old 
    enough. I decided against buying chocolates/cookies/candies because
    theres so much of that sort of stuff around at Christmas, but even if 
    you get 10 soaps and bubble baths, you can generally use them up 
    throughout the year.
    
    - Janet  

    The apple ornament idea sounds great!
    
    My kids' school (Tollhouse in Merrimack/Bedford NH) asked that gifts to
    them be deferred to a specific channel for needy families, in their
    name.
    
    I wanted to give something little that involved the kids, so they made
    bookmarks for the teachers, using rubber stamps.  Sally (5) spelled her
    teachers' names.  Kathleen (3) insisted on having the letters but doing it
    her way, so her teachers are getting anagram bookmarks!
    
    Last year we gave the teachers mulled cider mix: whole cloves, nutmeg
    and cinnamon stick pieces in small jars.  We painted apples on the
    glass (Sally fingerprinted them) and I drew green leaves.  We put
    instructions on the gift tag.
    
    My sister is a Kindergarten teacher and her favorite gift last year was
    a sample pack of herbal teas - like the kind you get in the grocery
    store.
    

    
    Haven't had a chance to read the responses ... but I WANT TO!
    
    We got Cherie a Hallmark "daycare provider" Christmas tree ornament and
    will give her a cash bonus (since JA is "parttime", we agreed to only
    pay for days scheduled - not vacations or holidays), but we're going to
    pay her for the days between Christmas and New Years.
    
    Dottie
    
    PS:  We're so pleased with Cherie and she's so flexible about the hours
         and days, that we've been paying her for holidays/days off anyway
         (so not sure the bonus is really a bonus now ... but I'm sure
         she'll still welcome the money).
    
    

    I haven't seen the Hallmark "daycare provider" ornament.  Can you
    describe it and tell us (approximately) how much it costs?
    
    Tracy
    

    Here's a question not related to DayCare Providers, but rather, to the
    little boy [or girl] who delivers the paper to your door every day. 
    Some of you may have sons/daughters who are paper carriers.  What's a
    nice amount to leave in a card for a Christmas gift?
    
    Thanks!

    
    re: .11
    
    I got it at Putnam's, White City Plaza, Shrewsbury (Quinsigamond Lake/
    Worcester borderline), back in early November ... cost about $7-8'ish
    (?).
    
    It's that "typical" white "fake crystal", has a frosted bear etched
    into it, along with "1990" (and I think something about "you're very
    special" and maybe "daycare provider" and maybe "love" ... 
    not sure anymore!). 
    
    Quite cute ... and average sized.
    
    Had I not gotten the ornament, I was considering a Schaffer pen and
    having Cherie's name engraved in it.  Spag's Schoolhouse does it (while
    you wait) ... $10.50.  They also have the note pads with the typical
    names printed on top.  Just another idea!
    
    Dottie
         

    re: .12  I wondered this myself.  Ended up giving our carrier $5
    which doesn't sound like much but we only get a paper delivered on
    Sunday.
    
    We are giving our daycare provider approximately one weeks pay as
    a bonus (similar to an earlier note) and a bunch of dish towels
    because the cash seems so impersonal but is what is really needed.
    
    Carol

    re: .12
    
    Each year we gave our newspaper carrier $10.  We also only get
    paper delivered on Sunday.
    
    Eric has three teachers at his daycare center.  This year, I
    got Sears gift certificates for his head teacher.  A Chinese
    wok for one of the teachers who enjoys Chinese food and a coffee
    maker for the third teacher.  Each gift costs about $20.  I also
    plan to give the director, whom I like a lot, a box of nice 
    chocolates.  
    
    These gifts probably be too expensive for Tracy.  I like some
    of the ideas suggested here, I will use it for next year.
    
    Wendy
    
     

In the past I've gotten "special teacher" type coffee mugs for
Kathryne's daycare providers.  This year I found some cute candles
in small (about 2 inch high) mason jars.  They are scented and have
a bow around the top.  They were less than $4. each.  I also try
to find a nice "teacher" type card.

    How about a single tea rose in a bud vase for each teacher?  I've
    always been a sucker for flowers.

    Maybe something for the school or center, like a video or some
    more (inexpensive) toys.  Or how about a donation to charity?

    Since Kelly is only 10 months, having her make something was out.  My
    Mother-in-law works at a gourmet coffee shop so we had her make up
    a basket of gourmet coffee, tea, hot chocolate and some cookies. 
    Kelly goes to a home daycare provided by a couple of women - with
    teenagers who come in the afternoon.  So we were trying to get
    something that each of them could enjoy.  The basket came Monday and
    they were all really appreciative, they had never received this type
    of gift (after 15 years in business!). At any rate, this would be
    easy to do because all grocery stores have gourmet coffee you can
    grind, and special teas.  You could just pick it up with your regular
    shopping.
    
Donna

    Thanks for all your ideas!  I have six down, four to go.    
    
