Gifts For Teacher

(CBS)  When the folks at The Saturday Early Show asked teachers and students at a New Jersey elementary school about presents for the educators, they got some answers that were surprising, and not!

Said one teacher: "I have gotten a lot of nice presents over the years. Theater tickets to a Neil Simon play, second row orchestra. That was the best present."

And another: "I got a bottle of scotch once. I am not sure what that meant. I do teach kindergarten."

Asked what they would like to get for their teachers, the children came up with a list that included a trip to the Bahamas ("because she gets cranky sometimes") and a motorcycle.

But more realistic suggestions include a day at the spa or "anything homemade."

Don't play it too safe. With a laugh, one of the teachers warned, "Candles are a nice gift, but most of us who have been teaching for a long time, have an awful lot of candles!"

Laurie Gelman, a contributing editor for Cookie Magazine, dropped by The Early Show with some suggestions.

LeSportsac Bags can be used at home or at work, and cost between $16 and $20. They are available at LeSportsac stores nationwide and online at www.lesportsac.com.

Single Potted Amaryllis: Seasonal and sweet smelling, this will last through the winter months. Available online at Jackson & Perkins Web site for $29.95.

Tea for One: For tea drinkers, give The Teastick, $18 from wishingfish.com. It's a good way to drink tea at your desk.

Cookies in decorative tins: -$26 for Madeleines in Signature Fauchon Truck, www.fauchon.com. After she is done with these buttery biscuits and madeleines, she can use the pretty tins to hold loose odds and ends like paper clips, pencils and thumbtacks.

Dazzling Jewel Paperweight, fredflare.com, $12. Decadent and silly.

Plant Pal Desktop Organizer, fredflare.com, $28. The flower is a tape dispenser; stem is a computer brush; the leaf is a letter opener; and the pot can be used to hold pencils or paperclips.

Visit www.Cookiemag.com for Cookie's suggested gifts for moms, dads, fine food gifts — and check back next week for kids' gift suggestions.

Gift Guide for Dads
http://www.cookiemag.com/gear/2006/10/giftguide06dad

Gift Guide for Moms
http://www.cookiemag.com/gear/2006/11/giftguide06mom

Fine Food Gift Guide
http://www.cookiemag.com/food/2006/11/foodgiftintro