A+ Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Teacher Appreciation Week is just around the corner: May 7-11 this year. If you’re like me, you usually remember Teacher Appreciation on the Monday morning that it starts, with a moment of mad panic – and then scramble the rest of the week to come up with an idea, get to a store, and finally bring said gift to school before Friday. Nothing says “hot-mess mom” like a half-hearted bouquet of flowers thrust into a teacher’s hands on Friday morning. Yup. Been there.

It doesn’t mean we’re not appreciative of all that teachers do for our kids. On the contrary. My kids aren’t even in actual school yet; they go to daycare. And every single day that I kiss them goodbye at drop-off, I am grateful for the teachers who nurture them and help them grow and learn when I can’t be with them to do it myself.

In fact, I take it as a compliment that at the end of the day, my 5-year-old sometimes refers to me as “Ms. Robbie.” If I’m a fraction as patient as she is, with only my own two kiddos to focus on rather than a class of 20, I’m doing something right.

Now, you can be cynical and think that Teacher Appreciation Week is another Hallmark holiday, or you can embrace the gratitude for those dedicated individuals who choose to work in classrooms, with kids that aren’t their own, on a daily basis. I know I couldn’t do that job, so I choose to embrace the gratitude and let my children’s teachers know that I really do appreciate everything they do. And also to apologize for the 10,000 times a day my child says their name.

When it comes to gifts, I’m all about the consumables. I’m not a teacher myself but I have a feeling that no one needs another coffee mug, water bottle, or candle. But treats and/or gift cards? That’s a different story.

This year, let’s simplify your #momlife with some easy teacher appreciation gift ideas that combine a few of my favorite things: cake, coffee, doughnuts, and Target. Because, really, who doesn’t love cake, coffee, doughnuts, and Target?

Download my free printable for each idea, have your kids painstakingly sign their name on it, slap it onto the gift, and BOOM. You can have your gift in hand on Monday morning if you play your cards right. Your kids’ teachers won’t even recognize you with all that forethought and preparation.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy for all the boring details.

Four Ways to Tell Teachers They Get an A+ in Your Book

“My Teacher Takes the Cake” (or cupcakes)

My go-to teacher gift is always the delicious little creations from Nothing Bundt Cakes. If you’re local to the Chicago area, check out their locations here (and, um, sample one for yourself when you stop in). I like Nothing Bundt Cakes because in addition to being delicious, they do a fabulous job on packaging. For the daycare teachers, where there are 3 teachers in a room, a stacked tower of 3 “Bundlets” wrapped with a ribbon and a flower is the perfect gift. No worries about selecting the right flavor – the teachers can fight over their favorites, or share them all.

Don’t have a Nothing Bundt Cakes convenient to you? Any pretty cupcake will do the trick too. If you want to recognize multiple teachers, a dozen cupcakes for the teachers’ lounge is a great gesture with no extra work on your part.

No matter what sweet treat you decide on, print out one of these “My Teacher Takes the Cake” cards. Attach, deliver, and let the sugar rush take the edge off whatever mischief your kid is creating at school today.

My Teacher Takes the Cake printable (file contains both designs)

“I ‘Donut’ Know What We’d Do Without You” breakfast treat

Looking for another easy way to stock the teachers’ lounge? A box of doughnuts or doughnut holes is quick, easy, and cost-effective. Add this cute tag and you’re all set with a treat that will make the morning a little sweeter.

I ‘Donut’ Know What We’d Do Without You printable

Lots of options for this one, by the way! Doughnuts or doughnut holes, a box of coffee, a latte, or even a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card. Customize it based on your recipients and budget.

“Thanks a Latte” coffee gift card holder

I’m going to make the assumption that most teachers are surviving on coffee the same way most moms are. Where else would they get their signature teacher energy and endless positivity? It’s gotta be the caffeine. Help your favorite teacher keep their caffeine buzz on with a gift card to their favorite coffee shop (or better yet, the one closest to the school).

‘Thanks a Latte’ printable (two designs)

The best part about this one is it gives you an excuse to get yourself a latte while checking something off your to-do list. Let’s face it: You’ll want a little caffeine lift to cut out and assemble this project.

Want to get extra fancy? Grab one of those cardboard cup sleeves when you go in to buy the gift card. Adding this to the cut-out gift card holder brings you to the next level of Pinterest game.

“Thanks for Keeping Me on TARGET” gift card holder

I could wax poetical about Target for days, or I could assume that you already know its magic. When I need a gift for someone I don’t know very well, Target is it. You can buy basically anything you need or want there (and I do … weekly … to the tune of a minimum of $100 every.single.time), so a Target gift card won’t be a burden. It can be used for groceries, or accessories, or classroom supplies … or wine. As a mom, I don’t judge. If I taught my kid 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, I’d be buying a lot of wine too. So while I’ve never crossed the line (yet) to giving a teacher an actual bottle of wine, I figure a Target gift card might be the next best thing.

Here’s a cute gift card holder to add some flair to the basic gift card.

“Thanks for Keeping me on TARGET” printable

The only tricky part about this one is cutting part of the circle to make a slit that will hold the gift card. After some trial and error, I found it worked best to find a cup, mug or glass with approximately the same diameter as the circle. Use that as a stencil to trace with the X-Acto knife to make the cut, and then slide the gift card in and call it a day.

If you do this one, you’ve probably earned wine for yourself as well.

Tips:

All the printables are designed to be printed simply on regular letter-size paper. For the most professional results, I personally use smooth cardstock, but that’s my designer-nerd background. Here’s my favorite from Amazon (Prime):
Wausau 40508 Neenah Exact Index, 110 lb, 8.5 x 11 Inches, 250 Sheets, White, 94 Bright
There are multiple printables per page, so you’ll need a way to cut them out. Grab a pair of scissors or if you’re OCD about straight lines like I am, you need a paper trimmer in your life. This little tool is a must for all my DIY projects. Just line up the paper, slide, and DONE. Straight lines, no cut fingers. Here are two of my picks (I own both and use them for different purposes):
Fiskars 12 Inch SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (152490-1004)
Marigold Scrapbooking Craft Stack Paper Trimmer , Blue , 12″ (GTC410)
If you don’t want to invest in a paper trimmer, a simple X-Acto knife and ruler will work just as well. My X-Acto knife is pink, of course:
X-ACTO Craft Tools 1 Knife With Safety Cap, Pink

For all of these Teacher Appreciation gift ideas, I like to include a quick personal note of thanks as well. It’s worth the extra 5 minutes of my time to let our teachers know exactly how they have an impact on our lives. It takes a village to raise happy, healthy kids, and teachers are no small part of that village.