Before I had children (and for a little while when we only had Nicholas), I was an elementary school teacher. I taught first grade, spent a few years as a gifted specialist teaching math and science to 3rd-5th graders, then I taught second grade. Then a few years later, I briefly went back into the classroom as a middle school teacher. I’ve taught in very affluent and very low-income areas. Teachers usually do not expect gifts from any of their students, but in my experience, families often want to give but sometimes struggle with ideas.
While I was a gifted specialist, I had about ninety students on my caseload. Because we were in a very well-to-do area, I received many gifts from the generous families of my students around the holidays.
I was always very grateful to receive any sort of gift, but have you ever tried to find space in your home for 75 new mugs or candles? It can be a little overwhelming. Especially if you got 63 the year before.
I thought it might be helpful if I put together a list of the best and worst gifts to give a teacher. I truly hope I’m not offending anyone. I don’t mean for this to come off as at all ungrateful, but I know parents often struggle with gift ideas for teachers and I hope this list helps a little. These opinions are based on my own experience and observation and might vary from the opinions of other teachers. I’m not here to judge, just offering suggestions. No worries, if you did give your teacher a mug or a candle, I promise she still loves it and feels very appreciated.
Everybody still on board? Okay, here we go:
Teacher favorites:
1. Books. A nice book with a handwritten note inside the cover is one of the very best gifts. Don’t worry about if your teacher already has that particular book, I know I liked keeping multiple copies in my classroom library. I not-so-humbly suggest the one I wrote. 🙂
2. Stationery or classroom supplies. One of the most useful gifts I ever received was a beautiful set of thank you cards. I spent a lot of time writing thank yous for all those lovely gifts and other things throughout the year. I also used quite a bit of regular stationery sending notes to parents, students, and other faculty members.
3. Gift cards. Whether it is a $5 gift card to Starbucks or a $20 gift card to the office supply store, gift cards are always appreciated. Teachers spend a lot of their own money on classroom supplies. It’s nice to have a little to spend on ourselves or to splurge on the class without taking money away from our own families.
4. A class gift. It is always very special when the room mom collects donations and the entire class pulls together for one larger, personalized gift. It could be an apron with everyone’s hand print, a framed class photo where everyone wrote a note around the matting, or a certificate for a spa where I never would have splurged on myself. These gifts show a lot of thought, make me feel loved, and make everyone feel included-even those students who can’t afford to donate.
5. Just a card. A thoughtful, hand-written note in a card, maybe with a wallet sized photo of your child, is the type of gift I will save for years, long after the mugs are broken and the candles are burned.
6. Store bought food. I once had a parent drop off a breakfast sandwich and hot chocolate from a nearby restaurant about 20 minutes before our school day started, which I thought was very sweet. Girl scout cookies are also pretty sweet.
7. Ornaments. This one is touchy. If a teacher has been teaching for 20 years, she probably has amassed quite a collection and might not be as enthusiastic about them, but ornaments were one of my very favorite gifts. I truly loved my job and my students and I like having the reminders of them on our tree at home every year.
8. A magazine subscription. I would have loved a subscription to Highlights, Time for Kids, Ranger Rick, Zoo Books, etc. for our classroom. The cool thing about this gift is that it is not very expensive and it keeps giving for an entire year.
Please Avoid:
*Before I start this section, I need to say that there is really no such thing as a “worst” gift to give a teacher. Any gift from the heart is a great gift. But in the interest of practicality and being honest, I have included some of the most common least favorites.
1. Mugs. I literally have hundreds of mugs. I feel bad donating them because each one reminds me of the special student who gave it to me.
2. Candles. Similar to mugs, but while I can use mugs in the classroom, I can only burn candles at home and I already have enough to get me through the next several years worth of power outages.
3. Homemade food. This is hard to say because it hurts people’s feelings. I know you worked hard to make this. I know you are “famous” for these cookies. I’m not allowed to have them in my classroom because I have students with allergies. To be honest, I will probably take them to the faculty room and they might not be eaten there either. Unless I know you personally, I am reluctant to eat your food or take it home to my family. If we have recently “had words” because you disagreed with a grade I gave your child, I *might* be slightly afraid you are trying to poison me. (That’s a joke.)
