Teacher Appreciation Week rolls around and suddenly it’s like every store in America is whispering, “What if…another mug?” As if teachers don’t already have an entire cabinet at home dedicated to lukewarm coffee vessels that say things like “Best Teacher Ever” in six different fonts. Listen, I love the sentiment. but unless that mug comes with a built-in margarita dispenser or a full night’s sleep, we can do better. This year, let’s give our teachers something they actually want, need, or can consume, preferably before the final bell rings.

In honor of total transparency, I initially wrote this blog in 2020 but have since had six more years of gifting teachers. So I have a TON of ideas listed below by category for you if you’re stuck in a rut!

Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea #1: Fun-in-the-sun Items!

This was a basket I made my oldest daughter’s first grade teacher. I love gifting teachers things they can enjoy over the summer! Inside the beach bucket I put in two large beach towels, (one for her and for her husband to use), beach towel clips, (you put them in the sand and they hold the towels down so they don’t blow away or whip around in the sand), Australian Gold spray sunscreen with bronzer, Banana Boat aloe lotion, trail mix, Batiste Dry Shampoo, Burt’s Bees chapstick, and a wet bag.

I like the beach wet bags because they have many functions. While they’re intended to hold wet swimsuits, I also use mine to protect my phone. Or as my wallet! You can replace the bucket and use a beach bag or a small Igloo cooler as your gift holder too. Below is a beach bag full of goodies I gifted to my oldest daughter’s teacher one year.

Her teacher is in her early twenties so I also included some funny gifts since she knows my mouth and sense of humor. (The shit cosmetic bag, Calm the F down candle, and teacher seed money bag all are from my gift shop on this very blog!) And then I tossed in a beach towel, sugar scrub, sunscreen, a Stanley, flair pens and candy. Lastly, I added gift cards to Target and Starbucks all into a cute AF beach bag.

For my 2025 gift, my younger daughter’s teacher’s name is Sandy. So I found the cutest S monogram beach bag for cheap here. Then, I got this inexpensive bottle of wine, and put this label on it. (The labels stick on very easily and come in a pack of four.) Then I got this adorable SPF bag as well as sunscreen, and SPF filled lip balm to go inside of it. Then, I tossed in the teacher’s favorite candy, a bottle of after-sun care lotion, and a cute teacher notepad to boot. And of course, I added a beach towel to the beach bag. For the last gift, I found this adorable gift card holder and added a $25 Starbucks gift card inside of it.

Supplies they will need for the following school year:

Our school website has a handy tool called the “Staff Favorites List.” It lists all of the staff members and what their favorite things are. (Colors, sweet snacks, salty snacks, stores, restaurants, teams, and more.) Many of the teachers asked for “Flair Pens.” At the time when first reading the “staff favorites list”, my friend Jenny and I thought those were just pens with some fucking pizazz. They aren’t. They are in fact a certain type of pen that the teachers enjoy writing with. You can find some here. Anyhow, get a cute container and fill it up! Add flair pens, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, sharpies, lotion, dry-erase markers, sticky notes, stickers, etc.

Teacher Appreciation gifts that can’t miss – Gift Cards:

Never underestimate a teacher’s love of gift cards. Truly the one-size-fits-all, zero-regret gift. Target, Amazon, and Starbucks are basically the holy trinity of “you nailed it.” If you’re feeling a little extra, turn those gift cards into a bouquet! Cut out some paper flowers, tape a card to each one, and suddenly you’re the parent who has it together.

And don’t forget the secondary teachers. The gift cards below are for my daughter’s music, art, gym, and science teachers, aka the “specials teachers” in elementary school, aka the people who only see your child once a week but still deserve hazard pay.

I know, I know. I just went on a whole anti-mug rant. But in my defense, this one was merely a gift card delivery system. A vessel, if you will. This was actually my youngest daughter’s kindie teacher’s gift back in 2022. And it came from a little parent crowd-sourcing moment. I emailed the whole class like, “Anyone want in on a group gift?” A handful of parents came through, and suddenly we had ourselves a respectable little fund.

So instead of 25 individual mugs (a true nightmare), we went big. $150 to Target, $200 to Kohl’s, and $25 to Chipotle. One mug, zero clutter, and a teacher who can actually buy something she wants!

Other Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas:

I bought this apple snack container months ago when I saw it online, knowing I’d have good use for it this week. (I also snagged this pencil one for a future teacher!) Then I got to work filling it. I added in these cute teacher sticky notes on a whim. And then I put 30 of these crayon shaped erasers in it, figuring she could always gift them to her students. Winnie’s teacher is dairy-free and gluten-free, so I did not stray from her go-to items from her list of favorite snacks. I got gluten-free Oreos, Mike & Ikes, and Swedish Fish. Then, I tossed in what she’ll appreciate most of all. A gift card to her favorite restaurant (Fuzzy’s Tacos) and to her favorite shop (Amazon).

Below is a photo of Christmas gifts I gave one year. I am throwing it in this post just because I love these pencil bags that say “Best Teacher Ever” on them. I filled them with bath and body products from Ulta, but you can use them to hold gift cards or smaller office supplies and they make a fucking adorable presentation.

If you need more gift ideas, boy do I have you covered. Check out my blog here, here, and here. And above all, my favorite thing to gift teachers? A hand-written card from me and my daughters. I thank them profusely for a year of dedicating themselves to teaching our kids. I hope these gift ideas inspired you to come up with your own! Thanks for reading!