Ever since large boy started school and I discovered the joys of making my own fruit gin (coincidentally the same year, or was it a coincidence?), I’ve made gifts for teachers and TAs for Christmas and the end of the summer term.
I love giving them something we’ve made at home – if I’ve put 100th the effort into making these things compared to what they do every day, that’s the best acknowledgement I can share.
At Christmas I do jam and sometimes mincemeat, in the past I’ve done homemade chocolates but they didn’t turn out brilliantly.
Anyway, here’s a round up of our “end of school year” appreciation presents for the boys’ teachers and TAs.
Gin
I don’t really know if the boys’ teachers this year like their gin but I hope so!
You can find out more about how I made the gin in my production and bottling post from 2021. Last year I was more prepared than previously and bottled the gin directly into the bottles I wanted to use for teachers’ gifts.
Recipes and brownies
We’re going to make some delicious chocolate orange brownies right before the end of term (and after the end of this heatwave). As well as the actual brownies, we decided to share the recipes. It’s actually a BBC Good Food recipe, but we’re labelling them with the boys’ names and putting a little picture of them on their cards. On the back of the recipes the boys have written lovely notes with mnemonics describing their teachers. Then I’ve laminated them, love a laminator!
Small boy has used his usual sense of humour, so I’m sure that his teachers will laugh at what he’s written. Large boy did his just after his residential, so tiredness overruled imagination.
Just to demonstrate what an excellent brownie recipe it is, we had to make them too and provide a sample.
Packaging
We’ve got a shed load of paper bags (from when school announced and then changed their mind over disposable packed lunches two years ago) and some stencils. So we’re also decorating some bags to give the teachers on the last day in a few weeks.
Thanks
Does this all seem like we’re making a lot of fuss? It might seem like a lot of effort, but honestly I spread it all out over the year and one batch of marmalade might last me three years of gifts depending on how much I make and what jars I have. For me, it’s really worth it too. My parents were teachers and my mum got thoroughly overwhelmed by chocolates every year, I think she would have loved something a bit different.
Do you do anything special for teachers? Or are you a teacher with dozens of matching “world’s best teacher” mugs and tea towels?
Smelly Socks and Garden Peas 
Very Informative content on Paper Bag Thank you for the article!
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They’re pretty nice gifts. I never really did teacher gifts ever since I saw a friend’s teacher gift cupboard that was rammed full of unwanted chocolate, photo frames, notebooks, wine, biscuits, mugs etc. Thankfully our year group usually clubbed together to buy vouchers/create hampers which always went down well, and meant there was a lot more giftwise. But this year we didn’t because we paid into a legacy gift for the school. So we just did a personalised tote bag for the teacher and pencil cases for the 2 TAs. Then realised right near the end there was the hockey coach who’d done reading comprehension booster sessions through the year, and another TA who’d done reading. So they got a small hand cream each from a 3 pack I’d been given. They N said there was a 5th TA who only started in June. So they didn’t get anything. The most well received gift was the card and handwritten thank you note N wrote to his Y2 teacher – she said she cried reading it to see how far she’d been able to bring on his writing in that year.
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I loved that the boys wrote their teachers little notes too. Small boy was hilarious as always and large boy straining for interesting adjectives. We’re still at school til Tuesday next week so we’ll take them in on Monday probably
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These are some lovely teacher’s gifts at the end of the year, all teachers love a gin I’m sure! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
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Whenever I used to get gifts like this from my students it always made me so happy; it’s such a lovely idea!
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I love this and have receive some amazing gifts this term again. It is lovely that parents like you appreciate what we do. Teaching has been very taxing these past few years.
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It does seem like a lot of work, but still worth it since you get so much enjoyment out of the fruits of your labor.
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I think this is a beautiful idea and thing to do! They say “it’s the thought that counts” and I really do believe that, alongside effort to show you care. Teachers don’t often get much thanks, or at least they didn’t in my school, and I liked to handmake a card to my favourite teachers. I’m sure your thoughtful efforts will be much appreciated by all recipients! xx
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That’s lovely that you make homemade gifts. My sister-in-law is a teacher and she says she appreciates anything handmade and consumable. The personalized recipe card is a nice touch. In later years when my girls were in school, we started making charitable donations instead of gifts, and then writing a nice thank you note to let them know. That was always appreciated too.
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