Teachers have a hard job, and showing them your appreciation at the end of a school year or around the holiday season is heartwarming. Gifts don’t have to be expensive—they just have to show your love and appreciation for them and their hard work.
Great inexpensive gifts for teachers from students are items for the classroom or personal items. Things like whiteboard markers, pens, pencils, and more are great to help the teacher out with their classroom. Things like Target gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, and treats can also be great gifts.
You can pick out the perfect gift for your teacher based on what your teacher needs and likes. Some teachers need classroom supplies, and others don’t need classroom items and would enjoy gift cards more. So, what does your teacher like?
Your Teachers Needs
Teachers have different needs for their classrooms. Elementary school teachers need more supplies because their students use the supplies fast. Young students often do lots of crafts, so teachers will need glue, paper, markers, crayons, and more. Whereas teachers in middle and high school do not need a lot of those crafty supplies, but they do need to replenish their basic supplies in the classroom—middle schoolers tend to lose their pens and pencils.
Because teachers have different needs depending on the grade they teach, you as a student (or parent of a student) will know what gift best applies to your teacher. You will know if your teacher has asked for disinfecting wipes, tissues, markers, paper, notebooks, or if they are good in that area and they want personal items instead.
The best way to give your teacher a gift is to know what your teacher needs. Teachers often spend their own money on fun crafts or supplies for their classroom, so being able to give your teacher something they need is a huge way to show your appreciation.
Some teachers love gifts that allow for some “me time” and take them away from their work. So gift cards, treats, drinks, or other items are great for them. If you know that your teacher loves gifts that do not relate to school and can give them a reason to have some chill time at home, then these gifts are great starting places.
Gifts for the Classroom
There are many gifts that you could get a teacher for their classroom. Especially after COVID-19, things like wipes, hand sanitizer, tissues are great for teachers who are starting class in person again.
Sometimes, teachers have a list of things they need for their classroom in case other parents want to get any of that for them. If your teacher has a list like this, refer to it first and see if you can get any of those items for them. If you want other classroom ideas, or if you want to be more original, then maybe the items below will help you.
Writing Utensils: Teachers need markers, pens, dry erase markers, sharpies, etc., for their classroom. Teachers need to have good markers for writing on the whiteboard so that all the students in the classroom can read what is being written. Teachers also need colorful pens so that when they grade tests, their corrections are easily differentiated from the students’ writings.
No matter how many writing utenstils your teacher may have, they can always use more!
Paper and Notebooks: Teachers need paper for their students, crafts, demonstrations, and simply for writing on and teaching with. Having supplies on hand for students who may have forgotten their supplies, or can’t afford supplies, is important in a learning environment. Being able to give a student paper when he or she needs it, and being able to give a student a notebook when they don’t have one is really important for the student and the teacher. It helps the students have all they need to learn in class, and it helps the teacher be able to teach everyone in the way they need to teach.
Cleaning Supplies: Classrooms can become really dirty, really fast. It is always a great idea to gift a teacher paper towels and disinfecting wipes for picking up messes in the classroom and wiping down dirty surfaces. To keep students from catching any colds, gifting hand sanitizer is also great because students can use it when entering and exiting the classroom. Nowadays, items like masks can also be helpful for a teacher, depending on where you live and what your state or school district requires.
Personal Gifts for Teachers
Drinks: If your teacher loves their morning coffee, getting them a gift card to Starbucks or another coffee place of their choice is a great idea. It can also be fun to gift them a tall cup that has a lid and straw, and then you can fill it with a gift card or drink mixes. Flavoring water with fruit mixes or giving them hot chocolate packets around the holidays can be a very fun gift.
Self Care: Teachers need their own relax time too, so getting them bath bombs, face masks, lotion, or any self-care item you think they’ll enjoy could be really fun and give them a relaxing activity to do when they get home.
Personalized Items: Some really unique ideas can be found online through shops on Etsy. There are lots of cool items for teachers to hang in their classroom, items for a teacher’s desk, and more. You can customize a cup with the teacher’s name on it, give them a teacher’s keychain for their keys, and you can personalize a desk sign that has their name on it. There are lots of options that are really fun and cheap.
The easiest gifts are gift cards to your teacher’s favorite places. If your teacher is married, getting them a gift card to a restaurant or a dessert place can be a really kind gift. You can also get them a gift card to places that sell school supplies so that they can get the items they need most. Gifts do not have to be the only way you express gratitude for your teacher, simply expressing it through words can make a teacher’s day too.