It’s always a good idea to give the special teachers in our lives a little bit of recognition for all of their hard work and attention. This is a sweet way to dress up a practical teacher gift for Christmas or anytime.
This practical gift of items teacher’s love to get is dressed up a bit with an adorable presentation in these sweet teacups.
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Coming up with a gift that teacher’s will actually use and love can be so hard!
It’s easy to go with the simple go-to of candy, coffee, candles, etc… Gift cards are always appreciated, but feel so impersonal… Teachers get so many of the same gifts, it can be hard to think outside the box.
The gifts teachers really want and will use are practical things, but how do you make a useful and practical gift really special?
It’s all about presentation!
You can find teacups and saucers for practically nothing at thrift stores or the Goodwill.
For groups of teachers, such as the kiddos’ preschool last year, having different teacups makes each gift unique and special.
The small, standard-size favor bags work well for wrapping the teacup, but a little larger bag is needed if you’d like to include the saucer. We just wrapped the cup and left the saucer below.
The clear bags are really nice because teachers can see the gift without having to unwrap or take out all the contents.
Inexpensive gift for multiple teachers
Teacups and saucers from a second hand store is a really inexpensive way to give something special.
The cups and saucers we used were sold for $0.49 and I think I got them for 50% off, so we paid only about 50 cents per teacher. I like to look for a unique pattern – you can spend a little more and get these gorgeous teacups and saucers.
I was just there today and noticed all the other fun things that could be used: candy dishes, crystal bowls, cream or sugar bowls from china sets, other unique cups. Any would be great on a desk!
We got our supplies at the Dollar Tree and split up packs of multiples between the teachers.
We had a couple boxes of chocolate mints from another store and some pens because we buy them in bulk. From the dollar store we bought:
- gift / favor bags
- post-its
- permanent markers
- highlighters
- pencils
- dry-erase markers
So, in all, I think it cost us less than $10 for really cute and useful gifts for four teachers. Can’t beat that!
Practical teacher gift items to include
Teachers often spend the year buying extra supplies for themselves or the classroom. Anything you can give them that they can use in the class will always be appreciated.
- Post-its – who doesn’t have a weakness for Post-its, especially in different colors???
- Single-serve instant coffee packets – I’ve tried Starbucks and Folgers – very handy!
- Dry erase markers
- Nice pens – I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a good pen, G2 pens are my favorite!
- Colored pens
- Highlighters
- Sharpies – there are so many good deals on Sharpie sets this time of year!
- Notepads
- Pencils
- Stickers for students – this is a welcome gift for the teacher and your own kiddo
- Mints, Gum, or chocolates
- Gift Card
As a personal touch, we add these bows that my dad designed. It’s special from our family, but gift wrap, tape, or bows is a great addition to a Christmas teacher gift. Everyone runs out this time of year!
These bows are really fun because they are stickers and can be rolled and tied with a ribbon.
Perfect for anytime!
We delivered these gifts at Christmas last year, but they would work for anytime. With a more generic gift / favor bag, these will be perfect for Teacher Appreciation, the end of the year, a special event, or anytime in between.
We have the same preschool teachers this year, so we won’t be recycling this idea this year. However, we definitely will in the future! We also have coaches, instructors, and bus drivers we’d like to find gifts for, so I have another idea… Coming soon!
What is your favorite teacher gift to give? Or, receive? I’d LOVE to hear from teachers!
Do you give a practical teacher gift, something special or homemade, or a great gift card?
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Thats a really nice idea, I love Goodwill, so many treasures there. I imagine something like that really makes the teacher feel appreciated that time was taken too.
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Thanks, Heidi! I love it too! When you have an idea in mind, you can get so much inspiration as you look around.
That’s what I was thinking, too. With all the useful things, it’s fun to add a little whimsy. Also, it costs hardly anything so it’s even better than using a gift bag!
A very sweet idea and I love the idea of repurposing cups from thrift stores!!
Thank you, Micaela! They were really fun to find, too!
These are wonderful ideas! My son is in preschool for the first time this year and has two teachers and two aides that we want to get gifts for, so I’m loving the inexpensive idea! The cups look so cute all decorated too! The practical gifts aren’t a bad idea either I must say!
Thanks, Beth! That’s why we liked them so much too – we had four preschool teachers, so we could split all the items among them and find them each their own unique cup. It hardly cost a thing, but it looked like it did! 🙂
This is a great gift idea! I love how inexpensive it is, but yet the teacher still gets so much stuff in their goodie bag! My boys have a few daycare instructors that I’m sure would love this.
I love this idea! Going to have to hit the thrift stores in town and make some pretty arrangements!
Thanks Teresa! The treasure hunt is the best part of the whole process!!
You’ll have to let me know what you find!