What to get your child’s teacher for the holidays

2017 Holiday gift guide for teachers BY a teacher

PSA: STOP BUYING US COFFEE MUGS.
Yes most of us have huge caffeine addictions, no we don’t need you to feed it. Your kids do enough of that.

Now that it’s off my chest let’s begin. You want to get your child’s teacher a gift for all of their sacrifice and hard work, day in and day out. I get it. You wrack your brain but you really don’t know him or her well enough to get them something personable that you know they will enjoy; so you get them a gift card to Target or Amazon and call it a day. We LOVE that but just in case you want it to look like you actually put thought into that, I’m here to help.

Big fan of Amazon so most of these links send you directly to them and if you’re a Prime member say hello to two-day shipping so no rush! All links are Prime, just click on the pics! And the link can help a sister out out =). These are all gifts I (a high school math teacher and my teacher friends) would love to get. That’s why I can personally recommend them. We LOVE it when you get us gifts. We obviously don’t do it for the gifts but it’s really nice to know a parent is out there thinking of us. Like REALLY REALLY nice. But no sense getting us something that will collect dust or something that I already have 10 of. This list is full of items that are unique. Things that’ll bring us joy and maybe the extra bump your kid needs at the end of the quarter. (Did I really write that out loud?)

1. Math or Science Clock

Where my nerdy teachers at? Okay if you are REALLY in love with your child’s math/science teacher know that they would GEEK OUT if you got them a clock like this. Students can’t tell time on an analog clock anyway, so this would just be a personal source of joy for your child’s nerdy teacher. Wanna make them smile when they are wondering how long until the period is over? Get them an awesome clock.

2. Funny Thermos

I know I said not to feed our caffeine addiction but how funny is this? Any nice thermos would do really.

3. Socks!

We love novelty paraphernalia. Sometimes we are too broke to splurge. When weighing the cost of buying pencil socks vs. putting some extra money away for a raining day. The rainy day fund wins every time.

4. Doorstoppers

I talked about door stoppers in a previous post. These are so funny. I have the ice cream scoop and a friend has the banana. Just need our other friend down the hall to get the cheese! We all have doors, they all need stopping.

5. Expo Markers

We are obsessed. We can never have enough. Don’t just get us the boring 5-pack. Get us a multicolor pack like this one. Its nice to have more variety on the board than just black, brown, green, red and blue. You’re really doing your child a favor by giving them a more visually appealing board to learn from.

6. Magnets

Can’t tell you how useful magnets are when I want to pin up a note on the board. Another thing that we CAN’T GET ENOUGH of. Again all magnet sets are not lame. They have character. They are novelties. We love novelties. All my 80’s babies tell me you could resist those Tetris magnets! Get some for yourself too!

7. Answer Buzzers

Playing a review game is 10x easier on the teacher, why? When you have to call on whoever raised their hand first there is always an argument that the teacher just “wasn’t looking my way” “it’s rigged.” With answer buzzers no one can debate which sound went off first. Also how much fun would this be for your child to have in class? Really fun.

8. Letter Board

Does your child’s teacher seem like the type to put up a weekly quote? Something inspirational for the kids to motivate them. Does their classroom look like they walked right off of a Pinterest board? Get them this and they will LOVE YOU FOREVER. You will be remembered as “the parent who got the letter board” and if you have any younger children get them in that class. If the teacher switches schools, you do too because you guys are automatic besties and this can only be good for your clan.

9. Keep us hydrated

Notice none of these options say things like , “Number One Teacher” or “World’s Best Teacher.” Those titles belong on awards not on a drinking vessel. Make us laugh. Give us a smile for the Holidays. A sentence that is equally as cheesy as “Number One Teacher.” Getting us a bottle to infuse our water with fruit or cold brew tea would be just so thoughtful.

10. If you must get us a mug…

I’m going to assume this subtle hint that you think we should drink more tea! How cool are those heat changing mugs! Good for letting you know your coffee, I mean tea, is cold. Who has time to drink hot coffee? Again cliche, but not cheesy & cliche.

11. Diffuser and Essential Oils

Does your child’s teacher seem stressed out? Does he or she seem a bit like a hippie? We can’t burn candles. STOP BUYING THEM for us. I can burn them at home but at home I don’t have 125 ripe pubescent teenagers passing through. This is a MUCH better option. (FYI This gift does not meet the 20 and under criteria.)

12. Tea Box

In case you haven’t gotten the tea hint yet. If you know they are a tea drinker this would be great. But also an assortment of tea to go with it. If you know for sure they are a coffee drinker then also maybe some coffee accessories.

Things Amazon cannot provide that would be awesome!!
De-stressers…
13. Succulents (and any low maintenance plants)
So nice to look up and see real life plants that you can put by a window and enjoy. Ikea has them for very cheap. I am sure Walmart does too.

14. Mani Pedi Massage
This is the ULTIMATE teacher gift. Seriously. If you got us a gift certificate for one these, two of these, or THREE of these it would mean the world. (FOR SURE doesn’t meet the $20 limit)
15. Novelty Chocolate
Chocolate is a given but we get A LOT of chocolate come the holidays. If you get us chocolate, send your kid in to so some secret spy work and figure out what we really REALLY like. You could also splurge and send in some fancy chocolate covered strawberries. Even just three of those would ensure that I cam back to work in January.
16. Gift Card Tips!
Just because you like Starbucks doesn’t mean we do. Amazon, Target, Visa, Publix, Amazon, Amazon. Okay. Generic. Restaurants that are pretty generic. Again this might be a good spot to send your kid in to do detective work. “Hey Ms. So&So. If you had to choose one restaurant for the rest of your life, what would it be?”