Want to show your child’s new teachers just how much you appreciate them? Give them gifts that they can actually use! Don’t worry, you can still make them yourself with these fun back to school crafts!
Can you believe we’re talking back to school season already? I feel like summer just started! Let’s be honest, we all want to get on the good sides of our kids’ teachers, right? The best way to do that: give them gifts that they can actually use throughout the year.
I have a few teacher friends. It’s staggering, the amount of their own money they put into their classroom. My thoughts (and I hope this doesn’t offend anyone): save the super cutesy teacher gifts for the end of the year. Start the school year off with fun yet functional gifts that actually benefit the classroom. Check out a few of my favorite ideas.
Fun & Functional Teacher Appreciation Gifts
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Pencil Holders
These pencil holders and desk organizers on their own are cute and functional teacher gift ideas. Fill them with small supplies to take the “wow” factor even further.
The pencils that make up this Colored Pencil Vase from Thrifty Jinxy are useful on their own.
Crafts by Amanda always has the cutest stuff, and these colorful pencil holders are no exception.
Aren’t these mason jar desk organizers from The Country Chic Cottage so classy (pun intended).
Another cute one by Crafts by Amanda, this R2-D2 pencil holder is perfect for guy teachers. It adds a fun touch to the classroom too.
Things to put in your pencil holders include:
-
Pencils (obviously): including standard #2 pencils and colored pencils
- Highlighters
in different colors (and with different sized tips)
- Glue Sticks
- Erasers
- Dry Erase Markers
(a lot of classrooms use whiteboards instead of chalkboards)
- Crayons (for younger elementary grades)
- Colorful paper clips
Notebooks
These include small memo pads for jotting down quick notes to larger notebooks that can either be used by the teacher or donated to kids in need.
Upgrade a plain notebook with a few simple supplies and this decorative notebook tutorial from OurFamilyWorld.
These little memo pads from the Country Chic Cottage are perfect for jotting quick notes on.
Another super cute memo pad idea, this one from Organized 31 actually walks you through making the notebads from scratch.
Everyone needs Post-It Notes, right? Here’s a cute way from The Educator’s Spin on It to gift them to your child’s elementary school teacher!
Supply Crates
If you really want to go all out, put together a stylish crate filled with supplies for your child’s teachers. Here are a few of my favorite ideas, then read on for things to include in the crates.
Sippy Cup Mom always comes through with such creative and stylish ideas. I love her Create caddy!
How gorgeous are these paint can teacher buckets from The Magic Brush?
Another cute idea from Sippy Cup Mom, this teacher’s crate is perfect for elementary school classrooms.
If your budget (or crafting skills) doesn’t allow for more extravagant crates filled with supplies, Artsy Momma has an easy DIY school supplies idea that anyone can pull off.
What to put in your crate:
- Everything mentioned above in the pencil holders section
- Tissues
- Hand Wipes
- Antibacterial soap
- extra notebooks & folders for kids who can’t afford them
- craft supplies (I like the all-in-one craft buckets
)
- Kid safe scissors
- Gift card to supply stores, like Staples
or Office Max
- A gift card to a coffee shop
, because I imagine caffeine is a much-needed supply item for teachers!
What are your favorite fun & functional back to school teacher gift ideas?
I have always hated when people just gave a gift to a teacher without thinking. Yes, gifts are nice, but give them something useful!
I completely agree with you. I think teachers would prefer more useful gifts, such as school supplies or something cutesy. You can also package the school supplies in a crafty container to add a bit of a personal touch.
Supplies are an awesome gift instead of the other gift ideas out there. It’s going to be useful for teachers and it’s also going to save them money. I like the container ideas here too!
Oh these are amazing. They’re always in need of supplies and those handmade crafts are great!
Nice choices! I will pick one of these things when my son starts schooling.
I love all these ideas. I think it’s great to make something they can actually use for the classroom. I might be making some of these for my girls teachers when they start school again in the fall.
Hey NICOLE,
So many creative and useful gifts and that too in one line.
I found something really different to think.
Thanks for sharing.
These are fun ideas. I should make my youngest sons teacher something. He goes off to kindergarten soon.
How exciting for him!! Kindergarten is such a big step. I cried my eyes out after my son finally got on the bus. I say “finally” because he hid behind the mailboxes and wouldn’t budge, lol. It took 10 minutes to coax him onto it! Now he’s going off the middle school, I’ll probably cry again!
These are such cute ideas! I love gifts that are able to be used.
Those colorful colored pencils are such a great idea! What a wonderful way to give back to teachers with something they need.
Those are so cute. I love the peach mason jars and the color pencil holder too.
Those peach mason jars are one of my favorites!
Last year I made sure to always keep sending supplies and that made the teacher very happy because sometimes resources are small. This year I was thinking on setting up a list with her and stock her up. We will see. Love giving wipes and paper towels cause well kids LOL
That’s a great idea! When my friend told me how much she spends every year out of her own pocket for basic classroom supplies, I was so shocked. Teachers in our area don’t exactly make a lot of money to begin with, so I want to do what I can to help them out.
We have a lots to do with back to school shopping & of-course it is so important to find the besrt gift for the teachers as well. These are some wonderful gift ideas, the Pencil Holder & the Mason Jar Desk Organizer are good ones!
These are really creative ideas. I usually just give a gift card of supplies throughout the year or volunteer my time in the classroom or during lunch.
I have many teachers in my family and so much of their classroom supplies are bought by them, with their own money, so it is perfect to give them something that they can actually USE with their students in the classroom. Benefits everyone!
These gifts are fantastic. Teachers really do appreciate anything that helps keep their classrooms tidy and organised. Love the use of mason jars as a desk organiser. If your not feeling very creative, I found some really unique gifts from the following range which are guaranteed to impress!