One profession that is constantly overlooked during this time of the year, are School Counselors. We see our teacher cohorts receive gift after gift and over the years for us, its pretty hit or miss. I've seen several post on cute ideas of gifts to get your child's teacher so I thought it would be nice for you to have a list to refer to for school counselors as well. When it comes to buying gifts, sometimes you really have to know the person. Without asking a lot of questions, I'm providing you with a few ideas that would make the perfect gift for child's school counselor.
1) Tissue, tissue and more tissue. I can honestly say that receiving boxes of tissue was one of the best gifts I have every received as a counselor. It was the start of a new semester and without even realizing it, I was down to my last box of tissues. A new parent was registering her child and asked to speak with me. She needed to share some sensitive information, so I would know how to best work with her child. During the session, the mom started tearing up and when I handed her the tissue box, it turned out to be the last tissue in the box that she pulled out. I went to my cabinet to retrieve another box and quickly realized I was out. I apologized to her and our session ended. The next day when I arrived at school, the mom came in and introduced me to her child and also handed me a gift. The card attached stated, "What's a counselor without these?" I opened the bag to find a 3-pack of tissues. As I thanked her she stated, "A counselor isn't a counselor if they don't have tissues." I thought this was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard and I still remember it today. Whenever I run low on tissues, I instantly remember what she said and smile to myself. I don't think this parent realizes the lasting impression she made with me.
2) Pens and Highlighters. Who doesn't love pens! I know I do and the smoother they write the better. Everyone loves pens and I know this well because they keep disappearing off my desk. I find that I have to put my pens in a drawer or in my bag if I really want to keep them. This has helped out over the years. The same goes for highlighters which are so needed in my profession.
3) Ink and Printer Paper. Now, one would think that these things are supplied to us by our schools, but this is not always true. With budget cuts, ink and paper are a commodity to any educator. In order to purchase the ink you would have to know what type is used with their printer so you can either ask or have a fellow coworker of their's find out for you. Counselors use a lot of paper so any amount will do. Colorful paper is always a dream.
4) Sticky Notes and Notepads. The cuter the better. I am a sticky note queen. I used them for everything. I put my To Do list on sticky notes and as I complete a task, I throw it away. Why notepads? I'm a counselor, why else? I think that's a given.
5) Lysol and Hand Sanitizer. I think you can figure out why these made the list. Working in a school means working around germs. When the cold session arises, these little babies really come in handy to keep the germs at bay. I'm sure you would appreciate it if you had to come in for a visit.
Now enough with the school supplies, lets get to the really good stuff.
6) Peppermints or gum. To keep our breath fresh of course. You may be coming in to talk to us and the last thing we want to do is offend you. Such an inexpensive, yet nice gift to receive.
7) Subscriptions, Classes or Conference Fees. Now this one may be a tough one and you may have to personally ask about this. Receiving confirmation that you have paid for a subscription to a counseling magazine, upcoming class fees, or paid for a regional or national counseling conference/training would be the icing on the cake. Can you see how this would put a smile on our faces? Again, these are not necessarily paid for us with school funds. We have to pay out of our own pockets to receive the necessary trainings to maintain our jobs.
8) Movie Passes. Now who wouldn't love these! Opening a card and finding passes that I can use towards any movie of my choice would be a great way for me to have fun over the holiday break.
So, a gift card to my favorite paint and sip spot would truly be ideal! The one I frequent most is Bottles N Brushes, but there are plenty in the area to try. I also love trying new recipes so a gift card for a cooking class would be an awesome treat. Charleston Cooks, in downtown Charleston, is one of my local bucket list items to try. And with all the stress we deal with, a gift card to a local spa to receive a massage would be right up my alley. We, counselors, take on the stress of our students and having someone to knead out the knots in our body would help us to keep doing what we do.
10) Water, coffee, tea, and wine. These are all very palette moistening treats that would make great gifts indeed. Water is just so essential to keep our bodies healthy, plus with all the talking we do, it helps to keep our throats from going dry. Slap on a bow and a cute little tag and that's all you need! Coffee or tea are great for getting that morning jolt of energy needed to start our day or for an afternoon pick-me-up to sustain us till the end. And after a long day of work, to be able to come home and pop the cork on a nice bottle of wine can be the best thing to relax us as we prepare for a good night's rest.
These are just a few things that I feel will make great gifts for a School Counselor. I'm sure you can see how helpful these would be and how they would make our holidays Merry and Bright! Did you remember your child's school counselor this holiday season?
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