Gift Ideas For The Teacher In Your Life

I like giving gifts more than I like receiving them.  OK, so that’s not entirely true,  but I do really enjoy seeing the look on people’s faces when they open a gift, and who doesn’t love a good hug as a ‘Thank you!’?  To be fair, I pride myself on giving unique gifts, and like to put a lot of thought into the item(s).  This, however, doesn’t always bode well when you have a husband who does NOT enjoying opening gifts in front of people.  So, that means I have to use all other opportunities to give gifts!  In an attempt to spread out the gift-giving, and prevent over-spoilage of my children, I look to their teachers to be recipients of the giving this time of year. 

I mean, who better to spread the love to than the very individuals that are feeding your child’s brain? 

Here are just a few ideas for that patient, saintly individual in your child’s life.  And perhaps if none of these fit your mold, they’ll at least get your creative juices flowing!

A personalized tote bag.  Gather some colored sharpies and a blank tote, hijack the classroom for 30 min or so, and let the kids have at it.   Whether they want to draw a picture or just sign their name, this is a useful way to remind them day after day after day of the 2018-2019 class.  And if they don’t want that memory, most canvas is recyclable. 

A plant.  Who doesn’t love a plant?  I have a black thumb, but even I can keep a succulent alive… most of the time.

Books for the classroom library.  That’s a win-win for all.  Bring in some of your favorite books to add to the library, and don’t forget to sign them with a nice message in the inside.

Free ’Get Out of School’ card.  Put together a little something that says you’ll take over the classroom for an hour or 2 sometime in the following months.  Give your teacher the freedom to sit in a quiet room, browse Instagram, blare music in their car…. whatever they choose to do in those couple of hours of freeeeeeeeedom!!!!  If they can handle the classroom day in and day out for 8+ hours a day, surely you can hang for 2 hours, right?

Alcohol.  If the school allows it, and you know you’re teacher enjoys a nice sip of sambuca from time to time, why not treat her to some?  Could be fun to change the label up a bit as well.  Examples: ‘We’re pretty sure our kid is the reason you drink, so enjoy this bottle on us.’ ’Teacher’s restorative, medicinal potion.’Thanks for helping our kid make headway, here’s to kicking off the holiday!’

Notes of appreciation.  Have each classmate fill out a small form about why they adore their teacher.  Throw the forms/tag/pieces of paper into a treasure chest and present as tokens of appreciation.

Frozen meals.  What about a ‘Soup Bar’ of sorts?  Ask each family to bring in a small container of homemade soup.  Obviously you’ll want to make sure the soup can be frozen.  Present it to your ’super teacher’ so they may stay warm all winter long.  Yummy.

Gift cards.  You cannot go wrong with an Amazon gift card or one to Barnes and Noble.  Oh, what about Instacart?  Shell gas station?  Alamo draft house?

A ‘We Love ATX’ basket.  We live in this beautiful city, and often we get so caught up in our work that we forget to explore and enjoy.  Create a basket of all things Austin.  A pass to the Bullock museum, tickets to a UT game, passes for standup paddle boards at Zilker, a book on bats, coasters of our ‘famous’ murals, a bus pass for the double decker tour, a gift card to Pharmacie (drool)…. the list goes on and on.

Be certain that whatever you choose to give your teachers this year, it will be much appreciated.

Unless of course it’s a pile of a coal and yet another coffee mug.  Lucky for me, my son’s teacher doesn’t even like coffee.  Happy holidays, but more importantly, happy gift giving!