As a working mother in the San Francisco area, I have been curious about the appropriate amount for holiday gifts to daycare teachers for a while now. My son's daycare is run like a preschool, and I spend upwards of $2,000 per month on his education. With an owner and two teachers to consider, the cost of gifts can quickly add up. I recently posted to the “Working Moms” subreddit to gauge opinions on the matter, and I was met with a wide range of responses.
One commenter suggested giving each teacher $100 in cash. This amount seemed reasonable to me, given the rising cost of childcare. Another mentioned sticking to groups of ten or fifteen teachers with one hundred dollars each. However, one mother suggested giving her three main teachers $100 and $50 respectively, and the floating teachers $75-100 each.
There was also discussion on giving cash in general, as one user explained her reasoning for doing so: her daycare charges exorbitantly for their services and she wanted to surprise them. Another user offered a different perspective, preferring to give lower monetary amounts, such as $25 for lead teachers and $15 for assistant teachers.
Ultimately, whether or not $100 is too much for a teacher's holiday gift depends on the family's resources, circumstances, and personal values. Many respondents emphasized that thoughtful gifts, like handwriting notes or homemade items, often carry more weight with teachers than material possessions. Some suggest that any amount between $25 and $50, whether in the form of a gift card to a favorite retailer or cash, is well-received.