4. Jewelry. There are some very nice, personalized pieces from Etsy stores that I’m sure teachers would love to receive, but for the most part the jewelry we get is holiday themed, costume pieces or dress-up jewelry from Claire’s. Then we feel obligated to wear it to work so that the students see how much we “love” their gifts. I’d rather not sit in a training meeting with my boss’s boss after school or an IEP meeting with other parents with plastic, blinking Santa hats hanging next to my face because a.) it’s unprofessional and b.) It’s January because I did not receive this gift until the last school day of December. But I’m still going to wear it with a smile anyway, for the sake of your child.
5. Cash. This is very awkward for the receiver. While a $5 gift card to Starbucks with a cute note saying that I should treat myself feels thoughtful, opening a card and finding $5 in cash makes me feel like I’m the third grader in this scenario. Larger amounts of cash can feel like a bribe, and the school board would frown upon me if I accepted it.
Well, there you have it. Do you have anything to add to either list?
P.S. If you want to see some truly bad gifts, check out this list of the worst possible holiday gifts from Divine Secrets of a Domestic Diva.
UPDATE: A few readers requested that I update this post to gently suggest that before you spend the time, money, and energy to make something you saw on Pinterest, like a tire-sized wreath made out of crayons, please consider the practicality of the gift and whether or not you would use it in your own home.
Great advice. I always struggle what to get the kids teachers. I try to do something disposable like soap, lotion, or food. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog over the months and just nominated you for the Sunshine Award. You can check it out here: http://controllingcraziness.blogspot.com/2013/11/sunshine-award.html
Thanks, Christa! I’m glad you found my list helpful. 🙂 I liked getting nice lotions, like the ones from Bath & Body works. It does tend to be a popular gift, so we sometimes get a lot of them! (like the mugs and candles) Thank you so much for the nomination.
What about hot chocolate mix, I always give this b/c it’s sooo good, but now I’m thinking it’s not a good gift. Please advise me! http://www.mrchocolate.com/hot-chocolate/hot-chocolate-classic.html
I think this fits in the store bought food category. I know I’d appreciate it. 🙂
I love this list, thank you so much! Every year I am clueless as to what to gift my child’s preschool teachers & daycare providers. Sharing with all my mom friends!
I’m so glad you found it helpful. Thank you for sharing!
I feel the same way! I appreciated the thought behind the generous gifts, but I’m not going to wear the reindeer sweatshirt with your child’s hand and footprints, no matter how lovingly made. A thoughtful note was always the very best gift.
Lol. I always “loved those so much” that I put it on right away for the class party, then took it off to keep in my “special memory box” at home. (Read: it went in a storage bin under the bed.) It makes you feel guilty because you know a lot of thought and effort went into it, but why would I wear the hand prints of a child that is not mine in public?
These are great tips!! thanks!
I have four kids and would make a bag for each teacher filled with: Kleenex, hand sanitizer, pencils, glue sticks, sticky notes, and anything else they might purchase out of their own pocket for their classroom.
THIS is a fantastic idea for the elementary school teachers! It’s always nice to replenish what you know they use all year!
That’s a great idea too! Classroom supplies are always appreciated. 🙂
I love this so much, especially the one about homemade food. Every year my husband gets tons of food and first of all it usually is in no shape to eat once it’s been passed from the kids to the staff and second of all I’m always afraid it’s poisoned because the kid was suspended.
Homemade food seems to be the most controversial issue. Some people love it and some parents love giving it, but most of the teachers and staff I know personally, myself included, are definitely on the “proceed with caution” side.
Crap! Now I real convicted b/c I think I have given some stinky gifts over the years–will try to do better this year and thanks for the honest insight!
lol, I’m sure you are fine. Your oldest is only in preschool. There is time to reform your ways. 😉
Magazine subscription sounds like a great idea…how do you ask for the address though?
I would just have it sent to the school in the teacher’s name.
I teach fifth grade and one thing I tell my students is that I’d rather that they buy a new board game for the classroom. During winter, they spend recess in class and I know they’d love a new board game. Many of my games I have purchased and they are showing wear and tear, whether it be a classic game like Connect Four or a newer game…..
That’s a great idea!
A personal gift from the whole class is wonderful, a personalized gift from one student may not be. I once got a beautiful (huge) frame from a student with a blown up picture of us taken at the Halloween party (by us I mean the one student and myself.) Obviously I can take out the picture and use the frame but still. 🙂
but…don’t you want to hang your student above your fireplace? Just put the pictures of your own family in storage. 😉
i’m kind of a germophobe, so sometimes i give nice smelling hand sanitizer from bath and body works. i know i feel the need to sanitize whenever i go to the school – ha ha. i have given homemade cookies too – oops! thanks for the advice and good ideas!
