Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Buying Christmas presents for your child’s educators can get expensive, so don’t let guilt or peer pressure get in the way of frugal living.
Children in elementary school don’t have just one teacher; they have many.
Is there a line you draw when buying Christmas presents for staff members?
Today, let’s discuss whether to buy Christmas presents for teachers and ways to keep the costs low.
Buying Christmas Presents For The Entire Staff
While chatting with a group of parents at our son’s school, one parent mentioned that she had bought Christmas presents for her son’s teachers.
Immediately, my mind was focused on the word “teachers” because that meant more than one.
Our son is in grade three, and we buy Christmas presents for his teacher, but only for his grade three teacher.
We never gave much thought to the other school staff contributing to our son’s education.
For the sake of this article, let’s consider the various staff members of a public school in Ontario.
- Teacher – Grade school teacher
- Educational Assistant – If your child uses an EA to receive extra help.
- Bus Driver – Your child’s bus driver ensures your child arrives at school and home safely.
- Principal- Ensures policy and procedures are met and works with parents to ensure a child gets the best education.
- Vice-Principal Assists the principal with overflow when needed, observing as the primary point of contact within the school system before the principal.
- Secretary– The man or woman who ensures your child gets everything they need outside the classroom.
- French Teacher – Occasional teachers who don’t come every day but a few times each week.
- Music Teacher – Occasional teacher
- Librarian – The educator who provides a safe place for teachers and children to learn how to read and create projects.
- Gym Teacher – Occasional teacher, including other subjects besides the gym.
- Sports Coach – Looks after their team.
- School Counsellor – Is on-site when needed to discuss something with a child and their parents.
- Lunch and Outdoor Supervisors – These staff members, who may be part-time or not listed as part of the staff, ensure that your child is fed, the classroom is tidy, and outside rules are followed during breaks.
- School nurses are on-site to help children with scrapes and bleeding by cleaning the wound, wrapping, and applying band-aids or covering them.
Buy For One, Buy For All
The list seems long, and it is; however, I’m likely missing others. My question is, where does a parent draw the line?
Is your child’s music teacher less critical than their grade teacher?
I’m sure educators outside of the primary classroom feel like forgotten educators.
The above staff members contribute something different to our son’s education.
Related: Should you give your daycare provider a Christmas bonus?
Budgeting For Christmas Presents
We budget for Christmas presents, baking, dinner, and other holiday snacks.
One aspect we did not calculate was the number of Christmas presents we would need for our son’s school educators.
Then, we wondered whether we needed to buy a gift for each educator and whether we could afford to do so.
Guilt and peer pressure take a toll on parents when it comes to gift-giving at school.
Anything from birthday parties to teacher gifts can cause issues because not all parents can or want to spend the money.
Then, the child feels left out because other children are bringing gifts, and they have nothing to give in return.
Perhaps educational gift-giving should stick to greeting cards or homemade gifts.
Doing so would remove the stigma that parents need to spend money so their children can buy Christmas presents.
Related: Sponsor a Family Instead of Teacher Christmas Gifts
Cost Averaging Our Christmas Expenses
Each month, we save x dollars to offset holiday expenses.
We deposited the calculated amount into a savings account called “projected expenses.”
Projected expenses are those you know you will have at some point throughout the year.
For example, if we average the cost of our Christmas expenses at $15,000, we save $125 each month until Christmas.
If you want to buy Christmas presents throughout the year, bump the end date to October or July, but expect the projected expense to increase.
Related: How to calculate projected expenses for your monthly budget
Homemade Christmas Presents For School Educators
Instead of buying a present or Christmas card, why not have your kids make them?
Any child can create a holiday card for teachers using the following tools.
Our son made me a Christmas card in church class outside his regular school using the following items.
I’ve linked all the products to Amazon Canada to give you an idea for creating your craft space.
Sometimes, pricing on Amazon can be lower based on quality, weight, or quantity.
Also, check secondhand shops for bagged school supplies if you don’t have a Dollar Store.
