I need help finding a good Christmas gift for my mentor.
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What do they like? You could begin with their interests and then narrow it down.
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get them a vice with their name engraved on it
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Be authentic - a card / video prezo that highlights impact of mentor personally, team, club… even simple thanks is more than most mentors/coaches/advisors expect - bottom line be authentic - will make the most grizzly coaches and mentors feel appreciated 
Then think, how to pay it forward? Be kind to alliance partners, younger age teams in district, teammates, so-called rival schools … etc
Truth be told - that latter point of paying it forward is the greatest gift for any coach/mentor/teacher !
Be safe, be kind, and share your passion and opportunities for robotics to all around you!
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I’d be happy with a working autonomous routine. That would be the best gift of all.
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- An hour build session without squabbles
- getting the notebook in shape
- clean up the progamming directory so there isn’t a “final”, “newest final”, “latest edition of the final”, “newest and final final final” names on the code.
- sorting the small parts so it’s not a 5 min dig to find a thin lock nut
- Go back and put bearing blocks on ALL the shafts now, rather than the night before an event.
… ya know the simple, home made gifts that are the best …
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Thank you guys for the suggestions! I was thinking of a working robot and a new popcorn machine cause she loves popcorn. But, alas too far out of the budget. And it’s not like the schools gonna fund us anymore. 
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then get her a bag of caramel popcorn/ chocolate popcorn/cheesy popcorn
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Get him/her a framed picture of Drow.
In all seriousness though what about just a pic/letter of your team saying thank you for all of the hours that he/she likely volunteers so you guys can pursue robotics.
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Bruh if I did thst my mentor would be so confused on who thst is.
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Custom shirt could be cool. Maybe you have a team shirt that you could customize just for him. That’s what we did for our mentor when it was his birthday
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Honestly, a letter thanking her for her time, and effort will be appreciated more than you could ever know.
Being a teacher/coach can often be a thankless job. So much of what mentors do for teams involves countless hours “behind the scenes” in the form of organizing, fundraising, paperwork, ordering, and all sorts of other time-consuming menial tasks, and sometimes we, unfortunately, have to deal with people who are less than supportive. I definitely have days when I ask myself WHY do I volunteer to do this? On those days, I open a drawer in my desk where I have every letter that a student or team member has ever written to me over the years. I start reading through them, and immediately get flooded with good memories, and I remember why it is all worth it.
We do what we do to help the kids. The kids are what matters, and hearing from one of them that I made a difference to them means the world to me. I’m sure it does to your coach too.
A small gift card or something is always appreciated as well, but the card it comes in, and especially the message written in it mean more than any gift could.
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If all else fails, wine works…
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Lol. I mean abit weird but.
“Stay away from wine. Wine is crying juice.”
- Donna Meagle
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I would recommend just cleaning up all the parts and the entire robot room.
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Would you say you want a new autonomous for Christmas? #PigPenParodies
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I’m gonna combine practically everything, everyone said. (Except wine) I’m also going to give her a clean room to start the year because she recently got hip surgery and she can’t walk. (Kinda hoping she doesn’t see the forum.)
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