Updated for 2022
The pandemic provided parents and guardians with a more hands-on perspective of what a teacher does every day, even though, in reality, it’s just a small sample of what teachers do each day.
And we bet you’ve never appreciated teachers more than you do right now — and you can celebrate teachers at any time!
Are you looking for Gifts for Teachers? You can send these gifts anytime, like during the holidays, at the end of the school year, or whenever you feel like celebrating your child’s teachers.
The first week in May is Teacher Appreciation Week, with that Tuesday designated a,s “Teacher Appreciation Day.” This year, it’s on May 3rd. It’s the ultimate time to celebrate teachers! Let’s all give them the best Teacher Appreciation Week ever, with this great list of gift ideas teachers love. And it’s not just a list of gift cards!
Don’t Forget Teacher Appreciation Day This Year!
Celebrate your children’s teachers with these terrific gift ideas.
Spotlight Gift Idea: Fire Department Coffee — because what teacher doesn’t love coffee? (Moms do, too!)
Teachers are the heart and soul of this great country. We honor and celebrate their hard work and dedication to educate and inspire. We cannot thank our teachers enough for all that they do.
What better way to thank a teacher than with freshly-roasted coffee? It’s handcrafted by Fire Department Coffee’s dedicated crew of firefighters, first responders, and coffee experts. Fire Department Coffee is veteran owned and run by firefighters. They also give backto their fellow first responders who have become sick or injured while on the job.
Special Discount: Get 10% Off with Code FDCOFFEE10
Related: MomsLA Education Guide for Los Angeles
15+ Gift Ideas to Let Your Child’s Teachers Know They’re Appreciated
1. Make It Public
Share a thank you or a favorite memory on social media. Now, more than ever, our teachers deserve to be celebrated and recognized for their dedication and professionalism.
2. Send an E-Card
Or two. Or three. Try to get the whole class to participate and send e-cards to the teacher throughout the week. And if it’s too hard to coordinate with other students’ families, there’s nothing stopping you and your child from sending the teacher an e-card each day of Teacher Appreciation Week. Check out the cute selection available at 123greetings.com.
3. Design It in Chalk
Send the kids outside to draw or write thank yous to their teachers. Take pictures and email them to your child’s teachers. It’s a guaranteed way to bring a smile to everyone’s face.
4. Make a Donation in Your Teacher’s, or School’s, Name
Times are hard for so many right now. Instead of purchasing another #1 Teacher Mug, why not put that money to better use? Make a donation to a reputable organization on behalf of your child’s school or teacher. Make sure to let your child’s teacher know.
5. Create a Class Memory Book
By this time in the school year, especially if your child is in elementary school, there have been many school-wide and class-special events. Compile your photos from these fun days into a special photo memory book. If your photo collection is lacking, contact other parents and ask everyone to send what they have. Use those photos to create a custom photo memory book. Then arrange to have the book given to the teacher. To get you started, Shutterfly and Walgreens are just a few of the places that can create photo books.
6. Write a Thank You Note
This is the perfect “assignment” for students of any age. You can have younger children dictate to you their favorite thing about their teacher, a classroom activity they enjoy, or a special memory.
Parents can participate as well. As a parent, what have you noticed or observed, but maybe just haven’t thanked a teacher for? I treasure one particular thank you note the mother of a fifth-grade student wrote to me because, after being in my class, she told me her son now liked to read.
7. Produce a Video Collage
Get in touch with as many of your child’s classmates as possible, and ask each child to record themselves saying something they like about their teacher. Then, ask one tech-savvy parent to compile all the mini-videos into a larger video collage that can be emailed to your child’s teacher.
8. Offer Your Help
Take the guesswork out of it. Email your child’s teacher. Tell the teacher how much they are appreciated and how much you’d like to do something special to help them out. Don’t be shy; ask them what they need. Then do it.
9. Purchase a Subscription
Do you know your child’s teacher well enough to know if they’d prefer a movie subscription (Netflix), a music subscription (Apple Music), or audiobooks (Audible)? If not, reach out to the teacher, express your desire to purchase a subscription (also offer magazine and newspaper subscriptions) and ask which one the teacher would prefer.
If you want to purchase an Amazon Prime subscription for your child’s teacher, you can do it via our affiliate link.
10. Kids’ Artwork Never Goes out of Style
Have your child draw, paint, or create a collage picture for their teacher. Present the framed artwork to the teacher as a thank you.
