Last Friday morning, as I was dropping off my daughter, Ellen, at the school gate, I was in a bit of a panic trying to decide whether or not to give the girls' teachers a Christmas gift. Problem #1: I only had 3 1/2 hours to figure something out, wrap it and get it to their teachers. Problem #2: I would need to get 14 of the same thing for each of their teachers, not forgetting Ellen's head teacher and the office workers, since they also deserve thanks for their hard work. Problem #3: With what money?! I hadn't budgeted for this! Oops!
So, off I went to the shop and decided we should give a gift no matter how small. Eventually I came up with the theme of "relaxation" and images of chocolate and candles came to mind. Ok, 14 boxes of chocolate would be too expensive and 14 candles, even at £1 each, would also add up, and I wasn't at the pound shop either. I settled on a box of 30 Christmas-scented tea lights for £2.25, a large box of my favourite Lindor assorted truffles and packets of hot chocolate for 25p each.
Each teacher would receive 2 tea lights, 2 truffles and a pack of hot chocolate in snack bags that I already had at home, saving money on cellophane bags. In lieu of gift tags (money saving), I simply wrote, "Dear (Teacher's Name), I hope you have a relaxing Christmas. Love from, Ellen/Brenna", with green Sharpie marker.
Each gift for the teacher cost 88p and, yes, somehow I was able to get all of the bags written and filled with a half an hour to spare before going to pick up Brenna from nursery. Phew! In the end, my girls got to thank their teachers for their hard work.
Next year I will be better prepared. Not only will I budget for teachers' gifts, but I'll involve the girls in the process, too.
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