    The four daycare teachers are all young and, I hope, have good senses
    of humor.  After wandering up and down the mall a few times last night,
    I finally ended up buying them a rather silly gift.  I bought four,
    really cute Christmas pendants (two snowmen, two Santa Clauses).  But
    if you screw off the hat, it is actually a miniature bubble wand.  The
    body of the pendant is full of bubble "stuff."  We'll see how those go
    over tonight.
    
    For the daycare director and Caileigh's speech teacher, I bought
    Christmas holly plants.  
    
    I still have Caileigh's four nursery school teachers to buy for for
    tomorrow.  They're all a bit older, have been doing this for years, and
    just don't strike me as the bubble-blowing type!  BTW, last year, I
    bought them Hebert's candy, but they were drowning in candy and baked
    goods, so I'd rather take a different route.  More ideas?  
    
    -Tracy
    
    P.S.  Someone asked how necessary it is to buy for the director.  I
    think it depends.  In our case, Kim is a very "hands-on" director, very
    frequently helping out teachers, interacting with kids, etc.  My kids
    know and like and it felt appropriate.  In other centers, the director
    may be more removed from the actual child care and it may not be as
    appropriate.
    
    P.P.S
    On gifts for the center:  I tend to think this is more appropriate
    when the director/teacher is also the owner or if it is a homecare
    situation.
    
    

    For my son's two daycare providers, I stopped at T.J.MAXX and they
    were having 50% off all their brasswares.  I picked up four brass boxes
    with beautiful tops on each one, then filled each one with Christmass
    potporri (SP?).  Brass boxes were $3.00 a piece and 2 pounds of
    Christmas potporri was $4.00.  

    
    I see that some noters did this, and heard that an appropriate gift is
    one weeks pay, but jeeeez, I don't even spend that much money on my
    mothers gift or my sisters.  It just doesn't seem right to me to give
    my daycare provider more than my own family.  Wouldn't it be nice if
    DEC gave all of us one weeks pay???
    
    I got my daycare provider a 14kt gold bracelet, and each of her kids a
    little something (she has 4!)
    
    

    A WEEKS pay as an appropriate Holiday Gift to Daycare?!  25% of a
    months take home pay!  I guess maybe I should give another 25 % to
    the paperboy, and another 25 % to the guy I pay to collect my trash
    and maybe another 25 % to................
    
    If your rich your don't need the paycheck.  If your not, like me, a 
    weeks pay gift would put me in the hole for many weeks.  Go to it
    if you can afford it.

    I *think* they mean a week of the daycare provider's pay (what you pay
    them per week), rather than your entire weekly take-home.
    
    (That's still way too much for my budget, though!!)
    
    Leslie

    It is clear from the bulk of the entries in this string that many or
    most  people don't give such expensive gifts or bundles of cash.  I
    generally don't buy the notion that one ought to (quite apart from
    flirting with insolvency at the moment!).  I think that teachers and
    care providers deserve a reasonable income as part of their basic
    salary/fee, rather than a holiday handout.  I give the paper carrier a
    significant tip every month when I pay my bill, with nothing extra in
    December.  Holiday gifts, if any, are personal expressions for me, not
    economic ones:  things to be eaten, perhaps, or read (rarely both!),
    not spent.
    
    My guess is that any tradition of Christmas bonuses is a remnant of
    noblesse oblige, from an era when service providers generally had an
    order of magnitude less income than the service receivers.  These days,
    plumbers and public school teachers (though not many pre-school
    teachers) make more money than many of the families who get their
    services.
    
    		- Bruce

    Even so... our Daycare provider gets the following benefits in addition
    to her normal weekly pay.
    
    1. Paid Holidays
    
    2. Paid Vacations
    
    3. In the last year... 15 dollars per week pay increase with a weekly
       decrease in work hours of some 4 hours.
    
    4. Overtime
    
    These compensatons, except perhaps # 3 can be argued are appropriate
    compensation for one family paying another person to pay to care for
    their child.  I know, quality care and all that are valuable (actually
    vital) too. 
    
    I don't believe that MORE money to Daycare given the above context is
    fair to us unless we had so much money (we don't) that we didn't know
    what to do with it.  The same economic pressures which bear on her
    (higher fuel and food costs) for example bear on us too.
    
    Don't get me wrong... the Daycare providers are entitled to fair
    compensation for quality service rendered.... but an extra weeks
    pay to them is out of the question for us... its tough enough making
    ends meet (so to speak) as it is.   

    This is sure to be too late for most everyone, but last night I went to
    the Christmas Tree shop in Shrewsbury and bought Popourri cookers for
    my son's two teachers, and also included a small package of popourri.
    The popourri itself cost almost as much as the cooker.  $3.00 for the 
    cooker, 2.49 for the scents!
    
    and now to remember to stop at McDonalds for a gif certificate for the 
    paperboy, he looks forward to these!
    
    Cheers and Happy Holidays!
    Lyn