Now’s a good time to get started on teacher gifts for the holiday. In the event that you’re thinking of some homemade teacher gifts, I’ve put together this list of ideas. The benefits of homemade gifts are plenty:
I can’t speak for every teacher everywhere, and I certainly wouldn’t presume, so now would also be a good time to get to know your teachers to see what they’d prefer (or read the Homemade Teacher Gift Poll Results). Anyhow, here are some teacher gifts I’ve given in the past (and a few more to round out the list) that have (seemingly, at least) gone over well:
Bake up a mini loaf of either Banana Bread or Zucchini Bread for each teacher, wrap it in foil, enclose it in a decorative plastic or paper gift bag, and attach a homemade card with a ribbon.
Note that a standard recipe for these Quick Loaves yields one large loaf or three mini loaves. Use this to determine how to scale your recipe. If there are nut allergies, omit the nuts. Add chocolate chips instead (or in addition). Start now and try out your favorite recipe.
If you opt for gifting in a paper bag, you could enlist one kid to decorate the gift bag. They could trace holiday cookie cutters, use stickers, make abstract art, whatever. Here’s a set of white bags, a.k.a. the perfect canvas.
Other useful supplies:
I seem to have an affinity for food with nuts in it, but if you’re so inclined to make homemade granola, you can certainly make one without them. Serve in a jar with a homemade label.
Sing is peanuts, so again, avoid this if there’s a nut allergy. But this tasty treat takes equal parts roasted peanuts and spicy fried lentils (available at your local Indian grocer or online). Pour into a decorative jar or plastic bag, and again, attach a note.
Yes, I went there. Yes, this is laborious. But I’ve learned that if you want to make grape jelly, it really is easier to start with grape juice. I might try that next time. This spring, I went in with another mom, and we made Montessori Marmalade (which bore a striking resemblance to Jabba Jelly, but shhh) and presented that to the teachers. A small jar with ahand-written by your kid can be reused later.
This really is quite simple to make, yet so much more convenient than assembling it every time you want some hot cocoa. If the teachers have kids, they’ll all enjoy it. I usually add a dash of cinnamon or cayenne pepper into my hot cocoa mix, but here’s a good base recipe to get you started.
Teachers send thank you cards. Why not supply them? Get some card stock and have the kids design/paint/create the design on the outside of the blank cards. Depending on their preferred size and artistic medium, choose from any of these options:
Head to Home Depot and pick up some orchids. One per teacher. Or, some bulbs. Per Lewis Kalmbach of Lewis Kalmbach Designs, here’s what to do:
Paperwhite (narcissus) bulbs are fun, easy, and very fragrant. Start planning now for holiday blooms.
So there you have it. These are just a few potential ideas for homemade teacher gifts. If you have any other great ideas, do share them in the comments (seriously, I’m always looking for fresh new ideas!).
This post was last modified on January 10, 2018 2:27 pm
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