by Hope
There are TONS of guides out there for holiday tipping those important service people in your life. I am so grateful that I don’t typically have this struggle because I don’t use any service people are on a regular basis…no babysitter, no hair dressers, no maintenance people, etc. Oh wait, I’m living in an apartment now and the maintenance crew, two in particular have been AMAZING! So what do do?
In addition, my kiddos attend a homeschool co op run by super talented and committed moms and professionals. The urge to shower them with gifts to show my appreciate is strong. My desire to spend money is about zilch! I had planned to make soap for every one but two things…one I haven’t started it and it needs at least a week to cure and two I gave them all soap last year. So I’m in a bind, what to do?
So this post is all about you…what do gift or do you gift those important service people in your life and/or you children’s caretakers or teachers?
I have decided on one…for the first time since Little Gymnast joined the team, I feel the urge to show my gratitude with gifts. I asked the owner of the gym what to get for his primary coach as I really don’t know him to well. He’s an older, pretty gruff man and for a lot of reasons I haven’t had any personal conversations with him over the last three years. But the owner made it really easy…buy him a case of Mountain Dew. So that’s one gift I will be giving someone who is an important part of our lives if not a personal connection.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
I have quite a few teacher friends and they all say the same thing – please don’t get us any “teacher” mugs, ornaments, pens, etc – they already have a million. They also (without sounding ungrateful, because they appreciate the thought) don’t like baked goods – too many calories and hard to know the ingredients (nut allergies, etc). Most of them really appreciate a hand written note from the student thanking them or writing about a special memory of the class …. or if you really want to get them a gift too, a $5 gift card to Starbucks, Tim Hortons, McDonald gift card for their morning coffee is appreciated.
I’ve never done it, but I know you can get discounted gift cards online and/or many restaurants run specials “buy $25 in gift cards, get $5 free”.
Hope this helps!
I have heard many times that teachers and coaches appreciate a heartfelt note of thanks more than anything else. A letter that outlines how their efforts have made a difference in a Child’s life sounds like a good place to start.
When I was a child, my mom always gave our teachers a can (or several) of mixed nuts. I hated it…the teachers would open all these cute little ornaments/mugs/etc. from others, and there I am with stupid nuts. Now I realize how genius and awesome my mom was (and is) 🙂 They’re a great snack, expiration date is usually a long way off, and if the teachers don’t like them, they can set them out when entertaining (or re-gift if it comes to that)