A Christmas gift for the teacher, from the whole class

The class collection for a teacher usually ends in a gift card and a card that thirty children signed in a hurry at the school gate. The everyone signs print keeps the part teachers tend to hold on to, the messages, and sets them on one sheet for the classroom or the hallway at home. It is sold as a leaving and retirement print, and it works the same way for a thank-you from a class.

How the class signs it

Whoever is organising (often a class rep) types the teacher's name, starts the board and copies the link. That link goes into the class WhatsApp group or the parents' email. Each family opens it on a phone, adds the child's name and a message of up to 200 letters, and that is it: no account, no app, and nothing for the teacher to spot in a book bag. The organiser sees every message as it arrives and can untick any to leave off.

Younger children can tell a parent what to write. A reception class tends to produce lines such as "thank you for the guinea pig" or "you are better than Christmas", and those tend to be the ones a teacher remembers. If some messages came in on paper, the organiser can type them onto the board.

Will thirty messages fit?

Up to sixty. The writing sets itself as large as it can, so a class of thirty is still readable at 30 x 45 cm. If the board gets crowded, the page suggests a larger size first: 40 x 60 cm prints the writing about a third bigger. It is worth saying to parents that the lettering is a handwriting-style type, not each child's own writing, so nobody expects to see their child's spelling reproduced. Spelling fixes are only ever offered as suggestions; nothing is changed unless the organiser accepts it.

Timing for the end of term

Schools break up on different days, so work back from yours. Give families about a week to sign, then order. Most orders arrive within 5 to 8 working days, and the product page shows the current estimate. After you pay you have two hours to make changes from the link in your order email, so a late message from a forgetful family can still go on if it arrives quickly. Messages signed after that change nothing. The board asks for no emails and no accounts, and it closes after 30 days and is then deleted.

Teaching assistants and nursery staff

A teaching assistant or a nursery key worker can have their own board from the same organiser, which is often fairer than adding their name to the corner of the teacher's. For a lighter extra, the certificate print sets one achievement with full ceremony and can be signed by "the whole of Class 4"; the year's achievement is yours to write. For a teacher who would rather have a mug, our Teacher era design is printed on mugs, T-shirts and prints.

Every print is made to order in the UK after you approve it, and the parcel goes out with no receipt or invoice inside, so it can be sent to the class rep's address. Start the class board.