I LOVE this list – it’s so perfect and practical. I appreciate everything I’ve every been gifted with, but feel bad about the gifts I can’t use. I am really over-sensitive to anything with perfume, so candles, soaps, lotions, etc. are shared with others after being lovingly accepted in class. On the other hand, some of my favorite gifts from years past have been homemade food – bread, cookies, jams… maybe I should have been more cautious, but oh, YUM! And, the ones I still have are the sweet cards and drawings.
I am so grateful for this comment. Unless you know the state of my kitchen seems pretty rude. I and my family eat from there everyday, and we are all alive and rarely get sick. And it it SO much better than store-bought food. I always prefer homemade. People are far too sensitive nowadays.
I’m a teacher (poor, urban school district) and I’ve received ONE Christmas gift in my 7 years there. I use that MUG every day, it came from a precious boy and his thoughtful mother. I chuckled at your suggestions. My daughter and I made scented sachets for her teachers last year, using herbs from our garden. I wonder if they thought it was tacky?? We live in a wealthy suburban district and I’m a single mom, trying to keep expenses down. I can’t compete with some of these moms… This year, no gifts. Too many teachers at this grade level.
I generally go with Starbucks or Target gift cards. I try to cute-up the wrapping a bit so it feels a little more special and thought out. Here’s my favorite Starbucks wrapping – http://www.houseography.net/2012/06/last-minute-teacher-gifts.html
Last year I did get a Kate Spade make-up bag for my daughter’s teacher who was young and very preppy (lots of Lilly Pulitzer!) and she was getting married so I knew she would have lots of trips and opportunities to use one. Also, make-up bags do not last forever and get pretty gross after not too long so it’s a good option if you can find one that fits your teacher. Her teacher this year is also into make-up but not in a preppy way – try to figure out your teacher as much as possible before you pick a gift other than a gift card…
I feel horrible – we never did teacher gifts and this year my kids got it in their heads to get their teachers (both male) something – and yes they picked out little tealight candles in a silver holder with a color plane on the sides of a reindeer and tree respectfully – crap – we got the worst thing…
Oh,no. There is no worst thing if the kids picked it out themselves. It’s not that we don’t appreciate candles, just that there are sometimes a lot of them. Your teacher will still love the thought behind your gift, no matter what it is.
I give my kids’ teachers movie gift cards – then over the holiday break they can go see a movie on us and have popcorn for lunch 🙂
I got this gift once! I remember my husband and I used it to see Juno in the theater. It’s a great idea!
I really think that it depends on the school and the teacher. Some teachers love homemade food. As both a teacher and a parent I have not once ever thought the food may be poisoned or thought to poison the food. I think gift cards are as tacky as cash. I respectfully agree to disagree and I know this is your blog and your ideas but they can be hurtful to parents. I have had children who have given food from home when I knew that they would be short later. It came from the heart. You don’t always know the story behind the loaf of bread or the cookie.
I totally agree that it depends on the school and the teacher. When I taught first grade I was in a low income urban environment and I don’t remember receiving many holiday gifts, only a book from one parent. And of course I didn’t expect them. When we moved to a different state and I started working in a very affluent area, teacher gifts were kind of a competition among parents. Now that my friends and I have children who are school age they often tell me they struggle with ideas. It’s not that we don’t appreciate the gifts or the thought behind them. Just trying to give ideas. Thanks for stopping by! (I was teasing about the poison. Although I can’t say thought hasn’t crossed my mind when a more challenging parent presents me with food. Parents of gifted students in affluent areas are a very different breed of characters.)
When I taught, I had a family give me homebaked mini loaves of bread. This family was so sweet, but the bread went into the trash before I got home. This family frequently had lice.
