Holiday Teacher Gift Ideas

Thanksgiving is a couple of days a way and all I have been able to think about the past couple of weeks is preparing for Christmas. It seems to sneak up on me every year and each year I vow to be more prepared. I’d love to get to a point where I’m not scrambling at the last minute and can relax and enjoy the season a bit more but that’s just not me. While, I can’t take credit for having most things in order this year…for example, I haven’t even started on our holiday cards I can say that I’ve got teacher gifts all wrapped up!

For years I’ve have a tried and true teacher gift…which worked as long as we had a new teacher every year. So it worked fine for five years but now that my middle child is starting to have some of the same teachers as my oldest I’ve had to go back to the drawing board. I knew this was coming so I’ve been thinking about it for a while which is the ONLY reason I’ve got these gifts all set. My preference is to do the same for all the kids teachers as it makes my life so much easier! Read on for my TAKE on teacher gifts this year…variations for coaches, therapists, babysitters are included as well!

Teacher Gift
This year teachers in our lives are getting a little tiered gift (shown above) of goodies. The gift consists of personalized stationary, gift box with gift card (Starbucks, Target, Amazon etc…) plus a fun holiday themed soap. Aside from ordering the personalized stationary the gift doesn’t take a lot of lead time and the special packaging makes it look like you put a lot of thought into it. I’m a visual person so I feel this is the perfect gifting combo with some really festive packaging! I also stashed one of our family gift tags into one of the tiers but this could also be tied on top.

Products Linked Below:

Personalized Teacher Stationary/ Striped Gift Card Gift Box/ Holiday Gift Tag/ Holiday Gifting Bar Soap/ Green Velvet Ribbon/ Festive Bell

Gift Variation for Coaches/Therapists/Babysitter etc…

There are a lot of people in our children’s lives and we are grateful for the time and attention that they give them. So whether this is a speech therapist, dance instructor, baseball coach etc… we like to give them a little something special at the holidays too! This year I became inspired during a random trip to Trader Joe’s where I discovered these Hot Chocolate Stirring Spoons (Pictured Above). I’m sure I could figure out how to make them but I don’t have time for that this year so instead I’m removing two from their original packaging putting them into a cellophane bag and then sticking them into a monogram mug along with a Starbucks gift card and gift tag. It’s festive, personalized and the price tag can easily come in under $25.00!

Products Linked Below:

Tiled Monogram Mug/ Clear Cellophane Bag/ Crinkle Cut Paper

If you’re looking for another gifting idea…a favorite holiday tradition of ours is making batches and batches of Ina Garten’s Roasted Rosemary Cashews. We make loads, package them in cellophane bags, tie with a ribbon and gift tag and hand to much of the staff at school plus other friends and family. The house smells delicious when they’re roasting and they are always a holiday favorite!

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End-of-Year Teacher Gifts

We've all been there. There are only a few days left of the school year and you've forgot to get something for your child's teacher. It's not just the teacher these days but also the assistant teacher, the after care director and the speech therapist...(insert number of children here) and multiply! Coordinating end-of-year gifts is a lot of work! It's time consuming and overwhelming but teachers give selflessly to our children and they deserve something special. I'm lucky that there is often a room parent that coordinates a generous group gift but if you're like me and want to give something extra read on for my TAKE on an idea for end-of-year teacher gifts.

Each year I try to simplify things and stick with one teacher gift idea for all recipients. During the holidays we bake our favorite Rosemary Cashew recipe (post here) but I wanted to try something new for end-of-year gifts. Last summer I was really into the blog 100 Days of Real Food so this year I decided on baking and gifting their Homemade Granola along with a gift card. I know some feel it's impersonal but I love a gift card and I find that baking is an easy way to involve my kids in the gift experience.

The Homemade Granola from 100 Days of Real Food is delicious, super easy to bake and can be made into bars or used as cereal. The granola can also last for 2 weeks in an air tight container so it's easy to bake ahead of time. I packaged in cellophane bags, included a gift card for each teacher, tied with some grosgrain ribbon and added the gift tag that can be found in my Highlights on Instagram. The granola would also look great packaged in a coffee mug or a decorative container.

If Homemade Granola isn't your thing don't fret. Be sure to check out the blog DoSayGive. Lee, has wonderful ideas and just posted an entire section of 2018 Teacher Gift ideas that is sure to solve your gifting woes. She even has a post on appropriate Teacher Gift Etiquette. I hope I stack up! Happy Teacher Gifting and Happy Summer!

Holiday Gifting for Teachers

What do Ina Garten, Minted, Anthropologie, Paper Source and Starbucks all have in common? They're all a part of my TAKE on the perfect gift for the teachers, therapists, sitters and/or coaches in your lives! 

Truth be told, I've been using this idea for a while. I'm going to have to come up with a new idea next year when my oldest two are at the same school but for now this is still my favorite idea for teachers. It's the perfect combination of something personalized and homemade. Read on for the 5 components of this holiday gift idea!

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

This Ina Garten recipe is addictive, super simple and delicious. Not to mention, the aroma of the roasting cashews will set you straight into the holiday spirit. I stock up on the cashews at Trader Joe's around Thanksgiving and we make the cashews in batches throughout the season often doubling recipe.  

Ribbon

Once the cashews have dried I spoon them into cellophane bags and tie them with a festive grosgrain ribbon. Paper Source has my favorite selection!

Gift Tag

While in the process of tying the ribbon I always add a gift tag. I've been ordering variations of these gift tags from Minted for years. They come pre punched so it's super easy to loop them through the ribbon. I love to add a photo on the back and I swear they save me time when packaging all of our gifts. This year I ordered both a Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas version.

Personalized Mug

I like to use the monogram mug from Anthropologie for this gift as they are the perfect size to hold a decent amount of cashews. I typically opt for the first initial of the gift recipients name but you could also do the first letter of their last name. Target and Williams Sonoma also have a great selection of initial mugs and you can often find them on sale during this time of year.

Gift Card

I always nestle a gift card in between the packaged cashews and mug. This year I've opted for Starbucks gift cards as they tie in with the mug (and what teacher doesn't need caffeine) but you could easily opt for another store such as: Target, Amazon, Whole Foods, J Crew, Gap etc...