Today we have a special guest! My mom and former teacher here to give you the perfect teacher gift guide!!
As someone who loves giving gifts and trying to think of the perfect gift, this is fun for me to write. I taught 1st and 2nd grade plus a year of Kindergarten and one thing I will say is teachers always LOVE gift cards. However, kids don’t necessarily love giving them I’ve noticed. Part of the fun is how excited children are to watch you open their gift. So, when I receive a gift card, I always make a point to tell the child what I’m excited to buy with it or show them later. They really love seeing you wear or use their gift!
Here are my top picks!
- Cute paper plates and napkins with a gift card to the local pizza place so they can have a night off from cooking!
- Cozy Christmas blanket for relaxing over the break!
- Swig life coffee mug (if they are a coffee drinker…) I know they say no more mugs for teachers but I disagree…teachers mean no more “#1 teacher” apple themed mugs. Every teacher likes to have the cutest mug at the staff meeting. Bonus, your coffee stays warm all morning.
- Large nice tumbler like corkcicle that won’t spill and they won’t need to fill up till lunch. Bonus, the student sees them using it all the time:)
- Pens…teachers actually can rarely have too many. And their families probably think they have too many. But all teachers love a new stash. My favorite are – this, this, and this!
- This looks amazing. Could be fun for a couple families to go in on a little “relax” basket.
- Straws are always fun!
- These vases are so cool and unique…great for gladiolus!
- While I would stay away from taking actual alcohol to school (I know our school didn’t allow it on campus), I think a cute wine tumbler with a gift card to the local liquor store or bar is a fun idea. Again, you have to know your teacher a bit here…:)
- Every teacher loves a new lunchbox refresh…we all use them because there really isn’t time to go out!
- The softest, most cozy sweatshirt! Have the school logo put on it and any teacher would love this for Fridays! I got one and had my son’s soccer team logo put on for $5.
- Lightweight earrings in your school colors for spirit days!
- Neck massager!
- Most teachers wear a school id and the neck lanyards are not ideal because if you bend over to help kids they are always hitting them in the head. I love these retractable ones.
- The best teacher bag ever…it open wide to fit binders, teaching guides, papers to take home and also a laptop sleeve. Also it is a backpack so it distributes weight (because teacher bags are HEAVY)…bonus, it’s also a great travel bag! Several teacher friends bought one after seeing mine. I use mine just as much now that I am not teaching!
My most memorable gifts:
- A dollar store candy dish filled with stale candy corns. This little boy had saved all his candy corns from Halloween. He told me “I remembered you couldn’t stop eating them at Halloween so I KNEW you loved them”. Precious.
- A little girl brought me a used party sack with a tea light candle, a used highlighter, plus a promotional koozie from the local insurance company. She had clearly gathered these from her house without her parents knowing and I loved it.
- Gift card to a local restaurant and the child told me “Now you can take Mr. McGuire on a hot date tonight!” Oh my…
A note to teachers:
I always wrote everyone a thank you note and gave them all out together. That way everyone gets a special note from me regardless of bringing a gift. I just write something like “I am so happy you are in my class”. You can use paper like this and make a generic typed message then add something personal as well.
Yay! I hope this gift guide is helpful for you!!!
XX,
LAIN
