Gift giving is HARD – and it is especially hard to give gifts to humans that you don’t know on a super personal level.. like TEACHERS. As a teacher, I appreciate just being recognized and love by my students but I did have a BUNCH of people asking for recommendations for the teachers in their lives.

So, let me preface this by saying DO NOT feel like you have to buy a gift for your child’s teacher this is completely a personal decision and each teacher is different and would be happy to receive anything from their students, but I did find it helpful to poll teachers and see what gifts they find more useful than others!

So, here it is!

YES GIFTS:

• Gift Cards
  • This is by far the most popular answer on my poll – gift cards allow teachers to buy things they need instead of trying to guess what they want! I included a list of gift cards ideas below.
    • Visa Gift Card (This allows the teacher to purchase ANYTHING where Visa is accepted).
    • Teachers Pay Teachers (*This is a fantastic job, for those of you who don’t know Teacher Pay Teachers is a website where teachers can share resources with other teachers and it is incredible. I have spent a small fortune on this website this year, especially being remote!).
    • Starbucks
    • Target
    • Gas
    • Liquor Stores
• Liquor /Wine – This is actually a more popular gift than you might think, however, I would make sure you know if the teacher drinks or not before moving forward with this one.
• Self Care Items: spa gift card, facial, massage, manicure/pedicure, etc.
• Personalized Cards/Handmade Gifts – these items will always be special. I have a place that I keep all the gifts from my students and I usually use the items to decorate my classroom.
• Teacher Supplies & Classroom Materials
  • NICE Flair Pens (WE LOVE OUR FLAIR PENS)
  • Books
  • Indoor Recess Games
  • Stylus (for students)
• Magazine Subscription (scholastic, etc.)

NO GIFTS:

*Most of these gifts fell into the category of not knowing the personal preference of the teacher. For example, I have received so many lotions and candles and the smell is not my preference so then they just sit in a drawer.

• Hand Lotion
• Coffee Mugs – Probably the most received gift of ALL teachers.
• Homemade Food/Baked Goods
• Candles
• Candy
• Flowers – Flowers are beautiful but they are expensive and are hard to transport home!
• Clothing
• Jewelry
• Items with Teacher Quotes – You can only have so many plaques with teacher quotes on them before you can’t have anymore!
• Picture Frames

MIXED GIFTS:

*These were gifts that some teachers said they enjoy and some teachers said they DID not enjoy getting.

• Bath Bombs
• Stationary
• Fancy Chocolate (macaroons, Christopher Elbow chocolate, etc.)

AGAIN, teachers appreciate everything. However, I know when I shop for people I always try to find things that the person will actually enjoy and use instead of throw it in a drawer to let it sit.

xo, brm.