If you’ve ever tried to run a zoom call full of kids, you’d likely need a little something to take the edge off too. This year has been a crazy one for our teachers, and while they may be back in classes with their students, the last 18 months have been a huge stress for the people in this important position.
So of all the years to get a solid gift for them, this is the one you should be upping your budget a bit, and flexing your generosity.
As a good rule of thumb, you should be giving one of two types of gifts: food (sweet tooth, savoury snacks, gift cards for dinner) or, alcohol (see: booze). Speaking as the son of a teacher, nobody wants to come home with a new set of pencils, an oven mitt, or a hand-crafted wall tapestry.
These are all your best bets.
Snacks
Vancouver
Swiss Bakery
If a donut leaves St. Louis at 3:45 pm and a croissant departs Chicago on the same track at 4:40 pm, Pacific Standard Time, at what point will they collide and create a Frissant? The answer, is who cares as long as it’s as delicious of a collision as the ones they make at Swiss Bakery in Mount Pleasant. One of the first in the city to offer this hybrid treat, they’ve become famous for their inventive and creative offerings. No doubt a box of these little babies will smooth over any report card that needs improvement, even if your math ends up being a bit off.
@swissbakeryyvr
swissbakery.ca
Beta 5 Chocolates
At first, we were going to recommend the amazing matcha bars from one of our fave chocolate producers, but upon rechecking their site, these wizards of cocoa have once again outdone themselves. The ‘Fruit of Knowledge’ is a hand-painted dark chocolate apple filled with salted caramel truffles, accompanied by a hand-painted, aerated dark chocolate pencil and presented on a dark chocolate base. Putting this down on Teach’s desk is an automatic pass and several gold stars.
@beta5chocolates
beta5chocolates.com
Richmond
Damien’s Belgian Waffles
Whenever we’re in Steveson, swinging by Damien’s is a must.
Made with all-natural ingredients and no eggs or nuts, this small business has stuck to one specialty and made sure they do it exceptionally well. Matcha, dark chocolate dip, or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, every option is more decadent than the last. When all the gifts are lined up at the end, and everyone secretly decides which is the best, yours will surely be at the top of the class.
@damienswaffles
damienswaffles.ca
Surrey
Just Cakes Bakeshop
Now, you COULD organize a cake on behalf of everyone, OR spring it on the class and blow all other gifts to smithereens! We don’t want to get you too wrapped up in classroom politics, so we’ll maybe suggest this be a group effort. Just Cakes Bakeshop is one of our go-to pastry spots in Surrey for any special occasion. Whether you need something grande, or just bite-sized treats, it’s basically a one-stop-shop for making any delicious gesture.
@justcakesbakeshop
jcbcollab.com
Burnaby
Mon Paris Patisserie
If your teacher has a sweet tooth, then it’s in your best interest to steer clear of the drug store aisle. Why present them with what they could essentially grab from a vending machine when you have the opportunity to dazzle with freshly made macarons? Burnaby’s premier French patisserie keeps their shelves well-stocked with brioche, croissants and galettes, so it’s best to walk in with a game plan, or you could be there all day. Make your own pack of six or twelve and pick between 12 flavours like pistachio, lavender, passion fruit, or caramel. Use the mixing and matching of flavours to send them on a journey of tastes similar to the journey of knowledge they take their students on every day. Hey just because that was terrible, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Sips
Coquitlam
Provincial Spirits
Seeing as in most classrooms, it’s typically uncouth to be mixing cocktails at your desk, Provincial Spirits has admirably filled the niche created by this archaic rule. Just picture the heights your reputation will soar to as your teacher cracks a bottle of Blood Orange, Vanilla, Cardamom & Vodka as they’re softly swinging in a hammock this summer. And really that’s what your fellow classmates will fail to realize, gifting something tasty to sip on is all about the long game. They’ll savour each ounce while praising the day your name appeared on the attendance sheet.
@provincialspirits
provincialspirits.co
Langley
Chaberton Winery / Township 7 / Glass House
There are so many great spots to grab a nice bottle in Langley, that it hardly seems fair to list them all under one entry. If this is cheating, then please don’t put it on our permanent record. We’ll likely put together an article soon about the best route to take for a wine tour of the area, but for the sake of brevity, you really can’t go wrong with a bottle from Domaine de Chaberton, Township 7, or The Glass House. All outstanding vineyards run by wonderful people. If anything, each bottle will act as a postcard for pinnacle spots to visit this summer.
@chabertonestatewinery
chabertonwinery.com
@glasshousewine
glasshouseestatewinery.com
North Vancouver
Sons of Vancouver Distillery
If your teacher wears shades indoors, sits on their chair backwards and says “listen up, people”, there’s a good chance they have hipster vibes (see: Mr. Turner in Boy Meets World). We absolutely don’t mean that in a bad way, they simply have an affinity for the finer things. A bottle of spirit water from Sons of Vancouver is just the ticket to make them break their cool facade and dip their shades all low in appreciation.
Tip: A splash of their Chili Vodka will make a passable caesar mix, and put it squarely on the honour roll.
@sonsofvancouver
sonsofvancouver.ca
So what will you be settling on now that classes are drawing to a close? Let us know which gift you decide to give to your teacher, and fingers crossed you won’t be spending any more time in detention than you deserve.
The post No More Apples Please: 8 Gifts Your Teacher Will Actually Love appeared first on WestCoastFood.