Retirement Gift Idea for Mother and Aunt (Teachers)

[dancingqueen]

My mother is retiring this year, after 37 years of teaching. I''m having a very hard time coming up with a gift idea. My mother''s sister (also a teacher) is retiring at the same time. The third sister and I are trying to come up with gifts for each of them to present during our upcoming vacation in June.

Does anyone have any ideas??? I am running out of time.

 

[Lorelei]

What about a wonderful watch?

 

[gwendolyn]

Wow, 37 years, that''s fantastic! Do you want their gifts to incorporate the teaching profession in someway (as in a sentimental student-oriented sort of thing) or are you just looking to get them something they would enjoy? What sort of budget are you thinking of?

 

[Haven]

37 YEARS OF TEACHING!
I only have five under my belt and I''m not sure how much longer I''m going to make it.

First, many thanks to your mom and aunt for their devotion to educating youth.
As for the gift--do they like to experience things rather than have things? If so, I''d plan a little getaway for them. If you live near a big city you can rent a hotel room, send them to a show, for manicures and pedicures, and a MASSAGE--any teacher would appreciate some pampering at the end of the school year, let alone at the end of the 37th.

I don''t know what grade they teach, but I''m planning on doing the following for my own mom when she retires from teaching:
Purchase a beautiful blank book or scrapbook and have my mother''s students write messages to her in the book. My mom teaches in a small private school and I''m close with some of her colleagues, so that won''t be hard for me. I wonder if you could contact someone at your mom''s and aunt''s schools. As a teacher there is nothing I cherish more than thank you notes from my kids.

Congrats to the both of them!

 

[Elmorton]

DQ, first of all, congrats to your mother and aunt for such long careers in education!

My dad taught his last day of classes on Wednesday - I didn''t get a gift, just wrote something to be read at his retirement party (his colleagues "roasted" him). There were two special gifts though that his colleagues gave him - one was a framed photo of the department about 10 years ago (that was also very sentimental because they lost a good friend an colleague to cancer about 4 years ago and he was in the photo) and then, as my dad teaches Speech/Communications and has been a HAM radio operator pretty much since he could talk, they found a vintage sterling HAM microphone and put it in a display case. He absolutely loved the gifts. Both gifts were sentimental and were a thoughtful recognition of his career.

Later this summer, I think I plan to have a photo framed and give it to him - I have a photo of my dad that I found in some old boxes that is a big 8x10 b&w glossy of him teaching - in his first years. He''s my age, wearing awful 70''s plaid pants...it''s totally great.

If you can find some of those old photos (high school or college handbooks or yearbooks might have some wonderful photos of your mom and aunt teaching), maybe have them blown up/reprinted. That would be a nice, personal gift. Or something that relates to the subject they taught- say a vintage print of a favorite author.

I agree with Haven, too, that tracking down students and having them write notes would be wonderful. My dad said that he knew it was unrealistic, but the thing he wished he could have most in his retirement celebration was to see some of his old students again.

And I also agree that a massage or special treat while you''re on vacay would be wonderful, too.

Whatever you do, DON''T purchase Apples of Gold.



****Also - it sounds like we''re getting close to a date/location for the IA/IL G2G over in Hangout! Hope you can come!

 

[dancingqueen]

Thanks for the great ideas! I talk to my other aunt yesterday and she had a good idea about train or plane tickets for them to come visit me. All thre sisters traveled to see me about 5 years ago and they had a blast. My aunt wants to do that again and give my mother and other aunt tickets for gifts. I''ll probably keep searching for something else special for my mom as a gift from me.