Savannah, a current Possip reporter and former educator, share gift ideas for teachers during this holiday season!

Teacher Gift Ideas from School Admin and Families

If the holiday season is all about giving, we definitely can’t forget about our teachers! Teachers spend the entire year giving their time and resources to their students. Now it’s our turn to show our gratitude. This year, we want to share a few ideas of gifts that teachers will truly appreciate! 

Gift Ideas for Teachers – from Administrators and Leaders

While a hat or backpack with the school name and logo on it is nice to have, these items are essentially still functioning as marketing swag. Teachers might use or wear these items at school, but chances are they aren’t being used much outside of school. This year, give teachers a thoughtful gift that isn’t necessarily school-related. Additionally, teachers have shared that they don’t necessarily need any more “stuff,” and instead would really appreciate an experience! Here are a few ideas.

• Consider funding a holiday lunch for your staff, or even a staff outing! If this is too difficult to coordinate, consider sponsoring movie tickets for each staff member and a companion. 
• Let teachers choose how they want to spend their gift by purchasing them an Amazon gift card, or grocery store certificate. 
• If you want to support local businesses within your community, choose 3-5 businesses and allow each staff member to choose a gift card to their local business of choice. While some people hesitate to give gift cards or certificates because they feel less personal, it’s important to also think about what our teachers would most appreciate as well. And this year, teachers definitely deserve to be appreciated! 
• If possible, the best gift you can give a teacher would be time off. Whether that be relieving them from duties, or covering a class period so they can leave early from school, or even providing them an extra day of PTO if possible. We also want to acknowledge that we know schools are struggling to find coverage as is, so this one is difficult. However, it’s something teachers always appreciate! Click here to review the staff retention trends we are seeing and how they think the additional time off would help retain these great teachers! 

Gift Ideas For Teachers – from Families

We know you love your teacher, and with the holidays just around the corner you might be thinking, now is the perfect time to celebrate them! While coffee gift cards are always nice to have, we have a few other fun teacher gift ideas for this year:

• Off Duty Socks – Want to get a giggle out of your favorite teacher? This is a fun and easy gift all your teachers will love. Pair it with a note, their favorite coffee drink, or holiday candle for something extra thoughtful. 
• A Homemade Card – Write your teacher a thoughtful note! Words of affirmation are welcome! In fact, teachers love anything handmade. Consider crafting your favorite teacher a holiday ornament paired with a thoughtful note. 
• Flair Bundle – We don’t know if you know this, but teachers love flair pens! This fun flair pen bundle is perfect for any teacher, and is designed by a teacher himself! So by giving this to a teacher, you’re also supporting a teacher. 
• East Nash Teacher Gifts – East Nash Teacher is another local business owned by a teacher you can support! There are lots of fun items to choose from, including shirts, sweatshirts, and classroom posters. 
• Make a Donation in Your Teacher’s Name – Is there a cause your favorite teacher is an advocate for? Consider asking your teacher if there is a local group or organization you can make a donation to in their name.
• Local Bookstore Gift Card – Teachers love to read, but sometimes it can be tough to pick out the perfect book for them! If you’re thinking about getting your teacher a gift card, purchase one from a local bookstore. You’ll be supporting your teacher and shopping locally! 
• Amazon Gift Card: Teachers always could use more supplies and classroom decorations! An Amazon gift card will allow them to make these important purchases.

At Possip, we LOVE our teachers, and we want to make sure they know it! This year, consider surprising your teachers with one of these gift ideas. Finally, if you do end up using one of these ideas, we would love to hear about it. Consider reaching out to us, or better yet, sending us a picture! Thanks for helping us support our teachers.