Best Holiday Gifts for Piano Teachers
Finding the Perfect Christmas and Holiday Gifts for Your Child's Piano Teacher
To answer this question, I decided to ask my fellow piano teachers to see what they considered to be the perfect Holiday gift. I conducted a poll in an online Yahoo group called Piano Teacher Support. This community of piano teachers has 819 members from all across the United States, Canada and all over the world.
Restaurant Gift Cards
Hands down, the gift that scored the highest among piano teachers was restaurant gift cards. Since many piano teachers are on a very limited budget, they loved having the opportunity to go out to eat at a restaurant. Also, many piano teachers teach during the dinner hour. The idea of not having to cook when they are finished teaching piano lessons is a wonderful gift. Most piano teachers said they preferred the casual sit-down restaurants which could be enjoyed with their entire family.
Bookstore Gift Cards
The next runner up for the perfect holiday gift was a gift certificate to a bookstore. Piano teachers love purchasing things such as piano music, CDs, and reading material. A gift certificate from places such as Barnes and Noble, Borders Bookstore or Amazon gives piano teachers a wide variety of items to choose from.
Prepaid Credit Cards
Another favorite among piano teachers are the prepaid credit cards. These cards allow the piano teacher to use the gift at any place which accepts credit cards.
Coffee Shop Gift Cards
Many of the coffee drinkers rated Coffee Shop Gift Cards as their favorite choice for Holiday gifts. Just make sure your teacher actually drinks coffee. I personally don't drink coffee, but could always find something else to purchase at a coffee shop. You might want to check your teacher's studio to see if there are any coffee cups around. If you don't see any coffee cups you might want to skip the coffee shop gift card and stick with a restaurant gift card.
Chocolate
Another gift that scored high was chocolate. With the majority of piano teachers being women, you can bet there are a lot of chocolate craving piano teachers out there. The tricky thing is knowing whether or not your piano teacher is on a diet or has food allergies. Ask your child if their teacher has ever talked about loving chocolate. Usually chocolate lovers love to bring up their addiction to chocolate!
Department Store Gift Cards
Department store gift cards were also favored by some piano teachers. One teacher said a Target gift card would be her ultimate gift since she does most of her shopping there.
Ornaments and Knickknacks
One gift which showed up on both the favorites and the least favorite list was Christmas ornaments and musical knickknacks. Some teachers said they already had too many Christmas ornaments and musical knickknacks cluttering up their studios. While other teachers appreciated the sentimental value of these types of items. Some piano teachers still treasure Christmas ornaments which were given to them by students thirty years ago. Another teacher collects miniature piano figurines so she loves receiving these as gifts.
Clothing
While gift cards for clothing stores rated high, giving actual pieces of clothing scored low. One piano teacher received a pair of pants which were the wrong size. She ended up going through a complicated return process which was a big hassle.
Other Gifts
Other gifts which were mentioned by piano teachers include: baked goods, salon gift cards, canvas bags, movie theater tickets, video rental gift cards, artwork made by the student, and hand-written notes of appreciation.
Gifts to Avoid
A few items made the list of gifts to avoid this Holiday season. These include: soaps, scented body lotions, popcorn tins, jelly, pads of paper, sachets, candles, pieces of clothing, musical themed clothing such as scarves, socks, etc., towels, and anything that may be considered clutter.
Charity Gift Cards
If you are still not sure what the perfect gift would be for your piano teacher, charity gift cards are an excellent alternative to buying a Holiday gift. You get the tax benefit of donating to a charity, while your piano teacher gets to decide which of the more than 100 charities to donate the money to. For more information check out CharityGiftCertificates.org
Published by Julie Lind
Julie Lind is a piano teacher, mother, composer and a writer. View profile
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5 Comments
Post a CommentLove the photo :) Good article!
Isn't it awesome when your students give you a gift? Great article. Made me smile.
very nifty ideas!!!
Julie,
As a piano teacher I give you an A+. I do love gift cards as a "can't go wrong" gift. My mom has tons of piano students and has received some very "interesting" gifts ... not necessarily bad, just not her taste. It's always iffy choosing something personal for someone you don't know that well. I wrote a very similar article on gifts to give and NOT give teachers, last Christmas. I'm so impressed you actually took a poll!
As a Piano Teacher, you are RIGHT ON Julie. While any gift given to me by one of my students will be appreciated, the ones that reflect that the Student actually knows me are the ones that touch my heart. My family collects turtles (no, not live ones) - so a turtle for my collection shows me that the Student (and parent) has taken the time to look at my life to see what I enjoy. I often use references to my love of coffee and chocolate (especially hard chocolate or mint chocolate) during my lessons (Silly references like "My coffee was really weak this morning, so my ears aren't quite awake yet - did I really hear you play that song without observing the key signature?"). So, a student who has listened will know that coffee and chocolate are sure-fire hits in my studio! Therefore, a gift that shows that the family has taken the time to actually put thought and effort into the selection really touches my heart. It makes me feel like they value me as a person AND as a teacher.