End of Year Teacher Gifts- BBQ Buckets

The kids loved surprising the teacher with BBQ supplies to fill the bucket!

I cannot believe another school year is coming to a close!  It's time to start thinking about how to celebrate all the hard work of those wonderful teachers with end-of-year gifts.  (If you didn't like your kids teacher just skip this post.)  As a class mom  at various schools and preschools, I've had to become extra clever in getting around all those pesky "rules" regarding gift-giving.  I even told the teachers this year I may retire from class mom duties just so I don't have to follow the guidelines for room moms.  For instance, at my younger son's preschool, they have a NO goody bag at "class celebrations" policy!  Shouldn't you tell a girl this before she signs up.  (This year I just made my creations in non-bag form and handed them out the day before the parties.)  Anyway, creative class gifts are harder in some schools especially ones that do not allow cash donations.   Last year, for my son's kindergarten class, I bought nice beverage buckets and asked each family to contribute a BBQ themed gift.  I suggested everything from aprons, sauces, grilling tools, spice rubs, grilling mitts, etc. to bring in to school the day of graduation.  Almost every child participated and the teachers loved all their summertime goodies.  I even included a fabulous cook book that I'll talk about soon!  If you are allowed to accept cash, you could include 3 gift cards; one for the BBQ accessories (Target), one for the grilling food (grocery store) and a final one to their favorite restaurant (in case it rains).