As a former teacher, I also loved getting gift cards. Book stores and coffee shops were my personal favorites. $5 is perfect. At my school more than $10 made me uncomfortable (plus some schools have rules against more). If you aren't a gift card person, Christmas ornaments were another favorite of mine. One side of my tree is filled with ornaments from former students and it always makes me smile when I unpack each one. Just make sure you put your child's name and the year on it somewhere.

Also a heartfelt card is the absolute best gift. Just a few sentences letting the teacher know how much your children are enjoying school and how much you appreciate her effort means so much more than a gift! I saved all those cards in one of my desk drawers and on tough days it was so nice to look in that drawer!

We switched classes at my school too for certain subjects. Some of those students that weren't in my homeroom would bring me a card and a candy cane which was so nice because it showed me they enjoyed coming to my classroom too (or that their parents made them give it to me LOL). Very very rarely did a student not in my homeroom give me something more than that. Definitely don't break the bank.

Jennifer
GBG 2/20/2007
@29 weeks