Valentine Day Gift for Teacher

February 14th is the traditional day to show appreciation to loved ones and let them know just how much you care. Whether you choose flowers, chocolates or something more personal, a small gift on this day is enough to show your Valentine that you are thinking about them and that you appreciate them for who they are. Furthermore, it is perfect opportunity to let your teacher know just how much you care - especially as, by this time, special events such as summer holiday celebrations and World Teacher’s Day (which occurs on 5th October) are a long way away!

It is a mid-winter festival which carries a lot of history. The Pope declared it to be the feast of St Valentine in 496 and since then, many legends, myths and customs have developed and spread worldwide. It is interesting to explore this history, how the festival is celebrated internationally and where typical traditions arise from – often tales of love and heroism. A famous example is that of the Priest Valentine – a martyr from Roman times who continued to marry young couples despite the fact the Emperor ordered that the men should remain single to make better soldiers.

Back to modern day, already many North American elementary schools celebrate the day’s festivities by sending cards to their fellow class members, expressing why they appreciate them. Children in the UK need not make so much effort; a mythical figure named Jack Valentine will traditionally leave decorated bags of sweets on the doorstep, ready for the children to find in the morning when leaving for school. To us, this British custom is a nice idea to take into the classroom – a surprise waiting for your teacher on his/her desk will make a great, happy start to the day and could even prompt some discussion about why such a gesture was made, thus allowing opportunity to express the reasons why the teacher really is so special.

As well as the various gifts suggested here on our website, think about what your teacher would like too (not forgetting to let us know the ideas!). Maybe you have a teacher who loves the theatre; whilst tickets are a great present, they are often really quite expensive. A neat, cheap alternative for a theatre lover would be a book about the theatre. Making particularly great presents, especially when given as tokens of appreciation, books allow space for a special message from the sender to the receiver – in this case, perhaps the specific reason why you are so grateful to your teacher at this time.