6 Terrific End of Year Teacher Gift Ideas

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Teacher Gift Ideas

Here are six teacher gift ideas that teachers will appreciate but won’t break the bank. With summer quickly approaching and family vacations just around the corner, we can be feeling the pinch at this time of year. Many of us like showing our appreciation to our kids’ wonderful teachers but just don’t have a lot of extra cash to spend on elaborate gifts. However, the best gifts for teachers are often the ones that come from the heart.

If you ask teachers (and I did) what they would prefer to receive at the end of the year, gift cards are at the top of their list. A Visa card is nice because they can spend it on whatever they want. However, this means there is a definitive cash value to this gift, which we are trying to avoid. Don’t despair! A unique craft is also at the top of their list—something functional, perhaps for their classroom or for their home.

1. DIY Teacher Gifts 

If you can hold a paintbrush, you can buy inexpensive pots like these craft pots from Amazon and paint some simple flowers with waterproof paint. I’m partial to this acrylic waterproof paint set because they can be used on clay and lots of other surfaces, but better yet, they’re inexpensive. Another idea would be to write a teacher poem with a waterproof pen directly on the pot. These paint pens will definitely do the trick. They are great for drawing fine or medium lines, and they are safe for kids to use.

If you have a little more artistic skill, you could paint something more elaborate on the pot, again with waterproof paint. I’ve done this in the past, and teachers love it! I learned some basic flower painting techniques from a Donna Dewberry book, bought a few inexpensive clay pots (and tins) and two or three colors of paint, and then hand painted each of the pots.

I then went to a discount flower shop and purchased beautiful geraniums, which I placed in the pots. They were perfect!

2. Homemade Teacher Gifts

Another oldie but goody end-of-year teacher gift idea is a homemade baked good. However, I recommend this gift option only for teachers you know really well.

There’s nothing like freshly baked banana bread, blueberry muffins, or your best homemade cookie recipe displayed on a nice (yet inexpensive) plate or serving platter from Target, Home Goods, or even the Dollar Store.

An extra nice touch would be to include the recipe, perhaps on a pretty label like one of these elegant printable labels from this Etsy store, and add it to your gift.

This will tell the teacher if there are any allergens in the food that they need to be aware of.

I like to attach a recipe card to my baked goods. I hole-punch the recipe card and tie it onto the gift with a pretty ribbon or raffia. Here’s a simple recipe card template you can print out.

3. Personalized Teacher Gifts

A personalized teacher gift idea from your child could include a drawing that they color with crayons or colored pencils. They can then include a nice note to their teacher on the drawing. You can finish it off by rolling it up and tying it with a pretty ribbon or raffia. There’s nothing like a nice thank you note on a picture that a child took the time to draw to put a smile on a teacher’s face! My daughter did this for Christmas for the school secretary, and she loved it!

4. Unique Teacher Gifts

A unique teacher gift idea would be to have your son or daughter decorate a bookmark–again with a personal thank you note to the teacher. Then, place it in a decorative notebook or diary.

There are plenty of interesting and unique notebooks on Etsy, or you can buy one at Target. Sometimes, they even have these little notebooks in their Clearance sections, so don’t forget to look there.

5. Teacher Gifts That Inspire

Picture frames also make nice teacher gifts. You can put a picture of your child, the class, or my favorite: a printed out inspirational quote specific to teachers, something like this:

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”― William Arthur Ward

Picture frames are inexpensive. The written quote inside the frame will surely be appreciated and can be displayed in the classroom.

Do you own a Cricut machine? This teacher gift can become an easy Cricut project! Pick a pretty font like one from this awesome Handwritten Font Bundle on Creative Market. Then, write your quote in the design space and print it out on heat transfer vinyl from this heat transfer vinyl bundle pack if you don’t have any on hand. Iron it on a pretty fabric and fit it to the frame. Here are some simple directions to frame fabric at Sunlit Spaces.

6. Practical Teacher Gifts

My sixth and final recommendation for an end-of-year teacher gift idea includes games for the classroom.

The teacher can use all the help they can get entertaining the kids on rainy days when recess is inside!

You can purchase inexpensive games at Target, WalMart, KMart, or a TJ Maxx or Marshall’s store. I bought this Civil War trivia card game for my son’s Social Studies teacher as a gift. It is perfect for recess time on a rainy day and costs less than $15.

Sometimes, larger book retailers like Barnes and Noble have these types of products in their discount sections. A nice added touch would be to include a note to the teacher with a gift like this that says something like, “Thinking of you on all those rainy days when ways to entertain the kids are often in short supply,” or “Here’s something new for you to add to your rainy day game supply,” or something along those lines. It shows that you put thought behind your gift.

I know I could include many more teacher gift ideas here, but hopefully, the above suggestions will get your creative juices flowing. Again, the best gifts for teachers are usually the ones you put thought into and that come from the heart—not the ones that cost the most money.

If you have any more ideas, please feel free to add them in the comments section!

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