Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Teacher Gift Ideas

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  Last week on Instagram I asked for graduation and teacher gift ideas and so many great ones came in that I decided to split them into two different posts!  Some of the ideas below are my tried and true favorites and others were reader suggestions.  

PLEASE KNOW that the best gift you can give a teacher is a thank you note... even an email!  Something that we can file away and pull out on the REALLY hard days.  I have thank you notes from 13 years ago that I still appreciate.  Don't underestimate the power of a thank you!





That said, I know that lots of people DO love to give end-of-the-year gifts for their kids' teachers so here we go! 

- Notebooks and pens - 
I feel like a love of office supplies is a requirement for being a teacher :)  A good pack of pens and a pretty notebook are some of my favorite things to receive.

These pens are teacher staples (and are $7 off right now!)...



... and  these notebooks are so pretty and under $6 each.


- A summer package -
LOTS of people suggested this kind of gift... a cute tote with summer items like a beach towel, magazine, bottle of sangria, sunscreen, etc.

- A new "teacher bag"- 
Teachers tote A LOT of stuff to and from school and a new "teacher bag" with a note about how much you appreciate all the work your kids' teacher carries would be so sweet!

I have several of  these bags and they last FOREVER!  They're on sale and come in a variety of colors (how fun would school colors be?!?!)


- A night out with their kids/spouse -
A sweet note gifting the teacher a "night out" with their family or their spouse.  A restaurant gift card, movie gift card and even a gift card for dessert after.

- A personalized cup -
I feel like these kind of cups are the new coffee mug :)  I have several and use them every day.  I gifted these to my kids teachers for Christmas and they all loved them.  Plus my kids get a huge kick out of seeing their teachers use "their cups" .  Amanda at That Inspired Chick does such a great job and  these would make PERFECT gifts!



- Activity passes for the teacher and their kids/spouse -
Several people suggested museum passes, movie tickets, gift cards for the smoothie store, sporting event tickets, etc.

- Dinner! -
A reader wrote me about how a parent brought her the pre-bagged dinner for two from Central Market (it even had a bottle of wine!) and gave it to her during the first week of school.  I think this would be great during the last week of school as well but you could also file it away for Fall!  Someone else wrote about how the parents in her class made a meal train for her for the whole month of May! WHAT?!?!  Sign me up for that!!!  

- A S'Mores Kit -
A reader recommended a  s'mores kit and I think it's such a cute idea!  She said her and her family used it the entire summer - so fun!


- A car wash -
I thought this one was so creative but so perfect!!!  Who doesn't love a clean car?!?!  One reader even said that a group of parents all chipped in and brought in a company to wash and detail cars in the school parking lot!!!  They let the teachers know ahead of time so they could clean out their cars but isn't that the best idea?!?!

- A bottle of champagne!- 
A reader suggested this as one of her favorite gifts she's received and I think it's such a fun idea!  Unexpected and with a quick note saying something about "cheers for summer vacation!" or something like that I think it could be great (depending on your rapport with the teacher!).

- Red Box -
Someone wrote in and said that once she got a Yeti cup with a card attached that read, "put down the red pen and pick up a redbox... you deserve a night off".  I mean!!!  You could easily do this attached to a bag of microwave popcorn or gift card to a pizza place as well.  

- Gift Cards -
It really doesn't have to be HUGE to put a big smile on a teacher's face.  $5 to cover their morning caffeine run or ice cream for their own kids on their way home from school.  Since I teach middle school I'm one of 8 (or more!) teachers that my students have and I receive lots of $5 cards and appreciate each and every one!

I really hope that this post has been helpful!  I'd love to know if you have any favorite gifts to give or receive - leave them in the comments so we can all peruse :)  

Happy Tuesday, friends!!!

PS - this post contained affiliate links... thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!



16 comments :

  1. Love these ideas! I’ve also received tervis tumblers which are great, too! And like you said, you can’t go wrong with a gift card.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This reminds me...I need to get ON it for end of the year gifts! Thanks for all the suggestions!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What great suggestions, Andrea! I’m getting on this right now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I typically buy a hanging basket or perennial plant and of course a handwritten note

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is going to come as no surprise, but I gave Carter's 2nd grade teacher a blardigan. He told me just yesterday that she still wears it almost every single day. I think she must keep it over her chair at school and slip it on whenever chilly!!! It was a splurge for a teacher gift for sure, but her birthday is Christmas Eve...so it was her birthday gift and Christmas present rolled into one....and she was very special to Carter. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Perfect ideas!!!!!! Need to get on my teacher gifts now!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great suggestions! Thank you for sharing : )

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you so much for these wonderful ideas! I just placed an order for the tote for my kiddo's first grade teacher. Thanks again - I love ALL of your ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  9. My kids are in middle school so we've sort of gotten away from teacher gifts but the PTO does teacher appreciation week and I try to sign up to treat a teacher throughout the week as a way to give back for all their hard work. We chose a male gym teacher this year and I love the carwash idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great post Andrea! But I have a question, does anybody have any suggestions for daycare teachers? My daughter is going to start kindergarten in the fall but she has 3 or so daycare teachers, what would be an appropriate gift to give them? Something for all of them, like donuts or muffins or something, or a small gift card to each one of them? I appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. So many great ideas!! As a former teacher, I completely agree with you about a thoughtful note being the very best gift. It just really means SO much. I am filing away the meal train idea and parking lot car detail idea for my kids' teachers next year!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I used to work at Nothing Bundt Cakes- a gift card for a bundtlet isn’t super expensive but such a good treat!!!!! And they get to pick their favorite flavor on a rainy day!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Teacher Appreciation week is in May too so this comes in very handy! As a former school teacher, those pens are everything!

    ReplyDelete
  14. In case anyone still reads this post, don't forget those specials or special ed teachers. At Christmas and at the end of the year I try to do something little for all the specials teachers. They often are forgotten! I am a special ed preschool itinerant teacher (I travel to daycares and preschools to see my students) and although I don't need anything. A thank you goes a long way!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I suspect that if each of you wrote a short essay describing the most interesting things you learned this year and how your teacher helped make that happen, it would be hard to beat.

    Helen,

    P/s: Pls feel free to visit my place, if you care about groupon free shipping coupon

    ReplyDelete

Blog design by Get Polished | Copyright 2016