Gift ideas for teachers, classroom assistants, or the school bus driver.
Our kids break up from school in just three weeks, and wow, this school year has gone quickly!
It has become a tradition to give small gifts to teachers and school staff, or anyone involved in your children’s educational environment that has played an important part in your kids’ daily lives at school, from the bus driver who transports the kids with a smile and great care, the cantine lady who gently encourages kids to try new foods or the after school club coordinator who helps your kids with homework. There are so many people involved in our children’s school life who deserve recognition and a thank you at the end of the school year. It can be difficult to choose gifts for people whom you don’t know well but have contact with regularly.
What gifts do teachers want?
It is inevitable that during a teacher’s career, they will receive many gifts. Commonly gifted items include chocolates, mugs, gift vouchers, and potted plants. I expect a lot of these end up in a cupboard never to be seen again, so what do teachers want to receive?
The list below should inspire you. If you want to know what to avoid buying, read my blog, ‘Worst Gifts for Teachers,’ before you start shopping for gifts. You can also read my guide for a selection of gifts ready and waiting to be gifted to teachers and school staff alike.
Top Ten Most Wanted Teacher Gifts
Gift Vouchers
Gift vouchers are an easy option as you can choose from many outlets to suit the teacher’s taste. Vouchers can be for small amounts. If the teacher is leaving or your child is moving to another class, you can purchase a voucher or gift card for a larger monetary value. And of course, the biggest benefit to giving a gift card is that the teacher will be able to choose something they want, or will use.
Homemade edible treats
Cookies, biscuits, cupcakes, and sweets are an ideal gift for teachers. You can get the children involved too, so it doubles as an activity to keep them occupied, learn valuable skills, and the teacher gets a tasty treat too. We like to make traditional English recipes to gift to the teachers, as most have never tried British foods before. Maybe not rock cakes though!
If your children are too small for baking, you could decorate a jar and fill it with some sweets or chocolates.
Personalised gift
Making a personalised gift with the teacher’s name on it can be another activity for the children. It could be something for the classroom; this could be a desk tidy, a door sign, or a photo frame. All useful and sure to put a smile on the teacher’s face this summer.
Homemade gift
Non-edible gifts using materials such as polymer or air-dry clay are another ideal solution for bored children to get creative and make something unique for their favourite teacher or cantine assistant. The list of possibilities is endless, from small decorative hanging gifts to polymer clay miniatures of the teacher’s favourite animal. Let the kids’ imaginations run wild and have lots of fun at the same time.
Journals and Notebooks
Handy and practical, teachers will appreciate a new journal or notebook. With so much choice available, there are styles to suit everyone’s taste. You could even make these at home, with or without the children.
Keyrings
A practical gift that can be used every day and is suitable for all genders, a keyring can be an inexpensive yet thoughtful gift. Here is a selection of keyrings available in my shop.
Desk plant
Easy-to-care-for types of plants are a good choice for teachers’ gifts, as they are busy and may not have time to dedicate to needy plants. Aloe Vera is a useful indoor plant that can be easily cared for and propagated at home, so you can gift your Aloe Vera pups to teachers with hardly any cost involved.
Chocolates
Chocolates are easy and inexpensive to buy, you can choose small boxes for a teacher or a large box for the whole teaching staff to enjoy. Here in France, we are spoiled for choice, from the usual big brand gift boxes to smaller artisan chocolatiers, who will create a bespoke gift box of their delicious creations for a comparable price to leading brand name gift boxes.
Bookmarks
The gift of a bookmark is practical and will most definitely be used, either in class or at home. I have a small selection of zero-waste bookmarks available in my shop, which make an ideal gift for teachers.
Tote bag
Our kids created some for Mother’s Day last year in class, so I know these are popular with teachers at our kids’ school. Teachers have to transport so many items each day, and a tote bag is a helpful gift choice. Most craft outlets sell blank tote bags, which can be decorated by your child, or you can choose from some personalised creations from online outlets like Etsy.
Be a teacher’s pet
Now you know what not to buy, you may need a little inspiration before you take your kids shopping for teacher gifts. Why not have a look at the “end of school gifts guide” for some more ideas to discuss with your children before you commit to purchasing anything?
What do you think?
Are you a teacher? What are the worst gifts you have received? What was the best? Is there something you would add to this list?
Parents, I’d love to know your thoughts and ideas on this subject, too, so join in the conversation in the comments below.
à bientôt
Natalie
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