It’s that time again! Teacher Appreciation Week is coming! But, if you’re like me, you buy gifts for your teachers a few times a year.
I can’t help it. I spent 9 years in the classroom as an English teacher. It was some of the best, and hardest, years of my life.
Due to budget cuts and other issues, I spent hundreds of my own limited income to buy supplies for exciting activities and decor for the classroom. The kindness that my students and their families showed me around holidays and teacher appreciation week gave me much needed encouragement. Simple gifts, like handwritten notes of gratitude, to the more luxurious gifts, were all so appreciated and filled my tank, so I could continue to give to my students.
That’s why I take teacher gifts very seriously! I love showing my appreciation for the hardworking educators in my kids’ lives. Here are some great ideas, in a wide range of price ranges, you can get some sweet ideas for your teachers – written by a former teacher! Some links below are affiliate links.
1. Free Teacher Gift Card Printable:
I know that this feels like a thoughtless gift – but hear me out. Imagine if every kid in the class got a $10 gift card. That would equal at least $250 in gift cards that the teacher could put towards something for themselves. Or, in all honesty, most teachers use those gift cards to buy more things for the class, unless it’s something like a coffee gift card.
I happen to be obsessed with coffee. One year, my students came together and agreed that everybody got Starbucks gift cards. I walked out school for Christmas break with over $300 in Starbucks gift cards. I literally cried. It was such a great gift for a young teacher that was putting so much heart, soul, and my own money into my classroom to serve my students.
To make that teacher gift card feel more special, add a simple printable card. In fact, I designed a free one that you can print on thick cardstock paper. This will fit in a simple 5×7 envelope. I really like this brand of envelopes from Amazon and use them all the time for things like this.
2. Sweet Treat Teacher Gift Idea:
I created this gift idea for the “sweet treat” themed day. I used these cute coloring pages that the kids color for them and slipped them into a shimmery pink envelope with a gift card to Crumbl cookies and a printable gift card holder that says, “Thanks to you, I’m one smart cookie!” I’ve used these coloring pages for a couple years now. So cute.
- Pink envelopes here
- Printable Cookie gift card printable here
- Printable coloring pages here
- Cardstock that you can use in a home printer for nice, thick printables
3. Foodie Themed Teacher Gift:
Everybody’s gotta eat! And, I haven’t met a person yet that didn’t love Chipotle or something similar. So, I put together this fun burrito themed gift for the gift card day (our school does a themed week where every day is a different theme). I printed out these coloring pages with room to write little notes and then printed out and cut these UN-BURRITO-BLE gift card printables. I use a nice cardstock so the printable feels like a nice invitation. Added a chipotle gift card and voila! Easy and they all loved them. And, I can reuse these in the future, too.
Here’s what I used for this gift idea:
- Lettuce Taco ‘Bout colorable printable
- UN-BURRITO-BLE gift card printable
- Yellow envelopes
- Cardstock that you can use in a home printer
4. TEACH Tote Teacher Gift:
This tote bag makes a GREAT gift! Such a cute print and the block letters are so in right now. Teachers always have a zillion bags and they use them all the time, so this would be a useful gift that would be thoughtful. Plus, it’s under $20.
You can roll a bag like this up like you would a towel and wrap a big bow around it and bam – done. Even if you have multiple teachers, you are still keeping the price down while giving a very thoughtful gift.
5. Gratitude Teacher Gift Idea:
Teachers tend to be given a lot of notebooks, which is great because they use them. But, you can mix it up with this super affordable gratitude journal. It comes in a variety of covers too, so you could easily find something that works for your favorite teacher.
Add a special pen to make a sweet gift and attach a note that says that you’re grateful for them.
6. Plant Lover Teacher Gift Idea:
So, a succulent, which is very easy to care for, is a really sweet gift for a teacher. Grab this pot set that will last you a couple of years and add an affordable succulent from the store. I attach these hilarious gift tags when I give succulents to teachers and it always makes them laugh:
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There you have it, friends. My favorite picks for teacher gifts that will show your teacher how much you appreciate all of their hard work!
Please comment below with your own favorite ideas, too!
Have a fabulous day,
E
