What We’re Doing for Teacher Christmas Gifts
Every year, as either Christmas break or the end of the school year rolls around, I get a flood of messages asking about teacher gift ideas.
And every year, I respond “The correct answer is gift cards.”
There are lots of times when being clever and creative is great.
When it comes to teacher Christmas gifts, this isn’t the time to reinvent the wheel.
One of my friends is married to an elementary school teacher and she told me last year that she doesn’t even let him bring all the mugs, candles, and knick·knacks in the house – they go straight in the donate bin because they don’t have room in the house for them all, year after year.
The great news is that gift cards aren’t just the most appreciated gift, it’s also the easiest teacher Christmas gift as a parent!
I go to Target, pick out a stack of gift cards (if my girls are with me, I have them choose the design they want for their teacher because they’ll know if their teacher happens to love llamas or their favorite color is yellow), have them loaded up and boom. Teacher Christmas gifts done.
We all know that teachers aren’t making heaps of money spending day in and day out educating your child, so a gift card that lets them go out to dinner, pick up a coffee, or buy a new pair of shoes is going to be very appreciated.
And it doesn’t have to be a big gift card.
Every time I’ve mentioned gift cards for teachers on Instagram, I get dozens of messages from teachers saying, “A $5 gift card to Starbucks is WONDERFUL! I use them for a special drink every Friday all year long and feel so grateful.”
So don’t feel like you have to do $50 gift cards for it to be appreciated – even a few dollars of a gift card will be MUCH better used than a few dollars of a mug or lotion.
And the other thing that teachers said they love the most is a thoughtful note.
They work SO HARD and getting a little recognition of all that they do for your child goes a long way (several teachers said that if you want to go above and beyond, a letter to the principal saying how great your child’s teacher is doing is EXTRA amazing).
I usually use one of our Christmas cards, write a little personal note on it, slip the gift card in the envelope and teacher Christmas gifts. . . done!
This year, just for a little extra special touch, I bought a set of Sugarfina candy boxes so that I could give one to each of my children’s teachers when they were having a big holiday sale, and very few teachers are going to say no to a little treat– in fact, two of my girls said their teachers told them at the beginning of the year last year exactly what their favorite candy bars so they’d get those when the holidays or end-of-year rolled around, which I thought was hilarious and brilliant.
What do you do for teacher Christmas gifts? I’d love to hear!
(And if you’re on the fence, remember: the right answer is gift cards).
If you liked this post about teacher Christmas gifts you might like these posts too:
- 6 Fantastic (and Easy!) Edible Christmas Gifts for Neighbors
- The 2021 $5 Gift Guide
- The Best Picture Books to Read Aloud in a Classroom
Photos by Heather Mildenstein
I totally agree! Gift cards are the best for teachers (and for everyone else, too 🙂 Ideally, at the beginning of the year, we’d ask our teachers for their favorite stores and restaurants so we’d know which gift cards to buy….but if in doubt, target or walmart is always a safe bet!
PTA can do this! Our school in TX has teachers fill out a favorites list and it’s posted on the website so you know what treats, restaurants, flowers, and stores they like–it’s brilliant!
Gift cards! I add in something small and typically consumable—fuzzy socks (Old Navy always has a day where theirs are $1 a pair and I stock up), hand lotion, chapstick, skincare masks—and a note! Easy peasy. Pro tip: target does a weekend every December when gift cards are 5-10% off! I wait until then!
Just be careful with ordering Target gift cards online. They take forever to ship. I did it this year on 12/5 to get the discount….tomorrow is the last day of school before break, and the gift cards didn’t come! 😩
Teacher here – gift cards are THE BEST! Even just $5 is so appreciated. Slipped inside a picture that the student drew or a little note is awesome. Other presents that I have received that I love – chocolate, flowers or succulents, and frivolous school supplies (glitter pens, post its in the shape of my initials, etc.).
But also, teachers aren’t lying when they say a card is enough! It is awesome to receive a note from a student or parent! I have a file in my cabinet with notes/pictures in them, and I pull them out sometimes (especially on hard days) to have a smile.
I’ve been copying anneinresidence and giving a Holiday Meyer’s hand soap wrapped in a Target holiday hand towel. Complete the look with red and white string.
I always do a Target gift card for my kid’s teacher, pick it up when they do the 10% off sale. I figure Target has so many options for his teacher to pick out something that they want or need. I have my kid fill out or draw the card too. And for his before/after school care teachers a $5 gift card to a local coffee place for each teacher (there are 5-6 site teachers).
Bath and Body Works foaming hand soap and truffles!
We picked up a can of hot chocolate mix with a bag of fancy marshmallows from William Sonoma! She has two children in grade school, and we thought she’d appreciate it. 😄
I’m a teacher and I love love love Amazon gift cards! I love any gift cards, but I find Amazon the most useful because I can get personal stuff, Classroom supplies, books, etc, and I can combine them. Plus, if you don’t get paid until the night before the break, you can print the gift card from home and it made my kids’ teachers just as happy as if I had bought it at the store.
Don’t forget your school bus drivers. High school students tend to ignore us.