@cewilder Chiming in to agree about the timers! There an app called Countdown (I’m sure there are others but this one has worked like magic for us) - and as it counts down, it reveals a picture. He gets so excited to see what the picture’s going to be that he’ll transition onto the next thing...
@johnsubira I did a $50 visa gift card and put them inside a customized tote bag for each of the 6 teachers last year. I’ll probably do a bit more this year, since he only has 3 teachers (and I’ll probably do a bit less for the floaters)