Best gifts for teachers that they actually want and you can afford
By Ali Linz, Co-Founder of GroupTogether and Mum to 4 kids
Another mum and I helped 40,000 parents organise group gifts for teachers last year with our web app grouptogether.com. So, it is no wonder that people always ask me about the best gifts for teacher.
Here’s the 3 most often asked questions and the definitive answers. And … the bottom line – when you group together for one gift, you can give better and spend less (and still have a super cute and personal card).
We surveyed 1,000 adults last week to see what Aussies thought about it by asking a pretty simple question:
People who felt that teachers deserve a gift said things like “teachers go above and beyond”, “our future is in their hands” and “they deserve a medal for looking after kids so we don’t have to!”. People who believed it was unnecessary said “they get paid to do their job” and “who else gets 10 weeks holiday?”.
You’ll see on every Facebook mums groups at the moment “Hit me with your ideas for a gift for teachers?” with lots of suggestions of candles and personalised stamps, chocolates and mugs.
Interestingly though, when we asked 250 teachers, they were clear that they didn’t expect anything! The best is a card with some thoughtful words of appreciation. However, if parents do want to give a gift, 74% said they’d prefer a group gift – ideally a voucher.
This sentiment ties in exactly with what I found since co-founding GroupTogether. We realised that people don’t want “more stuff” and the associated waste (time, effort, wrapping paper, plastic packaging, unwanted gifts). We set up GroupTogether to make collecting for a group gift easy. Set up a collection in a few minutes, share the link and parents can click to pay and sign the card. No more awkward reminding, or as one parent told us, “I don’t have to stalk other parents in the playground”.
Instead of leaving the gift to the last minute, rushing around in the Christmas chaos and forking out more than you’d intended, spend 2 minutes setting up a group gift on Grouptogether.com and sharing the link. We’ll do the reminding, collecting, tracking and send you a voucher and card with cute pics of the kids and personal messages of thanks. The teacher can use the voucher to choose the e-gift card they really want.
Everyone can spend a little less and give a lot better.
As part of GroupTogether’s initiative to showcase the best apps to help you organise your life, we bring you reword.it.
“Once an insult is read, the damage is done.” – Headspace 2015
How’s this for
The end of the Surf Life Saving season is quickly approaching and many parents would love to thank their hard working Age-Coordinator with a gift. This year, instead of the usual bottle