Tweet

There are some massively differing views on the end of year Teachers Gift, so before I go any further I need to confess something. I am THAT mother. You all know the type, the kind that happily does a collection at the end of term and the type that other mums either love or hate. I admit that I like or organise and co-ordinate, being a PA for over 15 years means this is part of my make up but when my eldest daughter was in Reception class at her new school, she had two teachers and two teaching assistants and I can tell you now, Christmas that year was expensive! So when one of the other mums suggested doing a collection, I thought it was a great idea and somehow assumed the role of organiser.

Some of the mums at school don't contribute and arrange their own thing whilst some are just eternally grateful not to have to think about it. Whichever camp you fall in, either works for me.

Over the years the teachers have had a variety of gifts, from handcrafted plant pots, personalised plaques to the trusted gift voucher and this year will be no different. The donation to a collection doesn't always mean that the gift loses its personal touch.

When we were approached by Asda to review their range of teachers gifts, I was interested to see what a large supermarket chain could offer in terms of the personal touch, so when these items landed on the doorstep, I was pleasantly surprised.

My daughter has a love of cuddly toys (her bedroom stands testament to this), so she absolutely adored the cuddly cow and we thought that the mug was a nice touch for their teaching assistant. The range is much bigger than this with pen pots, keyrings and sticky note pads but with all the items under £5, it won't break the bank.

I firmly believe that a teachers gift should be a token of appreciation, whether that is a handmade card, a well thought out present or a gift card, every school and every teacher is different. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Maggy Woodley a few weeks ago and managed to get a very personalised signed copy of her book Red Ted Art for our teacher, which will be part of her end of year gift from the class.

So whilst some of us mums may not be as craft minded as others (or indeed as Maggy Woodley), the gift is always very personal, thought out and given with thanks.