Teachers Praise A Mom's $85 'Teacher Gift' Idea — But Other Parents Lash Out At Her
Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock After a mother took to social media to share her creative gift idea for teachers this holiday season, she did not receive the positive feedback she had expected. Instead of taking inspiration from her, many other parents criticized the mother for her costly gift idea, arguing that not all parents had the luxury of being able to purchase their children’s teachers such gifts.
It is no secret that teachers work tirelessly throughout the school year to give children the best educational experience possible. Since their workload often extends beyond the classroom, it's important to let teachers know just how much they are appreciated, and the holiday season is the perfect opportunity to do so!
One mother shared her special holiday gift idea for teachers, which consisted of gift cards, hand sanitizer, lip balm, and candies.
Taking to her TikTok page, Alyssa Fluellen posted a video of her and her daughter assembling their creative gift idea for her daughter’s teachers.
The gift included Stanley FlowState H2.0 Quencher Tumblers (stainless steel bottles that keep your beverages cold all day) filled with confetti and small goodies, such as mini candy canes, lip balm, hand sanitizers, and gift cards to popular stores like Starbucks and Target.
To top it all off, they attached a festive little note that read, “Thank you for being my teacher!” laced with red and green ribbons. In the caption, the mom expressed how excited they were to deliver the gifts to the teachers.
Many parents believed that the gift ideas were over the top.
“This is so unrelatable,” one TikTok user commented. “This is not feasible for the normal person,” another wrote. The combined total of the Stanley bottle, candy canes, lip balm, hand sanitizer, and gift card added up to around $85, a price that many parents, even those who work, expressed that they could not afford.
Many families have multiple children, who all have more than one teacher they need to buy gifts for. Not to mention, parents also have to buy Christmas gifts for their own family members, and the expenses can quickly pile up.
Fortunately, Fluellen shared how other parents could put together a similar, more affordable gift for their children’s teachers. “I did not think that this teacher gift would be just about the most controversial thing [I’ve ever posted],” she admitted in a follow-up video. “I’m going to show you guys how this was an idea, and how you can modify this idea on a budget.”
Fluellen reminded her followers that it's really the thought that counts.
“Everyone is in a difficult stage of life. I love giving back to anyone I can and feel extremely blessed to be able do so,” she wrote in the caption of her video. What most people were unaware of was that Fluellen herself used to live paycheck-to-paycheck, making just $7 an hour. Now that she was in a better place financially, she shared that she loves to give back by giving gifts to those important in her life, including her children’s teachers.
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Many teachers flocked to the comments section of Fluellen’s video to thank her for her thoughtful and creative gift idea. “Teacher here! Her teachers are going to be so grateful. Y’all are sweet for that!!” one user commented. “As a teacher, thank you for sharing and spoiling your children’s teachers if you can,” another user wrote.
Even if you are a parent who is struggling financially and cannot afford to gift your children’s teachers with extravagant items and high-quality beverage cups, Fluellen was right; it is truly the thought that counts. A Stanley Cup means just as much as a $5 gift card.
No matter what gift teachers receive from their students' parents, it is a token of gratitude and appreciation for all they do for their kids, no matter how much it costs.
Megan Quinn is a writer with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on justice in the workplace, personal relationships, parenting debates, and the human experience.
