I cherish my children’s teachers. Every single one of them.
I absolutely LOVE seeing all of the appreciation gifts out there because they sure deserve them! It’s the least we can do right?
It’s also such a great way to teach our children to say “thank you”.
Well, I asked teachers on our Facebook page to share favorite gifts they have received during the school year and I can’t wait to share the results!
Here are the top 10 most popular answers…
1. Thoughtful Personal Note
2. Gift Cards
3. Spa/Pedicure Gift Certificate
4. Photo Book with Memories Throughout the Year
5. Handmade Bookmark with a Gift Certificate for a Book
6. Personalized Stationary
7. Money for School Supplies
8. Stack of Blank Homemade Cards
9. Flowers
10. Gift Basket Full of School Supplies
Michelle McMillan Riggins: “When I taught k12, anything was always appreciated, of course, but the ones that meant the most were the ones that sent the message that the parent remembered that I was more than a teacher. The movie theater gift card, the cute beach towel and beach tote, the gift certificate for a mani-pedi… it always made me feel like they knew I sometimes needed a break from the classroom in order to be an even better teacher.”
Judy Switzer White: “Lots of great suggestions! But if you’re looking for really low budget, nice notepads are a great gift. I send out so many notes to parents, & it’s nice to have something pretty (not just the typical yellow mini-legal pads) to be able to write on to send home. And some that have envelopes are a bonus. Sometimes we don’t want little prying eyes to read the note!”
Christy Mathis: “I did not get this but one of the teachers on my team got a coupon for a pedicure – awesome gift for the start of summer! The rest of us were jealous! lol”
Ellen Justice: “Gift cards are great!! Amazon is a great choice because there you can get just about anything and everything there! Stay away from too many sweets — sadly, I end up tossing a good bit because I just simply can’t eat it all, especially since its just me at home. Fruit is a good choice. A student gave me a handmade cutting board (made by her grandpa) my first year teaching. I still have it and love it. Hmm…a new lunch box is nice as well!
Meridith Watson: “Gift cards are so appreciated. But i also love a well thought out personal note that shows the family appreciates time and effort. Those mean a lot.”
One of my favorite gifts I received was a gift certificate for a car wash! Something I SO needed but didn’t want to purchase myself. LOVED IT!!!
This is such a helpful post! It even got my creative juices flowing! 😉
I’m a teacher and I agree with the 10 items 🙂
This is really really helpful! Thank you so much for posting! I would so much rather give them something they really want!!
Hooray for great ideas! I gave out notecards to my son’s teachers for the same reason. Sometimes you have to send a note home and it is always nicer on a cute card! 🙂 Tee hee..I also bought tissue for them since I’m always buying tissue for my classroom! Supplies are always appreciated with the low budgets! 🙂 And the notes from students/parents are the best. I save them! 🙂
Thanks for these ideas for gifts, my sis is a teacher so this will come in handy.
I like to make it personal. After a quick conversation (How was your weekend? etc) I leant my sons teacher was landscaping her back yard. I got a gift certificate from her local plant nursery for her. She cried when my son gave it to her inside a card that we made.
As a teacher, these are spot-on. Whatever you give, give a handwritten note of appreciation. All it takes is a sentence or two to lift up a teacher’s spirit…and we sure need it sometimes!
Great ideas! My oldest is in kinder so this is my first teacher appreciation year and I see all the cute gimicky gifts on pinterest and wonder “do they really want a jar full of smore ingredients?? even if it is cute…” Thanks!