I am so glad you said what you did JD. I live in the ‘servants quarters’ of an affluent area, lol. I can not afford to BUY anything so I try to make things for the teachers. I am not good with words either. I just want to show them that I appreciate what they do for my kids. And yes, this list made me feel bad. I have made cookies, candy popcorn and this year was going to make bath salts. Now I don’t know what I will do. I guess, according to some people, nothing is better :/
Hi Debbie. I certainly never intended to make anyone feel bad. I tried to be very clear that teachers always appreciate any gift. We recognize and are very grateful for the love you put into it, the purpose of this post was to focus on positive and relatively inexpensive gifts. Most of the “do’s” on this list are actually more affordable than the “don’ts.” And of course there is really no such thing as a “bad gift.” I just don’t think many parents realize how often homemade food gets wasted or thrown away because many teachers are uncomfortable eating it. I think making things is a great idea, especially when you can get the kids involved! I posted directions for applesauce ornaments the other day. That is what we make our teachers and Sunday school teachers. It costs about $5 to make three dozen ornaments.
http://binkiesandbriefcases.com/applesauce-ornaments/
I got a nightgown once from a student…that was just weird!
umm…yeah, I have no words.
GIFT CARDS and a handwritten card are my favorites. One year, a student’s mom gave me a gift card to the liquor store because her son was a bit of a project. THAT made me laugh. Also drink. Which was lovely 😉 Great list, lady!
That’s so funny!
Haha that’s hilarious! I love gifts with a sense of humor but also are practical! hahaa
Thanks so much for these ideas! My oldest is just in preschoolschool this year, so we are new to the whole gift thing. I’ve been stressing about it a bit, but I think I will just keep it simple after reading this post!
Steph, I think this list is right on! Obviously, as a teacher (which I was for 10 years in a low-income area) you are going to appreciate anything you are given and you are not going to expect anything. I would rather receive a well-thought out and practical gift (including a gift card) than just any random thing that screams “teacher” just for the sake of giving it. I agree about the ornaments – I got a lot of cute ones that remind me of my former students. But just no on the homemade stuff.
Also in the ‘no thanks’ category are any items with a #1 teacher or apple theme. Some of my favorite gifts (apart from gift cards, which always rock) were a hand-knitted scarf, or a grow-your-own amaryllis bulb (or paperwhite bulbs) in a pot. This year for my kids’ teachers, I am giving personalized Fiskars scissors…an idea I got from pinterest…you cover the metal blades with a scrapbooking paper that coordinates with the handle color, and then use Mod Podge Dimensional Magic over the top of the paper. It works awesome, and last year’s teachers seemed to appreciate them.
Great advice! Thank you for this – I hadn’t even considered some of these points, and my son is in his first year of preschool. So I’d like to get his teacher some good stuff.
I love getting anything that the class can use… Decks of cards, board games for rainy recess days, play dough, markers, computer paper, ink for my printer, ink for stamps, etc. I send a note and ask the parents to think about these items because they are cheaper than what parents would purchase if they bought fancy mugs and because we can all use them.
My sister tries to get things they can use in class, and one year she ordered post-its with ‘from the desk of ” ” on them. I thought that was great.
At our school we always went in on a class gift but most of the parents also sent in something just from their kid. My sister was a teacher so I witnessed the mugs and candles (and candy dishes and odd photo frames that never matched her house) so I tried to think of something else. It was hard, for budget reasons and having multiple teachers to buy for. I finally settled on sets of personalized pencils engraved with the teacher’s name. I think most parents just want to be sure their child has something to give the teacher so as to not feel left out. Sometimes the oddest gift comes from the right place in the heart. I remember giving my kindergarten teacher a snickers bar that I had been saving for months. For some reason I treasured it. My mom didn’t stop me and i felt so proud so if a gift is a child’s idea, just let it happen. We parents don’t expect teachers to actually use the gifts more than once.
I usually do a gift card taped to a giant chocolate bar. It makes it look really nice.
This teacher likes your list. If a child asks what I’d like, I usually tell them pen or pencils or some other classroom supply. I rarely get any gifts and anything a child gives me is appreciated. My favorite gifts are gift cards. Last year at the end of the year a student gave me a Michael’s gift card because she knows I’m crafty. I thought that was so sweet!
Please remind your readers to make sure the teacher drinks coffee before you give them a Starbucks card! I do NOT drink coffee, and yet every year I get Starbucks Gift Cards, last year I got 4! I gave them all away! 🙁 ns <
Good point. I actually don’t drink coffee either, but I liked the Starbucks cards. We used them for hot chocolate, strawberry frapachinos, and juice and baked goods for the kiddos.
