Have you ever received a gift during Teacher Appreciation Week and just felt a little meh! Getting gifts that don’t hit the spot can actually make you feel worse than not receiving a gift at all.
So, we’ve got your sorted for Teacher Appreciation Gifts for your colleagues, teacher bestie, or to accidentally let slip to your students.
First of all though, let’s go through the basics.
What is Teacher Appreciation Week?
Teacher Appreciation Week is a week where teachers are celebrated for their contributions, efforts, and dedication to their students.
Everyone knows what an enormous impact teachers have on their students and communities, and Teacher Appreciation Week is a way for students and communities to give back to teachers.
Different countries celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week at different times. And some countries celebrate teachers in different ways, such as World Teachers’ Day on October 6.
The USA usually has a national Teacher Appreciation Day during Teacher Appreciation Week.
However, in Australia teachers are usually celebrated a bit later because World Teachers’ Day often falls on school holidays. In 2021, the Australian World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on October 29.
And in the UK, there is a National Thank A Teacher Day. This year it will be held on June 16. If you live in the UK, you can send a free card online here.
When is Teacher Appreciation Week in 2021?
In 2021, Teacher Appreciation Week is celebrated from May 3 through until May 7 in the United States. Teacher Appreciation Day is on Tuesday, May 4.
Canada’s Teacher Appreciation Week was celebrated from February 1 through until February 7 in 2021. They also celebrate World Teachers’ Day on October 5.
How can you celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week in 2021?
Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week in 2021 will depend very much on your circumstances. If you’re learning virtually, your gifts and messages will have to be delivered much differently than if you’re are learning in person.
Things to think about for Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts
If you are thinking about getting a gift for your teacher, for a colleague, or for your work bestie this year, there are a few things you might like to consider before purchasing a present.
- What sorts of interests does your teacher/recipient have?
- How much money do you have to spend?
- How can you get the gift to your teacher/recipient?
- What sort of card would you like to send?
- What would your teacher/recipient actually want as a gift?
- When do you want to give your gift, card, or message to your teacher/recipient?
Once you have an idea of the answers to the questions above, you can start to work out what you would like to do to celebrate your teacher or colleague.
Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts for Remote Learning in 2021
Great ideas for free or cheap Teacher Appreciation Week gifts for those who are doing remote or distance learning include:
- If you are a student, you can send a free e-card with a message for your teacher that you send to your teachers’ email addresses. Regards.com and the World Wildlife Fund both have free cards that you can email.
- Another cheap option is to send a card or postcard with a message to your teacher that explains why you appreciate them. You could write a card or postcard and send it to them care of their school address. See here and here for quotes for teacher appreciation week to include in your card.
- Writing Teacher Appreciation Week yard signs to set up around town (see here and here for great ideas)
- Creating a baking mix (see here for recipes)
- Filling a notebook with inspirational teaching quotes (see here for great quotes and here for a cute notebook) and sending it to them care of their school
- Creating a class photo book with each page created by a student – you could use google slides for each student to create their page, and then turn the slides into a book using book creator. Then you can send them the book care of their school.
- Creating a class photo book with each page containing a teacher appreciation week message from students (again, posting to the school)
- Buying school supplies that teachers often pay for out of their own salary (examples include pens, pencils, markers or textas, crayons, poster paper, and printing paper) and either leaving it in their classroom or sending it care of their school.
- Filling a cute jar with your teacher’s/recipients favorite chocolate, coffee beans, tea leaves, or candies and sending it to them care of their school.
Oftentimes, messages from students during Teacher Appreciation Week are the best gift that teachers can get. But, if you have a little more money to spend, great ideas include things that are easy to ship to your teacher/recipient care of their school, such as:
- send a t-shirt to your teacher care of their school (see here and here for ideas)
- post a funny mug (see here and here for examples) that can be shipped to your teacher’s school
- send a tote bag to your teacher care of their school (see here and here for ideas)
- sending a gift card for coffee or a restaurant to your teacher care of their school or by email
- donating money to their DonorsChoose campaign (if they have one), see here for more information on DonorsChoose
- giving your teacher a Teachers Pay Teacher gift card to buy teaching resources. (see here for more information on Teachers Pay Teachers)
Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts for In-Person Learning in 2021
Free and cheap ideas to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week for in-person learning in 2021 include:
- Decorating their classroom door (see here for ideas)
- Filling a mug with your teacher’s favorite chocolates or candies (see here and here for cute and unique mugs)
- A bouquet of hand-picked flowers from your garden
- A handmade card with a personal message from you. See here for quotes for teacher appreciation week to include in your card.
Again, Teacher Appreciation Week messages from students and parents are the best gift that teachers can get. But, if you have a little more money to spend, great ideas include:
- creating a gift hamper for your teacher with a mug, coffee beans or tea leaves, chocolate, and a small gift like a book, gift certificate, or something else that your teacher likes
- filling a fishing tackle box with stationery such as rubber bands, bulldog clips, push pins, velcro dots, stickers, paper clips, washi tape, and sticky notes
- giving your teacher a cute tote bag to lug around all those books and papers (see here and here for examples)
- donating money to their DonorsChoose campaign (if they have one), see here for more information on DonorsChoose
- giving your teacher a Teachers Pay Teacher gift card to buy teaching resources. (see here for more information on Teachers Pay Teachers)
Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts for Colleagues in 2021
Sometimes, the best gifts that teachers get are from their colleagues. Whether it’s messages of encouragement, words of wisdom, or just being seen, giving a colleague a gift during Teacher’s Appreciation Week is a great way to build morale and show your appreciation for your colleagues.
Free or cheap ways to give your colleagues gifts include:
- getting a coffee, stationery, or Teachers Pay Teachers gift card
- making or buying a thoughtful card and pairing it with hand-picked flowers or home-baked treats
- a licence to the best resource(s) you have bought Teachers Pay Teachers
- creating a substitution binder with activities for the days when your colleague is too sick to work and needs work for a substitute (now!)
- a notebook with handwritten inspirational quotes
If you have a little more money to spend, other gift ideas include:
- buying a gift card to their favorite restaurant
- creating a gift hamper with a mug (see previous links for ideas), coffee beans or tea leaves, chocolate, and a small gift like a book, gift certificate, or homemade treats
- a stationery stash gift hamper with cute notebooks, pens, pencils, stickers, bulldog clips, washi tape, paper clips, push pins, post-it notes etc
- a cute and unique ‘Star Teacher’ shirt (see below)
- donating to a Donors Choose campaign
- collecting books from markets and thrift stores for a class library
At the end of the day, you don’t have to spend a bunch of $ . . .
Simple things like a heartfelt message is all teachers really want. They want to know they’ve made a difference.
And teachers, that goes for other teachers too. Some of my best moments, those that I’ve really felt seen or hear, have come from other teachers saying I did a great job, or that they admired how I handled a tricky situation.
These are not things that cost money. They are things that take a little attention to notice and time to say.
So, to say goodbye, Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!!
I hope you have a great day and get some special messages that help you carry on. Because, teaching can be hard, but it is also necessary and rewarding work.
