Quick and Easy Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Teacher Appreciation Week is almost upon us, and being a former teacher myself, I can tell you that this week does mean a lot for teachers. Well, at least it did for me. So if your child has a great teacher and you want to show them a little love, here are some quick goodies you can put together in a flash.

This is not a sponsored post- just my ideas to share with you! I update it and add to it every year, so please Pin it for future reference! It may contain Amazon affiliate links, which you can read more about on my Disclosure page. 

Know What Your Teacher Likes

At the beginning of the school year, I email the teacher a little questionnaire, asking them about their hobbies, favorite stores, favorite books, what they like to do on weekends, etc.  As a homeroom mom, this info is very helpful at the end of the year when we have to get a classroom gift!  If you don't know what your child's teacher likes, no worries, you can improvise- or even try asking your child. You'd be surprised at how much they know about their teacher! I used this awesome free printable questionnaire from 2nd Grade Snickerdoodles to give to my child's teacher when school started.

I was a teacher myself, so I can tell you honestly that my favorite gifts were:

-snacks or baked treats
-chocolates
-handmade cards or letters from the kids
-school or classroom supplies (sounds lame but teachers really need these things and often wind up spending their own money to get them!). Sharpie markers, scented markers, post-it notes and thank you notes were my favorite.
-hand sanitizer or hand lotions
-gift cards to Target or Amazon (okay, that's extreme, but if you really want to be generous, they were always appreciated!)

Food Gifts

I learned early on that The Jersey Momma's Boy's teacher (say that five times fast!) likes ice cream. So I saw these cute Baskin Robbins ice cream pops at the store and figured I'd get them for her, knowing I'd probably give her a series of little gifts throughout the week.  They're the kind you buy on the shelf and freeze later.

I added a handwritten tag and I drew a little ice cream cone on it ("Here's the Scoop: We appreciate you!"). But you can always find a free printable tag somewhere on Pinterest if you don't want to draw your own. 

Paper Gifts

One of my favorite stores on Etsy is a fabulous artist who sells paper goods and graphics named Paper Glitter. She makes adorable invitations, party decor, rubber stamps, and more. She also has a personal website, so be sure to check her out. I've purchased many different items from her, including Halloween clip art, Back to School clip art, Thanksgiving table decorations and this cute pencil treat box.

The great thing about these is that they only cost a few dollars each and she sends them to you as a download so you can keep them on your computer to use again and again. The pencil box even has areas where you can personalize it. I filled this box with little candies and put it in the teacher's mailbox. It's easy to print it out. Cut it out with a sharp scissor, and assemble it with double sided tape (or just tape it from the outside- it still looks cute!). It's really just a lot of folding and very easy to put together.

I also made one of these for The Jersey Momma's Boy on his first day of school- the photo is a little dark because I took it the night before school started!

Personalized Books

Okay so maybe you can't really whip these up in record time, but this is not a difficult gift to assemble with a little pre-planning. I emailed all of the parents and requested they ask their kids the best thing about being in their teacher's class. I typed up each child's response and decorated with Paper Glitter's Back to School clip art. Then I assembled the book with cardstock and a book ring. Some of the kids sent in illustrations for me to use, too.

A Favorite Book Gift Set 

Last year I wrote a post about this adorable plush apple named Mac and his book, Back to School with Mac. It's such a fun addition for any classroom library and I know it's a gift that teachers would love! It's written by Kim DiLoreto and illustrated by Alvina Kwong. You can find my review of it here. If you can't find Back to School with Mac, there are so many other classic book choices for teachers, like The Berenstain Bears Go To School or Miss Nelson is Missing just to name a few.

Gift Baskets

Gift baskets can be inexpensive and easy to assemble. A baking basket is a fun choice for teachers who like to bake! Ask for basic donations from classroom parents or gather them yourself- cake mix, cupcake wrappers, sprinkles, etc. and put them together in a bowl, basket or even on a plate. We actually had a ton of nice baskets in our basement so we used one of those for this year's gift. It turned out so cute and was not hard to assemble!

Handmade Gifts

DIY Suncatchers 

My DIY suncatchers are super popular on Pinterest (here's a direct link to the pin). They're actually really easy to make but they do take a few days to dry, so if you want to make one, be sure to leave enough time for construction. You can find my easy tutorial here.

Salt Dough Memory Stones

Another fun handmade gift that teachers might appreciate is a salt dough memory stone. They're really easy to make, and you can turn them into an ornament or a paper weight or just a little trinket with the teacher's name on it. You can find the pin here and the tutorial post here.

If you're still stuck for ideas, check out my Gift Ideas Board on Pinterest. There are tons of free printables, gift ideas and cute snacks you can put together for the person who makes such a difference in your child's life. And when all else fails, try just writing a little thank you card. That means the world to teachers, too!