[AdoptInMN]

If this has already been covered, I apologize for bringing up the same topic. Also, I rarely get on here anymore and feel selfish for coming here asking for help, but I wasn't sure where else to turn!

This is our first Christmas being home with our little one (yea!) and he goes to a fabulous in-home daycare. There are actually 12 little ones there with 2 full-time providers and other helpers. They have been really great, and I'm not sure what to do with the holidays coming up. Do you give cash gifts? If so, is it equivalent to any fee that you pay (like a day, week, etc.)? Or just cards and a personal gift for each caregiver? I'm TOTALLY clueless on this and don't have friends in a similar situation, so I would really appreciate your feedback!!!

Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Kate

[Gs_Mom]

I think at the very least a card is appropriate saying how much you appreciate their care for your little one.

The situation may be a little different but, a friend of mine is a teacher's aid for special needs kids in the public schools, she told me that some, but not all, people give gifts at the end of the year, ranging from cards to cash to big gifts. She was hurt when the family of the boy she takes care of didn't even acknowledge her with a card. (She is NOT the type to place more value on "stuff" than on relationships. To her it truly is the thought that counts.)

I am planning on giving a thank you gift to each of the care takers at the center my 2 boys attend.

The current plan is a handmade ornament by my 3 year old and a $10 Starbucks card for each, and probably a plate of goodies for them all at some point during the season. (I bring in licorice or cookies or something else a few times a year and they really seem to appreciate it.) There are 7 of them. If it were just one care taker, I might give a bigger gift. Really, the ornaments are a way to start to teach my sons the joy of giving. I'd guess they are up to their ears in coffee cups, handmade stuff, and the like.

My two cents.

[chrisandaaron]

I think small personal gifts are fine. With that said I usually give our sitter a cash "holiday bonus" roughly equivilant to 1 weeks pay. I think that is quite a bit, but she is totally AWESOME and goes out of her way for us all the time. For her the best gift is being able to give her family "a little more" for Christmas.

[AdoptInMN]

Thanks for the ideas so far! I do plan on giving them a card that DS paints for sure. I did find a few things that I think (and that's the key word, "I" think) would be helpful, like cardboard books in other languages (they read in other languages a lot), XXXXXXX Mugs (I don't know if I'm allowed to say the name of the thing, but it's a cup that's designed to keep snacks in so the kids can't spill it).

Honestly, the provider has never advertised and has at least a dozen calls/week asking for placements (which she only takes 1-2 new placements/year), and our DS, DH and I all LOVE them. We got super lucky when looking for a center. I'd just really like to make sure they know how appreciated they are! The daycare provider isn't overly weathly in a showy kind of way (I don't guess as to personal wealth) so I don't want to offend by buying more books, toys, etc, because the kids don't want for anything, but I also didn't want to offend by giving $$ if that wasn't a common practice.

So, long story short, I really appreciate your feedback! They spend so much time with our baby everyday and I want to make sure they know how we feel...without me being overly sappy in a card and looking like a total dork.

[chrisandaaron]

Don't be afraid to be sappy! They will appreciate knowing how much they mean to you!

[AdoptInMN]

Originally Posted by chrisandaaron

Don't be afraid to be sappy! They will appreciate knowing how much they mean to you!

I told DH what you wrote and he about died laughing. I am so stinking sappy when it comes to them that I cry 3 out of 5 days/week on pick-up. And I normally don't cry. But they get so excited and describe everything that he did that day (if a ball was thrown 3 inches further than ever before, it's reason to have a celebration). We truly are blessed, but I just get the feeling that the owner may be offended if we give a cash donation. I should have said that straight-out, but I'm not sure, so I avoided it. She charges very modestly, has exercise (dance teacher) and library staff come in twice/week, and you only pay for the time your child is there (no daily minimum). Oh, did I mention that she covers the cost of diapers and wipes (Pampers)? I know it sounds weird but if I accidentally write my check for like $1 over she insists on me fixing it. I absolutely don't want to offend her, but I'm not very close with other parents that have their kids there (we're the newest ones). I sound like a silly teenage girl on a date...what a dork I am!

[court5505]

As a former teacher, I always give gift cards to teachers. I'm not sure about day care providers though.

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade or sound negative, but teachers are known to get the same gifts over and over again. I have an older teacher friend that literally has BOXES full of mugs, ornaments, etc. It's not to say that they won't appreciate them because they will. It's just nice being acknowledged. I'm just practical when it comes to gift giving and that's why I give gift cards, usually to Borders or Barnes and Noble. I'm just not sappy about gifts, but that's just me.

Of course everyone loves cold, hard cash!

[fisbaby]

This year we're getting the daycare provider a camping gift certificate. We know they like to go camping and in our state you can buy certificates that cover camping reservations at any state park. It might seem weird but I just thought the gift should be just for her and not for the center. We're also getting her mom a little restaurant gift cert. b/c she's there a lot.

[kelceesmom]

I usually send my daughters preschool a fruit basket.

[nikkianni]

Well, my Aunt is DD's babysitter so that kinda makes it easy for us. We have to make her take money every week as it is, so I know she'd tell us not to get them anything. Yeah right, like that's gonna happen. So we're getting them a gift certificate to their favorite restaraunt.

[Beth.]

We are giving our sitter an assortment of Burt's Bees stuff. I wanted to give her something personal that she could use. We thought about just giving cash, but it just didn't quite fit for our situation.

[Slatond10]

I think one of the most appreciated gifts I ever gave the daycare providers was the year I gave the Walmart giftcard w/ DD's picture on it :-). They loved it!

However, I have given lots of other gifts and I lean more to handmade just because that is the way I am :

1 - knitted scarves
2- Christmas wreaths that I made
3 - painted sweatshirts
and this year will be blue jean purses.

[GoddessDanu]

I'm a daycare provider and what I LOVE is when parents give me gift cards to craft stores, like Jo-Anns or Michaels. I always end up using that money to buy my supplies for the kids and it means that I don't have to use money out of my pocket to do it.

One year a parent gave me a little stuffed Santa. She saw that I had a Santa collection and it was very sweet of her to remember that.

BTW, THANK YOU for remembering your daycare provider in your card/gift list. We form attachments with the kids we watch and it makes me feel so good when the parents remember my birthday and the holidays.

[megaphonemo]

This year I am also going to "remember" our school cook - Miss Mary!! She is an older woman, not a teacher, and I think she may get shafted at the holidays - and my daughter loves her... She frequently steps up and helps distract DD so I can leave peacefully. DD sometimes wants to bring her a donut if we stop in the morning - the one time we did, Miss Mary was touched.. So sweet.

My issue is with all the afternoon helpers. If I get even a little gift for all the helpers, plus the teachers, and the owners - I am deep in the hole. How do you decide who to give to when there are so many?? (The baby has 1 main teacher and so does her sister, but there are like 6 or 8 helpers that all rotate and the director and assistant director....). What to do??

One of the afternoon girls has actually become our steady sitter - so we will get her a gift card for like $50 to Macy's or something. She is actually coming tonight so we can go to TRU and do the bulk of our shopping!!

Good thread!!

Mega

[mommieof2cuties]

As a old teacher, gift cards or cash are the best! We pay are nanny a christmas an extra weeks pay in cash She can use the money to pay bills or whatever. This year I am doing visa gift cards because so many stores are having issues and I don't want the people I give them to lose out! At daycare/pre-school we will give the main teacher a cash/visa card for one weeks tution. For the aids we will make cards and give maybe a 5.00 gift card in it to Starbucks or something as we have like six people to deal with! When you think about it these people care for your children as if it were there own! No amount of money can ever cover the good care you get