First Day Teacher Gift Baskets

Hi, friends! It truly hasn’t hit me yet that our girls will start school in less than two weeks. I’m totally not ready to let go of summer, but I am excited for them to go and meet new friends and learn. I am going to be sharing a few fun items that we are gifting their teachers on the first day. Teachers are heroes in my opinion. I like to work with them as partners, and support them with whatever resources I can (supplies, treats, volunteering, etc.). I’ll also be sharing some fun themed goodies that I’ve gotten for the girls, to intentionally celebrate this upcoming school year. Feel free to check out last year’s school baskets in THIS post.

I want to preface this post by saying THESE GIFTS ARE EXTRAS. If you don’t have the energy and/or the budget for teacher gifts, you’re still a fantastic parent, and your kiddo will rock this school year. It is important that this is more about sentiment than it is about spending. The basket is comprised a few affordable ideas, that I hope will spark some ideas for you all, and save you some time as you look to treat your child’s educators.

You might recognize these white wire baskets. I am reusing them from Raegan, Zarie and Xander’s summer fun baskets. I also have several in my office, and I use them to store holiday items. They’re inexpensive and you can find them HERE. My cute apple rainbow garland is from Pearl and Jane, and can be found HERE.

I’ve numbered each of the ideas/products. Just click on the highlighted title, and you’ll be directed to the affiliate link. As always, thank you for your support, and allowing me to bring in income for our family through these links.

WIRE BASKETS HERE

1. Apple Post-It Note Dispenser

Guys, how stinking cute is this thing? I am obsessed. The apple is weighted and refillable. A fun item for an educator’s desk. I am sure they have plenty to take note of throughout the day.

2. Classroom Books

I love to gift a few books to go in the classroom library. If you follow me on, Instagram, than you know that we all really enjoy reading! I love children’s books, and will often gift them at birthday parties. I like to gift books on the first day (1) because it is a gift that the teacher can use again and again (2) It is one simple way to ensure that there are books with inclusive characters and diverse protagonists in my child’d classroom. A Letter from Your Teacher and Our Class is a Family can both me found in my Amazon storefront.

3. Supplies

So, I try not to gift teachers ONLY supplies on the first day or for special events like Teacher’s Appreciation Week. Just because, while I know they are much appreciated, those things are more tools for them to teach, and therefore classroom gifts. I do try and send a few items in like expo markers, the infamous flair pens, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, and extra tissues. I know these items tend to come out of their own pockets, and they run out often. Consider asking your teacher often if they need these or any extras throughout the school year.

4. Gift Cards

I polled a TON of teachers from different schools, states, and grade levels, and SO many of them said they love to receive gift cards. Find out on my previous blog post 5 Quick Teacher Gift Ideas what they specifically do NOT want. I usually stick with gift cards to Target, Amazon, and Starbucks. Or if I know of a specific restaurant or shop they enjoy, I’ll add one in from there. I typically buy the $10 Starbucks multi-packs so I have them on hand throughout the school year.

This year, I jazzed up the gift card with the most adorable pencil shaped gift card holder. It comes with the cutest little notebook paper gift tag. Snag 1 or a set of 4 HERE.

5. Treats

You can’t go wrong with a little sugar during the first week of school, right? I got these adorable apple shaped cookie pops from Frost Your Cookie, and I think they are so fun. You can have them personalized with whatever saying you want–or even their name. I also snagged a pencil and notebook cookie pop for each of the girls to enjoy after the first day of school.

Also, consider picking up something from your favorite local baker or donut shop. A little goes a long way.

6. Drinks

I feel like with all of the running around that they do, especially on the first day of school, there isn’t much time to grab a drink in there. I think that gifting a teacher a drink is a really intentional and inexpensive thing to do. You could ask them for their favorite ahead of time, get water, an energy drink, or even stop by Starbucks to bring them an iced coffee (okay, one for you too). I went with these Starbucks Frappuccino Vanilla Chilled Coffee Drinks ($3) that I just snagged during my normal grocery store trip. I turned up the magic by adding in some ribbon and the fun notebook paper gift tag from the pencil gift card holders. I wrote “Cheers to a great first day” and signed it.

7. Handwritten Note

I like to drop teacher’s a line just to say hello, and to let them know that I am excited for a fresh school year. I like to emphasize that I am happy to help out, and to reach out if she ever needs volunteers. I got the cutest “From Raegan/Zarie/Xander’s Mom stationery (HERE), but obviously any note paper works just fine. I have heard so many times from teachers that parent appreciation goes a long way.

Free Teacher Gift Ideas:

I want to close out this post with mentioning again that teacher gifting (and really any gifting) is rooted in sentiment. I also know it has been a HARD year, and we don’t always have the space in our budget for these extras. Here are a few free things you can offer up to your child’s teacher this year:

• Offer to come read to the class. Virtual or no visitors allowed? Record yourself reading and send it to your teacher to play for the classroom.
• Volunteer to create the monthly classroom newsletter
• Volunteer for anything. Be proactive and ask if you’re needed.
• Donate any extra items you may already have like snacks and pencils.
• Donate books your children have outgrown to the library.
• Join and participate in the PTA program.
• Ask the teacher if there are household items like paper towel rolls and oatmeal cans that you can collect throughout the year for crafts.

I hope this helps, friends! I will be sharing some up close video/stories of these items over on Instagram. You can find all of my back-to-school shares in my highlight there. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them below! I pray you have a beautiful school year ahead.