20+ Gift Ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I'll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.National Teacher Appreciation Week is in May every year! Let’s take the opportunity during this special week to thank our wonderful teachers that help our children and impact their future.
Research shows that when our teachers feel appreciated, they are more satisfied with their profession and overall happier. Showing our teachers appreciation has also been proven to improve staff morale and the overall work environment.
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Here are 20+ Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas for Staff to Celebrate Your Teachers During Teacher Appreciation Week:
1. Lunch with the boss day - Pick someone or draw a name to take a staff member to lunch, your treat.
2. Breakfast days - Offer donuts, coffee, fresh fruit, & juice.
3. Cash bonuses - cash is king :)
4. Day off with pay (with notice and approval)
5. Personalized gifts - mugs, pens, bracelets, tote bags, etc.
6. Gift baskets - sharpies, dry erase markers, sticky notes, candy, lotions, candles, T-shirts, glitter pens, comfy socks, candy, gift cards, hand soap, lip balms, lottery tickets, coffee mugs, slippers, etc.
7. Gift Cards - Pedi/mani, movies, restaurants, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, gas cards, Visa cards, their favorite department store, spa, fast food, etc.
8. Employee Dinner Out- Take your staff out for a nice company paid dinner.
9. Comfy Day- Let everyone wear T-shirts, leggings, sweats, and sneakers to work.
10. Prize Wheel - Draw names or have a handful of staff spin the wheel each day to win various prizes. The prizes are written on the wheel with a dry/erase marker so that you change them up whenever needed. You can purchase an inexpensive spinning prize wheel on Amazon.
11. Daily Drawings - Draw names each day and give away various prizes & gifts.
12. Get your parents involved. Post a flyer about Teacher Appreciation Week for your parents to see. Make a post on your social media. Ask them to get involved by bringing a special treat each day. You may want to offer a specific guide for them to follow or just allow them to be creative and do their own thing.
13. Plan a special treat for each day of the week- Pick something each day of the week to give to your teachers with a cute sign to display beside the goodies. For example:
Monday: Offer donuts with a cute sign that reads “Donut what we’d do without you!”
Tuesday: Display a tray of cookies (homemade or store-bought) with a sign that reads “Thanks for making our kids such smart cookies!”
Wednesday: Have a nacho bar during lunch (or just chips & cheese) with a flyer that reads “Nacho average teachers”.
Thursday: Offer a fresh fruit basket or a fruit tray with a sign that reads “We couldn’t have picked better teachers”.
Friday: Order pizza during lunch. Place a sign beside the pizza that reads “You have a pizza our heart”.
14. Make a “Staff Shout Out” display - Use a poster board or turn a bulletin board into a wall of appreciation. Ask teachers to write little notes of appreciation to each other using sticky notes. Ask parents to write a note of appreciation to their child’s teacher. Have them place them on the board daily and fill the board throughout the week. Make sure they put the name of the person they are writing to and who it is from. Everyone will love walking by daily and reading the words of encouragement. Collect the sticky notes and give them to each teacher at the end of the week. Learn how to make the "Staff Shout Out" display on Pinterest here.
15. Hire a masseuse to give 5-minute chair massages - Our staff LOVED this. We hired a local masseuse to come to our facility at naptime (12:00pm-2:00pm) and give 5 minute chair massages in our break room. She brought her own massage chair and played relaxing music. She charged us $80 per hour (prices will vary of course). We have a staff of 20 so we could only allow 5 minutes, but you’ll be surprised how relaxing even 5 minutes can be. If you have a smaller staff, consider 10 or 15 minutes. Trust me! This idea is a winner!
16. Arrange a visit from the “candy fairy” or “chocolate fairy” - Order a toy crown and fairy wand off of Amazon, fill a basket with candy or chocolate and walk around from class to class one wearing the crown and holding the wand. As you enter the class, say “greetings from the chocolate fairy! I’m here to bestow upon you a gift of chocolate!” or something fun like that. Allow them to pick something out of the basket. This is a fun surprise and a great afternoon pick me up!
17. Woot Woot Wagon -Roll through the halls with a wagon or cart filled with goodies & treats. Grab my free Woot Woot Flyer here!
18. Catered lunches - Have lunch catered from a favorite local restaurant.
19. Dollar Store Goodie Basket- Fill a basket with dollar store goodies and let each teacher pick 1 or 2 items.
20. Write each staff a personalized hand-written letter. Find something specific about each staff member to compliment them on. Write a heartfelt letter of appreciation to show your gratitude for all they do.
21. Offer candy, food trays, and gifts with cute sayings -
Cute Sayings for Gift Cards:
“Your teaching is right on target” attached to a Target gift card
“Thanks a ‘latte!” tag with a gift card from the local coffee shop, special coffees, or travel mug
“Here is a ‘pat’ on the back for doing such a great job!” tag attached to a gift certificate for a massage
“Thanks for a ‘picture’ perfect year” tag with a movie gift card or nice picture frame
Cute Sayings for Teacher Supply Gifts:
“Thank you for making our students bright!” attached to highlighters
“You are the ‘highlight’ of my day!” attached to highlighters
“I have to ad ‘mitt’ you are one great teacher” oven mitt filled with teaching supplies or other small gifts
“You are a cut above all the rest" attached to scissors
“From my calculations, you are the best teacher!” attached to a calculator
Cute Candy Puns:
"You hit this school year out of the park!" attached to a Babe Ruth candy bar "When it comes to teaching, there’s no one BUTTER!" attached to a Butterfinger bar
"We love you to PIECES" attached to Reese's Pieces
"We are BURSTING with happiness that we have you!" attached to Starburst candy
Cute Sayings for Fun & Thoughtful Gifts:
“Thanks for giving our children a hand” tag with hand lotion or sanitizer “You have been the ‘key’ to our children’s success!” tag attached to a key ring or pretty handmade key chain
“Thanks for lighting the way” or “You light up our world” with a flashlight or nice candle
“You ‘float’ above the rest” tag attached to a balloon or fun pool float for the summer
“We are so lucky to have you on our team!” attached to a lottery ticket or Lucky Charms cereal
Conclusion:
Do you want the ultimate tool kit for showering your staff with love and appreciation while incorporating massive fun into the workplace? Check out The Teacher Appreciation & Massive Fun Bundle
With this bundle, I'll give you Done-For-You downloadable templates plus TONS of fun ideas and activities that we have used in our own center to ensure your team feels appreciated, valued, and loved while having a blast at work.
However you choose to celebrate your teachers, the most important thing is to make them feel special and loved. You’ll be surprised at the impact even the smallest acts of kindness can make.
What are some creative ways you have celebrated your teachers? Let us know in the comments below.
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