Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas
Teacher appreciation week is the first full week of May every year. This year (2025) teacher appreciation week is from May 5 - May 9. This is a week set aside to give parents, students and school staff the opportunity to recognize the hard work of teachers.
My daughter’s elementary school usually has a theme for each day, the theme days are usually small things like sending in a sweet treat or a favorite drink. I love that they the school gives ideas to the parents to help celebrate teachers. With that thought in mind, I have compiled a list of 15 gift ideas for the teachers in your child’s life.
Personal Notes/Cards - Teaching can often feel like a thankless job, but our teachers pour so much of themselves into our kids everyday. Showing gratitude is special, it is simple and costs nothing. This is one I do every year.
Gift Cards - Gift cards allow teachers to choose what they want. A gift card to Amazon, Target or Walmart can allow teachers to buy supplies for their classroom. A gift card to a local restaurant or store would also be a great gift.
Lunch - Teachers usually have to monitor their classes during lunch, or spend that time getting things for the classroom completed. Sending in lunch for your child’s teacher from their favorite restaurant would be a nice gesture. My child’s school also has parent volunteers to cover lunch duty for teachers during the week leading up to Christmas break as well as during teacher appreciation week. A duty free lunch would be an excellent gift if your child’s school allows it.
Volunteer - Volunteer in your child’s classroom. You could offer to read a story, or help grade papers, cut out laminated activities, or change the bulletin boards in the classroom.
Favorite drink or snack - You could send in a favorite drink or snack. If you are not sure what favorite drink or candy your child’s teacher likes, you could send in a gift card to a local coffee shop and usually anything chocolate is a good guess.
School Supplies - Replenishing school supplies is always welcomed. Send in some new pens or markers, some colorful card stock, or cute notebooks. Many teachers have a supply wish list on Amazon, you could always pick a couple of things from that list.
Personalized Anything - Buy something that can be personalized: cups, notepads, notebooks, pencils. This gift idea would need some planning but would be an excellent gift.
A Plant - If you know your child’s teacher has a green thumb, a nice plant would make a great gift. If you aren’t sure if they like plants, succulents are an option. They are a low maintenance plant and can often be purchased in bulk.
Hand Soap - Another inexpensive gift idea is a fancy hand soap. You could get a spring or summer scent.
Tote or Bag - You can never have too many tote bags.
Homemade Cards - Have your child make a card for their teacher. When I was a teacher, I kept all of the sweet cards I received from my students. It was great to look back at those, especially on those more trying days.
DIY Bookmarks - My daughter loves to make me bookmarks, I laminate them and then I can use a cute bookmark every time I read a book. This would be a great gift idea if your child’s teacher is a bookworm.
Reusable Travel Mug or Tumbler - These can be used all year. Choose one that is dishwasher safe and can keep drinks hot or cold for hours.
Spa or Self-Care Gift Card - A gift card to a local place to get a massage, facial or manicure. Teachers could definitely use some self care, especially at the end of the year.
Tickets to a Local Event - Tickets to a concert, play, museum or comedy show.
Hopefully this list gives you ideas to celebrate the teachers in your life. What would you add to this list?