Do you struggle with Teacher Gifts? So many do…
Back to school time and throughout the school year, when those holidays or special teacher days sneak up…my friends are always coming to me with the same question… So I decided to give you all the inside scoop!
The most frequent question that all of my non-teacher friends ask me is…
What do you buy for a teacher?
Listen, I will be the first to admit that I am not the best gift giver. I know, I know, everyone loves gifts right?… But my personal love language is NOT gift giving. Ha!
You can use this Teacher Survey to help you get to know the teacher that you are buying gifts for this year. You can grab your copy at the bottom of this post. You simply print it, have your teacher fill it out, and use the info to help you spoil your child’s teacher throughout the year.
Well, I may not be the best at coming up with ideas for others but I can share with you a couple of gifts that I’ve received from students that I absolutely loved! I may have even copied some of them for my own kids’ teachers…
Gifts I’ve loved from students!
Joint Gifts
If you are friends with a couple of families in your teacher’s class you can go in together to get him/her something very nice. One year a couple families went in together and bought me a Cricut Maker for my classroom. Another year, I received a wonderful gift card to a SPA. Although teachers love anything that shows you appreciate them, joining up with a couple families will give you some options that you would not typically be able to purchase on your own.
Homemade Gifts
Nothing says “I appreciate you” like a homemade gift! Here is a picture of one of my favorite homemade gifts. It still sits on my desk at home, even though I’m not currently teaching in the classroom setting.
This adorable wooden tote was bought, but my name was stenciled onto it by one of my students. Some of you out there that have had my kids in class may already have one of your own!
Unexpected Gifts
There was a particular parent that I will never forget because every time she walked into the school she was holding a drink carrier with 4 drinks in it. She never came empty handed…lol! In the winter it was gas station cappuccino and in the winter it was McDonald’s Sweet Tea! She would deliver these drinks to the school secretary, principal, and her two children’s teachers. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ONE OF THEM!
A simple cup of whatever your teacher loves to drink will make their day! It’s really not about the gift but about the fact that she was thinking of us!
Gift Cards
I know gift cards seem so impersonal! But, until you really know what your teacher likes…you can’t go wrong with a gift card! I would get so excited to be able to have an extra date night or to do something fun with my time away from the classroom.
Flowers
I always love flowers and plants! Flowers from your yard, flowers from the bus stop, and flower in a vase, pot, hanging pot, any kind of flower. When a student brings me a flower it says… I was thinking of you!
There is something about plants and flowers that just put a smile on anyone’s face!
Any little gesture that says “your special” or “I’m thinking of you” will brighten your teacher’s day! It says a lot when you go out of the way to brighten someone’s day!
School Supplies (Amazon Wish Lists)
Teachers put a lot of their own money into their classrooms! Some of my very favorite gifts were those fun little teacher supplies that I didn’t want buy for myself. Teachers love smelly markers, felt tip pens, sticky notes, cute note pads and journals, stickers, etc.
Many teachers these days are creating Amazon Wish Lists. You can just go to their list and buy what they need. This helps them to supply their classroom and allows them to have some of that fun teachers stuff, that we don’t always ending up spending the money on.
Grab your own copy of this survey when you fill out the form HERE!
Enjoy Being Their Difference!
It really helped when you said that we can give unexpected gifts to teachers that will make them realize that we’re thinking about them. I am very thankful to all my teachers who guided me and I am what I am today because of them. I guess I should look for a perfect gift box on Monday that I can give them once I visit my school in August.
Teachers just love when students surprise them with little tid bits of gratitude! I’m glad you enjoyed this post! I too am so thankful for my teachers!