A Guide to Buying the Perfect Gift for a Teacher

Are you the class rep that arranges the gifts at the end of each term? Or do you volunteer each term because you know that if you don't, every other parent will avoid the job and your child's teachers will end up with no gifts, feeling unappreciated? The guilt gets the better of you so you scrape to find the time to collect money and buy presents. We're here to help you with that.

Few people are more deserving than teachers when it comes to offering a little extra love. Every day, teachers put their heart and effort into their work and transform the lives of youngsters. They support us and make school life an incredible pleasure. 

Each and every one of us has been impacted by the work and nurture of teachers, so why not give them something in return? This is why it is crucial to pick the ideal thank you teacher gift that allows you to express, "Thank you - you're the best!"

Gifts for teachers - what do they truly want at the end of term?

As the child of a teacher myself, every year I see the same gifts come through the front door at the end of the school term - generic mugs, chocolates, candles, and although all these gifts are lovely and it is indeed the thought counts, what about thoughtful AND useful?! As parents, why not all come together to raise money for a well thought-out, personal and pretty substantial gift that your teachers will truly appreciate and remember.

Here are some great thank you teacher gift ideas for you.

1. Vouchers - Gift vouchers are ultimately some of the most useful gifts, and you can personalise them by purchasing a voucher for a store or experience you know your child’s teacher will appreciate. Take a look at our blog on purchasing vouchers here.
2. Personalised gifts- Any personalised gift will add that special touch and make your teachers feel a tad more special. Websites such as needi provide wonderful, personalised gifts that teachers will remember way more than chocolate.
3. Practical gift- A scented candle, or flowers is great, but not very practical. We all know how stressful a teacher's life can be, so why not get them a more practical gift that they can use in the classroom? Something to make their lives a little bit easier. A practical bag, or a fancy water bottle to keep them hydrated throughout their stressful day?

Easily sort the teachers presents

Even as far back as primary school, we can all remember our favourite teachers and the impact they had on us. Although saying goodbye is never simple, leaving presents can lessen pain and uplift the spirit. Many farewell presents fall short because they lack sentimental value, you want to give your teacher something special. 

If you would like to know more about leaving gifts, you can take a look at our blog here.

1. An engraved gift- Engraving any gift with a thank you message will mean a lot to any teacher, it shows how much you recognise all the hard work that they have put in over the years and gives them a keepsake to remember that class for ever more (or to perform a sacrificial ceremony on to cleanse the spirit and eradicate the memories if it was that kind of year!!)
2. A personalised mug- not one with a dog on it because they mentioned walking their cousin's Schnauzer once - I'm talking one with a lovely class picture on it, a message of appreciation or a stick person self portrait from each child!

Why your child's teacher would benefit from a group gift

By creating a group collection, you enable everyone to participate and the end result for the teacher is much more significant - whether that's enough for an amazing experience, a voucher they can spend on anything they desire, or a physical gift that they will remember for years to come, you can achieve much more as a full team, at a lower price! We all know the cost of living crisis is affecting parents all over the UK, so all coming together to buy a meaningful gift is a great solution!

Issues can arise with group class gifts; someone must always step up and make preparations! Everyone is busy and a lot of parents will (totally understandably) avoid the job of collecting money. If you find yourself always taking on the difficult organising role, download the Collctiv app for free here, we can definitely make this job quicker and easier!

Struggling to organise a group class gift?

The complications that can come with organising class gifts can be endless. Parents don’t want to be waiting at the school gate for people to hand them £10 in cash, it's a messy and out-dated process and can be an awkward role that is avoided by most. Which is why you are in this position, and trust me, once you get roped in, you never get out of it as no one else wants to do it!

The days of the old brown envelope are over, often there’s somebody going 'has anyone seen the envelope. Who's got the envelope?' This approach is passing the envelope around and putting whatever money you owe into the flaps, but it is severely faulty. Also, who carries cash around these days? Brown envelopes were once useful, but we believe they have served their role. We should, and need a simple solution to collect money easily without having to carry tons of cash around.

It can get even worse having to ask for peoples bank details asking them to send you a tenner, I mean, you never usually speak to them at the school gate, so it’s even more uncomfortable sharing your personal details for them to transfer money to you! Collctiv can help take this awkwardness away.

We live in an era (post-covid) where nobody carries cash around with them, meaning you will almost always be out of pocket if you have forked out for the perfect group teacher gift, why should everyone else take the credit for your effort? Bank transfers are an option, but this is a faff that parents generally won’t do simply as they do not have time! Fear not… we have a perfect solution for you.

Honestly, the process can simply be described as a pain, and once you get roped into planning it, you can't get out of it. Fear not… we have a perfect solution for you.

How can I collect money simply?

Collctiv makes it easy to collect money from parents whilst also making it easy for them to pay in. Simply download the app for free here, create a ‘pot’ for your collection and this will generate you a payment link and a QR code.

Share the payment link anywhere – email, WhatsApp – however you would normally communicate with other parents, and with just a tap they can donate to your pot. They do not need to download the app, create an account or validate an email – they simply tap to pay, and it’s done. If they have Apple or Google Pay, it takes less than 5 seconds. I told you we had a solution!

There are no mandatory fees involved – parents can choose to make a donation to Collctiv when paying in, and you can make a voluntary contribution when you withdraw, but there is no obligation to do so.

Organisers bring people together

Since 2019 Collctiv has helped over 1 million people from 140 countries come together by making it simple for Organisers to collect money from groups. Whether it's gifts for teachers, group holidays or grassroots sports teams - download our free app today and start bringing people together!