- Stick Glue
- Pencil crayons
- Crayons
- Coloured Markers
- Used Christmas Cards
- Coloured Construction Paper
- Christmas Stickers
- Kids Scissors
Our son’s joy as he presented me with the card he had made was bliss.
Any educator should present the same enthusiasm to a creative child in this manner.
Baked Goods Make Great Christmas Gifts
Related: Easy DIY Christmas Baked Goods In Jars
Parents can include their children in making homemade Christmas baked goods in jars for a small cost.
It’s fun and inexpensive to purchase the ingredients on sale a few months before the holidays.
My favorite thing to make with our son is the brownies in a jar, and we’ve also made spice mixtures.
Create a homemade taco seasoning in a small mason jar, complete with a DIY Christmas tag.
It’s the perfect gift.
Gift Cards
The most popular Christmas presents for educators are gift cards, particularly to a Dollar Store or an Office Depot.
Most teachers have to purchase classroom tools using their own money.
Giving gift cards helps teachers offset costs, allowing them to obtain the necessary resources to teach children effectively.
Times sure have changed, that’s for sure.
Second-choice gift cards that are popular are from coffee shops such as Tim Hortons or Starbucks.
How much money should you put on a gift card present for a teacher?
The amount depends on how much you can afford rather than what you think other parents are spending.
For example, we bought our son’s teacher a $ 1 gift card from Dollarama, and our son is making her a card.
We sponsored a family in our community and donated cash for Christmas presents and her gift.
Don’t waste money on candles, mugs, and other trinkets that will likely end up on secondhand store shelves.
For another example, a friend told us that her son’s teacher had broken his stapler a month before Christmas.
The parents and son went to Staples and bought the teacher a new stapler as a holiday gift.
It was a welcome surprise that the teacher still had the stapler on his desk years later.
Growing Indoor Plants For Christmas Presents
I’ll throw this idea out there, but we have a massive money tree in our house and can easily make baby plants.
Teachers with windows in their classrooms might love the gift of a plant.
It can be any plant, vegetable, or fruit that can be started in a small pot and later transferred into the ground or a larger pot.
Other options might be herbs such as Rosemary, Oregano, Parsley, and Basil, provided you have indoor space to grow the baby plants.
Recently, our son came home with a Venus flytrap plant from a birthday party he attended.
We both thought it was a fantastic gift for a child, so why not grow one for a teacher?
No Christmas Presents
For those parents who don’t have money set aside to buy Christmas presents for their children, educators don’t need to.
Additionally, keep in mind that not all families celebrate Christmas, so they may not participate.
Realistically, nobody has to buy or make Christmas presents for anyone because that’s not the purpose of Christmas.
Christmas presents are lovely to give and receive, but more important is to see the children flourish so they become the best version of themselves.
Discussion: Do you purchase Christmas presents for your child’s academic staff?
Please leave me your comments below.
Thanks for stopping by to read CBB.
Happy Holidays,
Mr. CBB
Hi Mr. CBB, great post!
Every year, we give a liquor gift card to the “homeroom” teacher only. I wish I could give to ALL the teachers. because the other teachers are not less deserving. We have a son in high school now with multiple teachers as well.
The only time we gave gifts to every teacher was at the end of online learning, when we really wanted to express our appreciation for the efforts of the teachers, who had to pivot and adapt quickly during those times.
I wish parents could contribute to a general pool that the school organizes and can then provide appreciation gifts to ALL the school staff, ie. teachers, support, custodial, crossing guard, administration, etc. etc.
It’s a veritable village that we leave our children in all day when we go to work! And no, it doesn’t take just money to show our appreciation for them at Christmas but if it did, it could break the bank each year!
Great post, thanks, Mr. CBB!
Hi Angelina,
“It’s a veritable village that we leave our children all day when we go to work.” This sentence sums up my entire post and the message I was trying to get across.
Thanks for reading and sharing your experience and ideas.
Mr. CBB
Happy Holidays.