Help me brainstorm big daycare gift

[krystee]

We have sent our kids to the same in-home daycare since DS was three months old (now 7). She is like a grandma to our kids. She adores them, and she is so good to us. In the pandemic, she opened her doors just for us when everything was closed and we were our own little bubble of one extra person, and she plans her vacations around our dates usually (she has other kids and a helper, but we’ve become like family). She also doesn’t charge us (or any other family) for our vacations. She picks DS2 up from preschool to finish the day at her house, and DS1 goes there on the day he doesn’t have camp in the summer. We could not have made it without her.

My kids have one more year there and I’d like to get her a special gift when we leave, and I want it to start saving now so I don’t feel the pinch. She rarely does anything for herself and she must spend so much money on groceries for the kids (she feeds them breakfast, lunch, and two snacks). I was thinking about a $250 Southwest gift card and a $250 Marriott gift card, but with the rising cost of travel, I feel like that wouldn’t get her anywhere. So then I was thinking maybe a $250 grocery gift card and a $250 gift card to something more fun? She likes reading, so I thought maybe a Book of the Month subscription.

Any other ideas staying around the $500 mark? Maybe hotel and gas card instead of plane for more of a nearby trip, which may be more feasible for her anyway, since she doesn’t travel a ton? I don’t think she is the spa type. She loves to cook, read and garden. Or should I do flowers and $500 cash? I’m worried that if I went the cash route, she would just zelle $400 back to me and tell me I was being ridiculous.’

[icedcoffee]

Cash and a Shutterfly photo book full of pictures over the years. like a yearbook of sorts with notes of favorite memories over the years.

Cash is definitely king. I would not do such a large gift card.

[zarapipe]

Do you really think she would send it back? I would just do cash and book of the month or flowers.

[savan]

Cash. I used to give our dcp a week’s worth in cash for Christmas and she was always thrilled to be able to splurge on something for herself. I would definitely choose cash and let her decide what she wants to do with it.

[af1212]

Cash and I would have my kids write her a nice note. I also might have their handwriting etched onto a vase or something.

[VillainV]

I like the idea of cash and a photo book. Maybe with a note like “you have done so much for us and meant so much to our family over the years, it would mean so much to us if you’d do one more thing, and that’s treat yourself to something nice, on us.”

[hermione]

I'd do cash and have the kids write "thank you" and turn it into a keychain (we did this for grandparents one Christmas and it was a hit).

[macmars45]

I love that your family has such a great relationship with your childcare provider! I grew up with a similar relationship (she is roughly my parents' age though). As adults my sisters and I still see her and her family. She loves having our kids over to play at her house. <3

I'd do cash and a book of the month if I were you.

[ellipses84]

You reminded me to send DS1s 1st DCP a photo update. We had a similar relationship but they were a husband-wife team and like surrogate grandparents during our first 3 years of DS1’s life until we moved away, since we had no family nearby. For the length of your relationship and how much she helped out the past couple years above and beyond what was expected, I don’t think a gift worth a month of daycare payments is unreasonable. You won’t be paying for daycare anymore so it’s basically just extending it a month.

You have some time so I’d try to get some ideas from her without directly asking. Like if she mentions some road trip destination then a gas gift card and hotel gift card would be great. It’s definitely difficult to get away as a home DCP so a weekend road trip may be easier for her (my mom and sister have both done it for a while). I’d also consider a target gift card and some nice flowers/keepsake gift so she can buy whatever she wants, even groceries, but it still frees up money in her budget to do something else while preventing her from sending the money back to you.