Ugh! The only things on the “favorite list” which appeal to me are the gift cards and the class gift. I’d be happier with something less generic – even hand-made like a ceramic Dalek (google it) made as an art project or a lapel button with a clever message.
Oh my… now I feel stupid, too. I am a single mom and always felt like a $5.00 gift card was too little, but a nicely wrapped “simple-but-classy-real-wood” picture frame (that was originally 12.00 marked down to $3 – $4) would be a welcome add to a classroom which had lots of frayed photos taped onto walls and filing cabinets. Reading the comment above about a teacher receiving picture frames that didn’t match her house made me feel sad to think that my frames intended for the classroom probably got tossed into the garbage. ((I wouldn’t mind if they were donated or re-gifted but was surprised to learn that many teachers just throw them away). In the future, I will stick with the $5.00 Target gift card and just hope other parents will do the same so that the smaller gift cards together will serve to get the teacher something truly wanted.
Honestly, I’m fairly certain the “odd picture frames” weren’t the classy wood ones but rather the oddly painted colors or wire ones. Even if it’s painted and matches the classroom decor, I’m sure it is fine. (And anything donatable was donated if it couldn’t be used but like the above said, it’s pretty hard to donate a sweatshirt with footprint/handprint reindeer.) In fact, since the room had a lot of frayed photographs taped up, I’ll bet she was more than thrilled. (And note, this is coming from someone who is a very aesthetically minded person. Your gift would be greatly appreciated.)
As a soon to be teacher and the relative of many teachers, ANY gift will be appreciated. (This said, avoid mugs because it really DOES get hard to find space for all of them!) But by far the most special gift is a card with something written about why she is appreciated or a hand-written note (on anything, even scrap paper) by a student. THOSE make any teacher’s week. After reading several of these articles, that’s what is remembered over and over and over again…and it’s the cheapest gift of all.
Really great ideas, my daughter does have a really special teacher and she has given her time after school to help her catch up. im so grateful for her patience and help. i wanted to find something special and was lucky enough to find a really great wallet from Radblack.com at 45% off.
My husband is a Junior High teacher in a small farming community. The gifts he loves to receive are ones that can be USED such as: dry erase markers, post-it-notes, pens, hand sanitizer, gift cards, and store bought food. One of the gifts he got last year that he really liked was a jar of flavored honey. He also liked when he received a big brick of cheese from a student whose parents own a dairy (so the cheese came from the company that buys their milk). Hand written notes are always nice. Teachers need to know they are appreciated! Maybe have your student write a little poem about what they like about their teacher. Inexpensive, but heartfelt and it doesn’t take up much space! One year my son had a teacher that plays guitar and has his own band so we bought him 2 tickets to our local museum that had a temporary display showing the history of guitars. He was thrilled! With your list, I think you hit it right on!
I had a Thirty-one party and got a great deal on a bag that I had monogrammed with my son’s teacher’s initial. I feel like I should put something in it. Is the bag by itself a good gift?
To all of those who have posted that they have been offended by teachers not wanting home baked goods or food. Just think of it in this light…would you allow your child to eat something that a stranger walked up and handed them? Although we are not complete strangers to our parents as your child’s teacher, we are usually not friends who know each other in that personal of a way, ie: been to each others homes, hang out, know all about each others personal lives, etc….yes we love:the thought put into it and feel a lot of guilt when we have to throw it away…but as a side note, not everyone can eat everything and sometimes we may not know what ingredients have been added.
I have 4 kids and my daughter has SN so there are also aides to buy for. To make it easy at Christmas time, I buy Subway gift cards for $7 for each teacher/aide and then buy some Dove chocolates and mini candycanes and put the gift card and some candy in a cute baggie (Hobby Lobby has cute & inexpensive little holiday bags) and make a note for it that says, “Lunch on us!”. It seems to go over well every year! I always figure they have enough junk and would rather be able to grab a quick lunch during the busy season! PS, there is a subway close by their schools so it is convenient for them! Before my parents retired, they worked at a company that made trash bags and plastic wrap so I would buy the teachers a gift box from there….it only cost me $10 each but it had way more worth than that! Employee discount was great! It had a variety of trash bags, plastic wrap, ziplock bags, etc. They all LOVED that! The place doesn’t sell those anymore though.
I must disagree! I specifically ask for mugs and candles, my personal opinion is you can never have enough of these. Those types of gifts are totally dependent on your teacher’s opinion, not all teachers.