THINKING BACK: The best gift I ever got was a matching shirt and pants with blue, red and green swirls on the top and bell-bottom pants. I was seven – and it was just sooooo mod. I wore it every second day, as soon as my mom washed it. It never saw the inside of a drawer; I felt like Laurie Partridge, my idol, and if you know who that is, you're as old as me!

If my mom had asked me what I wanted to give my teacher for Christmas, I would have said, “This exact outfit, Mom, only bigger! Miss Thomas would love to wear this!” Miss Thomas would have hated that outfit. I think we gave her some nice tea towels. But it got me thinking…if Grade 2 students were in charge of getting their teacher a gift, what would it be?

“An elephant! And a waffle.” CAM W., 8

“My teacher gift will be a zebra necklace. She can wear it all the time. Maybe it'll be gold.” JUSTIN P., 7

“I would give my teacher flowers. Real ones, not pretend ones. Lots and lots of daisies, ‘cause I really like daisies.” ALYSSA G., 8

“I think the perfect present is an ice cream maker. I think she really wants one. Then she could make ice cream for her kids. Her real kids, not us, ‘cause we're not her real kids just her school kids. But she would share. She could make chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate chip and bubblegum.” SERTINA B., 8

“A turtle. A really big turtle with teeth, like a dinosaur one. It could live on my desk and she could see it all the time!” CONNOR D., 8

“She really needs a purse and lipstick and nail polish. The nail polish should be gold and silver and pink and red and purple.” ERIN W., 7

“She needs class stuff. More books, more pencils, more glue sticks and more scissors.” JAYDEN W., 8

“A gold coin. A Chuck E. Cheese coin!” ALLYSA G., 7

“A $100 bill. I have one!” WILLIAM K., 7

“A goldfish! Maybe a dog.” MARIE F., 7

“I would get her earrings with her name on them. Unless there's someone else that has her name, then they'd have the same earrings. What if someone else's name is Mrs. Antonellis? That wouldn't be good.” JESSICA L., 7

“A Wii! A whole games area with a TV! Yeah! And games! That would be awesome!” EVERYONE


TEACHERS GRIN AND BEAR IT
I asked four primary teachers about their most ‘interesting' teacher gifts, ever!

“Lingerie. Black, lacy, with little red bows, and about six sizes too big for me. It was all I could do not to giggle out loud!” Mrs. F., Kindergarten teacher

“A book on how to be a teacher. I was the joke of the staff room for months!” Mrs. K., Grade 1 teacher

“A bottle of tequila. It had a brightly coloured label and a red cap, and all the kids shouted ‘juice!' and wanted to have some.” Mrs. S., Kindergarten teacher

“Bright pink, high-heeled, bedroom slippers; the kind with the fluffy frou frou on them. All the girls loved my ‘Barbie shoes' and I tottered around on them for the rest of the day.” Ms L., Grade 1 teacher