Holiday Gifts for Teachers, Coaches, Child Caretakers

Giving gifts to teachers, coaches, child caretakers and other people in your children’s lives is a nice tradition. Don’t let it overwhelm you. The main idea is to let that person know you’re thinking of them and you appreciate them.

Here are some great ideas for these folks:

* Baked goods. If you’re nifty in the kitchen, cookies, jam, soups — any kind of homemade food gift is always great.

* Store bought foods. Wine, cheeses, fruit and candy are all great gifts. Non-perishables are always good, especially if a teacher is going to get lots of gifts, because they can be stored for use later.

* Plants, flowers and picture frames are always nice gift staples, as are soaps and candy dishes.

* One of the most appreciated gifts by these service providers are gift cards or gift certificates — for the simple reason that these people usually get a lot of gifts at this time of year from people that they care for, and a gift card or gift certificate can be used for the recipient to get exactly what they want. Below are pros and cons of gift cards:

Gift cards — or gift certificates — are great gifts that can be seen as bonus gifts — or impersonal, last-minute, thoughtless attempts at a gift.

Advantages of gift cards

* You don’t have to worry about whether a gift fits, is the right color, size or something the recipient will like. They can pick what they want.

* They’re easy to get — and if you’re organized, you can purchase them online, and have them e-mailed or snail mailed to the recipient, or yourself to wrap and present in person.

* They’re recyclable. If you don’t like a gift card store someone gave you — pass it on as a recycled gift.

Disadvantages of gift cards

* Recipients feel they’re impersonal — or worse, recycled.

* They’re like cash. Lose ‘em and you lost your gift.

* If you’re sensitive about people knowing how much you spent, the gift card will tell the person exactly what you’re giving them, in terms of money.