11. Send Them a Meaningful Gift
Now that schools are open, you can drop off a physical gift to your child’s teacher.You can find a variety of Teacher Appreciation Gifts from our Amazon shop (these are all affiliate links.). These great T-shirts, mugs, quotations, and monogrammed bags are just some ideas for gifts to give your favorite teachers!
12. Host a before-school breakfast
Try to organize a special breakfast for your child’s teachers (and include all of the school staff) at least one morning during Teacher Appreciation Week. Check with the school’s administration to find out about any restrictions due to health and safety protocols. If food can’t be served buffet-style, think about serving individually wrapped food items like bananas, granola bars, individually wrapped pastries, and small bottles of juice, etc. This can be an event that just your child’s class coordinates or, depending on the size of your child’s school and the level of parent involvement, a different grade level can be responsible for “hosting” the breakfast each morning of Teacher Appreciation Week.
13. Surprise them with a sparkle
Pool your resources with those of other parents and pay to have a mobile car wash come to the school to clean the teachers’ cars — exteriors only. What a treat to end the school day before heading for home in a freshly-washed car.
14. Decorate classroom doors
With permission from the school principal, show up late in the afternoon after your child’s teacher has left for the day, or early in the morning before your child’s teacher arrives, and decorate the classroom door. Add photos, thank you notes — which can be as simple as a collection of colorful Post-it notes — and balloons as a very colorful way for teachers to see their efforts are acknowledged and appreciated.
15. Upgrade the teachers’ lounge
Find out what the majority of the teachers would most like. A new microwave? Toaster oven? Coffee maker? Blender? Work with other parents to purchase these items as a way of expressing your appreciation.
16. Furniture
Does your child’s teacher have a piece of classroom furniture on their wish list? Something they’d love to have, though it’s not exactly necessary? Maybe a new swivel chair? A drying rack for art projects? A seat cushion? Pool your money with other parents to try and make that wish come true.
17. Pampering
I think we can all agree that our children’s hard-working teachers could use some pampering. Is there a local salon or manicure shop near the school? Find out if they offer gift certificates and pick one up. Then you’ll feel doubly good knowing you’re supporting a small business while gifting your child’s teacher with a pampering session of their choice — maybe a mani/pedi or a neck/shoulder massage.
18. A Month of Treats
Who says Teacher Appreciation only has to last a week? Make a plan with your child’s teacher to drop off lunch each Friday for a month. Or, get their Starbucks order and deliver it yourself each Monday morning for a month.
19. Coupons for Future Help
Create some fun coupons writing out promises to help do some of the “less glamorous” tasks required of a teacher. Some ideas include: vacuuming the rug in the library corner, sharpening pencils, or refilling the soap dispensers.
20. Make It Personal
Have your child fill out our free printable sheet, “The Best Things About My Teacher”, below and email it. She or He will love to see the effort your kids make. Or, get crafty and creative with your kids and make your own list. We’ve got a couple of color choices, too.
(Click on each to download or drag and drop.)
BONUS: 25 Gift Card Ideas for Teacher Appreciation
Gift Cards are fool-proof. You most likely have your teacher’s email address. Use it to send them an e-gift card — or if you know their mailing address, you can obviously send them the real thing. These gift card ideas are for stores and restaurants we think every teacher will love.
Related: Teacher Appreciation Ideas from Office Depot
1. Amazon – see the list above? If you can’t mail your teacher an actual gift, send them an Amazon card and let them pick something out for themselves.
2. Target
3. Starbucks
4. Paper Source
5. Hallmark Stores
6. GameSTOP
7. Whole Foods
8. Ulta Beauty
9. Lowe’s
10. Best Buy
11. Google Play
12. Fandango
14. Netflix
15. Uber
16. Doordash
17. iTunes
18. Sephora
19. Uber Eats
20. GrubHub
21. VISA Gift card
22. Chipotle
23. Lakeshore Learning
24. Nordstrom
25. Michael’s
Bonus points if you can help support a small, independent, or local business by purchasing a gift card from them.
However you choose to celebrate teachers this year, we’re sure they will be grateful! We’re all sure grateful for them!
Related: First Day of School Apple for the Teacher
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Wendy Kennar is a mother, writer, and former teacher who has lived her entire life in the same Los Angeles zip code. You can read more from Wendy at her websiteWendyKennar.comwhere she writes about books, boys, and bodies (living with an invisible disability).
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