Holiday Gifts

[Blackcat31]

Do any of your families give you gifts for Christmas? Just curious....I have one family who gives me a weeks pay in addition to their regular payment and other families who give me bath salts and fragrances (which makes me think, Do I stink? or do you want me to just relax and take a break?) and families who just toss me the standard card with the family Christmas phot inside and then I have other families who try to figure out ways to not have to pay the 1/2 rate I do charge for the Christmas vacation. So I was wondering how in the world I ended up with such a variety of families....and what some of your families give to you?

[DCMomOf3]

I get small things from one and a picture card from another. This is my first Christmas with my newest family so we will see.

[MyAngels]

Yes, I've had gifts at the holidays run the gamut as well. I have a couple of families who regularly give cash, equal to a week's pay. I've had the usual variety of lotions, creams, bubble baths, etc. A couple of families give gift cards to restaurants (It's well known that hubby and I go out to eat regularly), I had one family that gave me a gift certificate to a spa every year they were here for 9 years (I miss them :. Every now and then I get a family that doesn't give a gift at the holidays. The funniest was the family that Mom and Dad were both highly paid execs at a local company, who gave me a wooden Christmas plaque with the clearance price sticker still on the back (like 5 bucks), but then again I had just raised their rate substantially, so maybe it was payback .

[melskids]

mine are all over the place too. i get everything from homemade cards to money. one never does anything, and thats OK too. now i'm not gonna lie, the money gifts are great, and 9 times out of 10, i just buy more daycare stuff but to be honest, its the homemade stuff i cherish the most. just knowing they took the time, ya know? i had one family once drop off a card the day after Christmas, with 1, 5, and 10 dollar bills crumpled and shoved inside. it was like, why bother? and another time one family put a check in a card for $250. i almost died i was so excited. until it bounced

[SilverSabre25]

This is my first year doing daycare, so we'll see. I'm not counting on much, knowing my families!!

[MARSTELAC]

When I had my children in daycare, I gave the teachers in their classroom a weeks' worth of tuition (like one week was $175.00...so I gave that to them to share). Sometimes there were 2 teachers, sometimes 2 and some helpers... When we moved to private family daycare, they owner got a weeks tuition as their gift...cash in a card, or a gift in an equal amount...I recall a dvd/vhs player one year since it cost the same as a week of our tuition. Now that I am a provider, I have received 75.00-100.00 in a holiday card, a stack of copied christmas cd's, a light-up holiday statue, basket with wine and a glass and some candy, a christmas-themed art hanging, gift cards in assorted amounts up to 35.00, musical instruments to be used at daycare,toys to be used at daycare, wine, clothes, greeting cards (blank so I can use them later). My fave is the green stuff or gift cards. All but one of my parents has always given me something. It is all appreciated. I spend 15.00 per kid for christmas on my daycare kids. This year I found something for each of them and lucked out because each of the 12 items ranged from 14.99-15.01! I try to keep it all fair. For their birthday they get 5.00 cash and a 5.00 restaurant gift card. In 2011 they are all getting a 10.00 Toys 'R Us gift card in their birthday card. I get birthday/Valentine gifts from many of my parents also (ranging from wine to flowers) :-)

[momofboys]

mine are all over the place too. i get everything from homemade cards to money. one never does anything, and thats OK too. now i'm not gonna lie, the money gifts are great, and 9 times out of 10, i just buy more daycare stuff but to be honest, its the homemade stuff i cherish the most. just knowing they took the time, ya know? i had one family once drop off a card the day after Christmas, with 1, 5, and 10 dollar bills crumpled and shoved inside. it was like, why bother? and another time one family put a check in a card for $250. i almost died i was so excited. until it bounced

LOL about the check bouncing! Not that it is funny but still. Did you tell them about it?

[DCMom]

The past several years, all of my families have pooled their $$ and bought one big gift. I have gotten a signed hockey jersey of my fav player (we have season tix), a Wii game system, a digital camera and photo frame, a patio heater and a Nintendo DS.

I don't know what to expect this year ~ the 'organizer mom' isn't here anymore ~ so we will see what they come up with

[melskids]

LOL about the check bouncing! Not that it is funny but still. Did you tell them about it?

oh yeah. but believe me, that was an akward conversation. i almost felt guilty for saying something, and for asking for the bank fee.

[momofsix]

and another time one family put a check in a card for $250. i almost died i was so excited. until it bounced

Oh my goodness, I laughed out loud at that one...that's awful, and not funny at all but I couldn't help it
I get gift cards, candy, candles...everyone gives me something, though it might not be much it's still appreciated

[Crystal]

I have been fortunate and have very appreciative, generous parents. I have a few that give me cash bonuses and a few that give me gift cards. What I find better than getting the annual gifts though, is that my parents show their appreciation for me throughout the year and on a regular basis.

[misol]

I haven't had a parent give me a Christmas gift but they buy gifts for my 2 children. I am happy enough with that.

[GretasLittleFriends]

Last year was my first Christmas... I didn't get much. From one family I got some venison steak, venison brats and home-made peach jam. That family is no longer here... We will see what this year brings. I'm guessing not much.

Last year the kids each got a stuffed animal and a corresponding story. For example, the infant I had got The Velveteen Rabbit story and stuffed toy. A little girl I had got a story about a kitten and a stuffed kitten...

This year, I'm somewhat undecided. I think each kid is getting 1/2 or a dozen cookies (depending on which type I choose to bake). I was also going to get each child a nicely decorated pair of socks. I have mostly boys, and it's impossible to find Christmas/Winter socks for boys.

For their birthdays each child got a pack of crayons, a coloring book and a puzzle. The coloring book and puzzle were the same... ie Cars, Iron Man, Transformers, etc.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I get gifts for the kids, but don't expect anything in return. Last year one family got me a candle, another gave me 40 bucks, and two others did nothing. This year I only have two families - one old and one new. I'll be shocked if I get something from the one, and have no idea about the other. Honestly, the best gift they could get me would be to FLIPPING PAY ON TIME. ::

[QualiTcare]

oh yeah. but believe me, that was an akward conversation. i almost felt guilty for saying something, and for asking for the bank fee.

omg - so did they give you the bank fee and just forget about it, or did you still get the money? that would be akward!