It's that time of year again (school's nearly out for the summer)

So apparently it’s June. Nearly the end of June in fact. Yup, we’re not quite sure how exactly that has happened either…. but it’s fair to say time does definitely go more quickly the older we get. Our Grannie was right.

With the end of another school year looming, our diaries are filling up. End of term services, activities week, thanksgiving, nights out… it’s all go go go… which leaves even less time for thoughtful present shopping (and brings its own terrifying prospect of six weeks with no childcare… not that we’re suggesting that you don’t love ferrying children around the island for their various holiday clubs.. I mean who doesn’t?).

The good news is we are all over the end of year teacher gifts, and, because we’re so lovely, we’ve decided to impart all our wisdom for some thoughtful gifting to you. It’s just our way of ensuring the teachers of the island don’t all end up with wine and chocolates. Wine and chocolates are lovely, but we can help you to do better….

Some of our suggestions are also completely free. Talk about doing ourselves out of a job… all they require is your time and enthusiasm… (actually just time, as with all these things enthusiasm is entirely optional).

First off thank you cards. We all know that a handmade card from an enthusiastic primary school age child is the loveliest of things, and this would be our suggestion for any of you with children under ten. It doesn’t matter that Mrs Smith’s representation on the front of the card only has one leg, or pink hair it truly is the thought that counts and it shows that you care enough to have messed up your kitchen table to create it, and that means something.

However, many strange things occur as soon as a child starts secondary school (we should know, this year has been brutal)… One such side-effect of secondary education is that their love of sitting and creating something that you’ve asked them to ups and leaves the building. We’re not sure when/if it comes back… so we’ve got some card suggestions for you so that you can skip straight to the writing (without the teenage strop).

From left: Teaching me lots of brilliant stuff card £3.50 (50p goes straight to our nominated charity); Einstein card £3.25; Generally had a jolly lovely time card £3.50 (50p goes straight to our nominated charity)

When it comes to gifts themselves they are of course optional. There’s nothing that says that you have to buy a teacher a thank you gift for a year of education but we quite often do. In previous years we have found ourselves jangling all the way to the gate with prosecco in bags (not a great look at 830am on a weekday) and who doesn’t love wine and chocolates? But there will be a lot of wine and chocolates… and it’s sometimes nice to give something that doesn’t disappear on a Friday night but lasts a little longer.

The good thing about the school year ending in July is that gardens are full of flowers! And who doesn’t love a posy of flowers, especially when they’ve been picked by hand by a pupil.

There are of course tricks to elevating a posy from meh to wow. We’d start with a supermaket bunch of roses (I know we said this was free, but they do add a certain something). Gather some foliage from your garden - anything goes, from ferns to evergreen and cut them as long as the roses. Anything else you’ve got to hand, be it herbs (rosemary and mint make a lovely smelly addition), or agapathases, or even a hydrangea head, let your little one run wild and free (ish) and choose what they’d like.

When you’ve got your collection of flowers together, cut them all to the same length as far as possible, and strip the leaves from the bottom half of the stalk (careful with thorns). Add one stem at a time until they are in a bouquet and tie off with twine or ribbon as near to the flower bit as possible. You can then fill a jam jar with water, cut them down again to size, and pop them in ready to give (jam jars can be decorated with ribbon and tags… should you want some flower cutting scissors for yourself, we’ve obviously thought of that).

If you’re feeling less inclined towards floristry, why not opt for a set of three of our bud vases, and then you need only pick three single blooms (agapanthas last well and are abundent at this time of year as are hydrangeas). Easy, and beautiful.

Set of three bud vases £28.00

Another true sign of teacherly appreciation comes in the form of baked goods. Nothing says ‘thank you’ like handmade biscuits or fudge, and we’ve got the perfect jars for you to put yours in to give. (In future years we’ll even make the biscuits for you if you’d like, but until then you’ll have to mess your own kitchen up).

Ribbed glass biscuit jars (with tag included for you to write) from £6.00; Cake/biscuit dome (with tag included for you to write) £45.00.

If the very thought of creating flower bouquets and jars of biscuits brings you out in cold sweats, we do understand. You’ve got enough going on without having to think about picking up twine, or butter, or anything else at all, and in that case we’ve got you covered too.

Below are our top ten gifts for teachers from our site. With prices ranging from £10-£125 (the latter is definitely for a retirement/leaving Jersey gift), there is something to give whether you’re gifting singularly, or a group of you are clubbing together to get something to last a little longer. If you’ve not thought of getting together with some other parents, it’s definitely worth considering. A group of six of you have a lot more buying power, and £10 for a teacher goes towards something that will actually last.

As ever, if you need a hand with the wrapping, or sourcing something entirely unique please don’t hesitate to get in touch at harriet@harrietandrose.co.uk.

Our top ten teacher gifts for the frazzled of mind and short of time (all available for next day delivery in Jersey) are:

1) Reusable ceramic travel mug - perfect for any caffeine addicted teacher £15.00

2) Hello calm candle - beautiful Moroccan Rose scented candle (which gives £1 to charity for every one sold) £34.00

3) Druzy quartz earrings Eco-friendly and made from recycled stainless steel which means they are hypoallergenic these add a lovely bit of sparkle £25.00

4) Hangover solution apothecary bottle (perfect for a chemistry teacher) £25.00

5) Bath Soak - nothing says relax like a gorgeous bath soak, and these ethical and gorgeous soaks from Buff Bodycare also come with a conscience and a percentage of profits is donated to Surfers Against Sewage. £24.00

6) Bee Happy matches - for any teacher you know loves to snuggle by a fire pit or BBQ, these are a small and thoughtful reminder of a year of teaching… handwrite the card with ‘thank you for bee-ing my teacher’ and you’ll be winning on the pun front too. £10.00

7) Barbecue Smoked rubs - the long summer days = barbecues. These lovely BBQ rubs will definitely get some use, and are a bit of variety from the usual chocs. £10.00

8) Definitely more of a retirement or leaving Jersey gift and one to club together to buy, these beautiful cufflinks are by Lisa Le Brocq and a lasting reminder of working in Jersey. £125.00

9) A sketch a day… journal. Because teachers are people too, and the summer is the perfect time to remember to take time for themselves. £11.99

10) And Breathe… Due in before the end of term, but not yet on the website, this decanter pretty much sums up the feeling of any sensible teacher as the summer holidays begin. £60.00 (email us to reserve your decanter).