It’s that time of year once again; the time of year that kids are eagerly waiting for that final bell to ring and for six uninterrupted weeks of no school!

The Summer Holidays hold lots of happy memories for most of us, whether it’s riding your bikes with pals, summer camps, sleepovers, or my personal favourite: cartoons and cereal first thing in the morning.

As I’ve grown up and some of my friends have become teachers, my understanding of the Summer Holidays has changed a little.  This is the time of year my friends are available for weeknight drinks, but still have to be up reasonable to carry on with their prep.  This is the time of year where they can take their little ones for days out, but then stay up later to fit their lesson planning in.  This is the season of inset days, extra training and staff meetings, getting their classrooms ready and refreshing their diaries ready for September.  So with all of the free time comes more demands.

You may have a child or teen who is getting their plans all sorted for how to spend their time off, but it might be worth looking back at the past year and how their teacher has supported them the past nine or so months.

Teachers are under a lot of pressure right now, and they are working harder than ever for our children.  They’re not just teachers: they’re carers; negotiators; therapists; nurses; lawyers; the list goes on!

I remember a particular teacher in high school that I had.  He was a great laugh, cared deeply about his subject and found ways to get his students interested in weird and wonderful ways.  He would take the time to check in with his students and encourage them to work hard at what they were doing.  I haven’t seen him in a long time, but I wish I had told him how much of a difference he’d made to my time at school.

Saying thank you to a teacher at the end of the school year is a long tradition, dating hundreds of years where families would pay for their children’s education with apples (hence the ‘bring an apple for teacher’ stereotype).  And while apples aren’t really the gift du jour for teachers nowadays, getting something thoughtful for them is a lovely way of showing your appreciation for all their hard work this year.

At OohBox, we have a whole page dedicated to saying thank you!  Our "Thank You Teacher" gift box comes with a beautiful apple shaped paper weight, some luxury chocolates and a gorgeous smelling candle to really boujee up their desk.  If you think they’d prefer a spa evening, or a nice tipple, we have those sorts of things too, just check out our ‘Thank You’ page on our website!

We hope your kids enjoy their Summer Holidays, and I hope you manage to find the perfect way to say ‘cheers’ to their wonderful teacher!