This post is sponsored by GroupTogether.
It is reaching the end of winter sport season and along with this comes the time to buy a gift for the coaches and team managers. My husband and I have played these roles for various teams and while you never do it expecting anything, it has always been incredibly lovely to receive something from the team.
On the other side of the fence, as a parent I truly appreciate the time, effort and enthusiasm that those taking on these roles give to my kids and want to show my thanks through a gift. I also think it is important too for the kids to know that the coach volunteers their time and to be part of the gift giving presentation for the coach to say thank you for their efforts.
If you have been the parent who organises the coach’s gift you will be aware that while it doesn’t take the same time and energy it does to coach the side, it can be a time consuming and tedious task!
It is never that parents don’t want to put in for the gift, but the difficulty comes from:
- Letting people know about the collection, without the key people becoming aware of it
- Reminding people of when it is was due
- Seeing people to be able to collect the money
This year for example in my son’s football side, the last few weeks saw many boys away on school camps. For the last month of the season we would have had many players missing for each game, making it incredibly difficult to see everyone to collect the money for a gift. So when the email came around about the gift collection, I suggested to the organiser that we use GroupTogether.
After quickly checking it out, she set up a collection in minutes. I received an email from the organiser with a link that I clicked and paid straight away – it took me less than a minute! As a contributor, the service is super easy to use and you can pay by a variety of methods. The whole team was super happy with the service.
GroupTogether is a new start up founded by two mums who wanted an easy way to take the hassle and waste out of giving group gifts. They also wanted a way to make it easy for gift givers to include a philanthropic element so included an option to donate a portion of the gift pool to a charity when you set up the collection.
GroupTogether is free to setup and then there’s a small fee for each contribution that is made to the collection. The small fee per contribution varies depending on the method of payment – bank transfers, 4% for MC/Visa, 5% for Paypal or international credit cards.
This means that for a $20 contribution to a gift the fee is $1 or less and you have a chance to determine whether you take the fee out at the end or if you add the fee on top of each person’s contribution.
And as mum’s they know exactly what the end of sports season is like so they have set up a special offer for parent’s to be able to thank their kids’ coaches. For a limited time (30th Oct 2016) those setting up a gift collection for coaches can do so fee free!
To set up a collection it is very easy and only takes a few minutes:
- You decide the amount, the name of the collection and when the money is due.
- GroupTogether emails the team via the addresses you have entered and gives you a link to share.
- Parents chip in online and are also able to sign the GroupCard and upload a photo.
- Once the due date has passed GroupTogether transfer the money to you for the gift.
So much easier than the usual chasing up of money and the awkward follow up conversations you have to have with other parents!
Head to the special page for the GroupTogether FeeFree Thanks Coach Collections to start organising the gift for your kids’ coach Fee Free before 30th Oct 2016.
5 gift ideas for the kids’ coach
If you need some gift idea inspiration for what to buy the coach once you have the money, here are 5 gift ideas that we know have been appreciated by coaches.
Vouchers
I think this has been the most common gift my husband has received for being a coach and there are so many different types of vouchers you can buy:
- For the gardener – Bunnings vouchers can be bought online here
- For the adventure junkie – Redballoon Outdoor Adventure experiences can be bought online here
- For the foodie – Good Food Vouchers can be bought online here
- For the music lover- iTunes vouchers can be bought online here
- For the movie lover – Gold class vouchers can be bought online here
Photo album
For a football coach we had for a number of years, one clever parent who took many photos through out the seasons put together a photo album and had it printed. All the boys were asked to send in a thank you note they would like included in the book and parents could also add their thoughts too. It was a really beautiful keep sake.
There are a number of online services that you can make photo albums with like:
Sporting tickets
Tickets to a major sporting event in that sporting code they coach or love can make a great gift. This may require some discussion with the partner of the coach though to make sure they are free to attend the event.
Some major sporting events coming up are:
- Soccerroos Asian Qualifiers Road to Russia Games
- 2016 AFL Premiership Season Tickets, Packages and Experiences – a varying range of prices, packages and dates available
- Fast5 Netball World Series
Aromatherapy First Aid Kit
This Aromatherapy First Aid Kit is not your traditional first aid kit, but one that is the perfect kit for every home that embraces natural healing modalities. It includes:
- Ceramic Vaporiser
- Lavender, Tea Tree & Immune Boost synergy blends
- Magnesium Health Spray
- Cold Pressed Carrier Oil
- 2 x Spritzer Bottles and White Bowl
- Healing Skin Boost
Drink and glasses
This one you need to make sure whether or not the coach enjoys an alcoholic drink or not before you by it. If you have attended any of the team’s social events you will most likely already know this information. If they do partake you could buy:
- A bottle of fine French Champagne with two gorgeous champagne flutes engraved with the team name and year.
- A bottle of aged whiskey with two lovely tumblers engraved with the team name and year.
GroupTogether $100 Visacard giveaway
The giveaway has now closed – congratulations to Lucy who had this answer:
I’m a volunteer kids netball coach. At the end of last season the girls bought me a beautiful bottle of perfume. I adore it! I wear it on match day and the kids all associate the smell with a win!
To help you buy the perfect gift for your kids’ coach, GroupTogether are giving away to one reader of Planning With Kids a $100 Visacard. To enter simply complete the form below, letting me know what your best idea for a coach’s gift is.
Terms and conditions
- To enter you must complete the form below. Upon entering the competition you will be signed up to the GroupTogether newsletter to receive great gift ideas, tips and inspiration to make life easier and gifting more interesting. If you are reading via email, please click here to enter if you cannot see the form.
- The giveaway is open to Australian residents only.
- The winner will be notified via email. You must have a valid email address to enter. If no response is received with 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
- The give away will close Tuesday 23rd August 2016.
- The winner will be chosen by Planning With Kids based on creativity and you can only enter once.
- Please see full terms and conditions here.