• Find out whether or not the teacher celebrates Christmas before rushing out to buy a gift.teacher image by Twilight Dragon from Fotolia.com
  
  Finding the right gift for your child's schoolteacher can present more of a problem than you may realize. Every year, nearly every child in the classroom presents the teacher with apple-themed gifts, coffee mugs and Christmas ornaments. While it is the thought that counts, gifts for teachers should be something that they want and could use.
  
  

Desk Set

• An elegant desk set is a gift a teacher could use for the classroom. Items for the top of the desk that help the teacher remain organized during the workday are especially helpful and welcome. Consider pencil and penholders, blotters, and file holders that organize the desk in a stylish way.
  
  

Supplies

• While it may not seem like a very exciting gift, many teachers appreciate supplies for the classroom as a Christmas gift. Purchase enough pencils to last the classroom a year, and paper to copy every assignment sheet for the year, and your child's teacher will be thrilled. Many classrooms suffer with an insufficient amount of supplies, and many teachers purchase materials for the classroom with their own money. Supplies for the classroom ease some of this burden on the teachers and show your appreciation for the hard work that they do all year.
  
  

Gift Cards

• Gift cards are a touch impersonal, but teachers really appreciate the ability to select their own gift. Consider the amount of bath beads, dusting powder, cologne and coffee mugs the teacher may have received throughout her career and you will see that a gift card really is a practical approach to the holiday gift. Parents may cringe at the thought of picking up a gift card for their child's teacher, but it is a preferred item among many.
  
  

Books

• Books for the classroom are always a nice gesture. Contributing to the classroom book collection is a gift that the teacher will use for years. If you are stumped on what books to buy, ask the teacher and find out what his wish list is for classroom books.
  
  

Class Projects

• A class project such as a student cookbook or photo album is a gift the teacher will treasure for years. This is also a great teaching moment for the children who work to put the book together for the holiday gift. Get together with other parents to come up with an idea for a group project for the holiday gift.