Teacher Appreciation Gifts

The best gifts for teachers get used, not stored

The best gifts for teachers survive a real school day. A tumbler that makes it through hall duty. A journal that fills up with lesson notes by October. Skip the scented candle nobody asked for. After 40 years of shipping recognition gifts, we have learned the ones teachers keep are practical first and personal second. Add a name or a short message and an ordinary mug becomes the one they reach for every morning. Start with drinkware, journals, and personalized gifts.

Christmas gifts for teachers

Come December, one parent's gift is nice. Thirty of them is a drawer full of mugs the teacher quietly regifts. If you are the room parent or the principal buying for everyone, the smart move is one good gift done in bulk: a custom insulated tumbler, a cozy blanket, an ornament with the school year on it. Personalize it once and order for the whole staff. Teacher Christmas gifts sell out and ship slower in December, so order by early November if you can. Browse drinkware and personalized gifts to build a set.

Teacher appreciation gifts for the whole staff

Teacher Appreciation Week lands the first full week of May, with National Teachers' Day that Tuesday. Here is what we tell administrators, though: a gift in May and silence the other 51 weeks reads as obligation. Spread it out. A welcome-back gift in August, a thank-you after conferences, something small when a hard week ends. Our appreciation gifts ship in bulk with custom messaging, so recognizing a whole staff does not blow the budget. Affirmation bands, "Thanks for All You Do" drinkware, engraved keepsakes for the desk. Pair any of them with a free printable thank-you note.

Gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week and National Teachers' Day

Every year, on the Tuesday of the first full week of May, teachers are recognized on National Teachers' Day. This day is a part of Teacher Appreciation Week. Let's take a look at some fun Teachers' Appreciation Week gifts and Teachers Appreciation Day gifts, as well as meaningful teacher appreciation gift ideas that are perfect to give no matter what day or week it is.

It doesn't have to cost much money to show a teacher that you care. Teacher gifts for teacher appreciation from Successories are fun and easy ways to show gratitude, and teachers will love using them. Consider these Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts:

1. Lunch Gifts: Give a teacher something to pack their lunch in an organized and stylish way with collapsible food containers, cooler bags, cooler totes, and lunch coolers. These are easy and convenient to use, and can be customized with inspirational, teacher-focused messages.
2. Backpacks and Totes: Like their students, teachers often need to carry books or school supplies to campus, to meetings, and to conferences. Lightweight cinch backpacks, super-size trunk organizers, large totes, and regular backpacks are useful and appreciated gifts.
3. Outside-of-School Gifts: Gifts that are useful outside of school grounds show that you recognize the importance of teachers having a strong work-life balance. Think thermal mugs, fleece blankets, umbrellas, journals, and more.

Successories' bulk order options for teacher appreciation gifts let you purchase gifts for groups of teachers at the same time. Order early so you'll have something fun on hand to give out when a teacher needs a boost.

Unique and personalized teacher gift ideas

Personalized beats generic every time, and it is the one thing a gift card cannot do. Put a teacher's name on a crystal award, a school crest on a paperweight, an inside joke on a tote. We include free engraving or a free logo on most items, plus a free proof so you sign off before anything ships. For a retiring teacher or a standout year, that is the gift that ends up on a shelf a decade later instead of in a drawer by June. See personalized gifts and engraved awards.

Gifts for professors and college faculty

Teaching does not end at grade 12. Gifts for professors lean more formal: an engraved desk clock, a crystal award, a leather portfolio for the office. Department chairs and deans use these for tenure milestones, convocations, and end-of-semester thank-yous. Same personalization, dressier finish.

Bulk and wholesale teacher gifts

This is where we are different from a gift shop. Successories does teacher gifts in bulk. Add your school name to 200 tumblers, ship them to three campuses, and still get them before the last day of school. Order minimums stay low, volume pricing kicks in as you scale, and a real person answers at 1-800-535-2773 when you are not sure what to pick.

When to give teacher gifts

The obvious ones are Appreciation Week and the holidays. But the moments teachers remember are usually the odd ones: the first day back, the night after a brutal parent conference, the end of a big unit, a work anniversary nobody else tracked. Back-to-school in August. Winter break. The last day of school. Retirement, which deserves more than a card. If you run a recognition calendar, teacher gifts fit the same rhythm as any employee appreciation program. Little and often beats one big gesture a year.

Some occasions that are great for giving teacher appreciation gifts include:

• Last Day of Summer / Welcome Back
• First Day of School
• Teacher Work Anniversary
• Project Completion
• Last Day of School
• National Teachers' Day or Teacher Appreciation Week
• Gifts for Retiring Teachers

Popular teacher gift ideas by type

• Drinkware: tumblers and mugs, the daily driver that keeps coffee hot past third period.
• Journals and notebooks for lesson plans and the running to-do list.
• Crystal and engraved awards for milestones and a standout year.
• Note cubes and sticky notes: cheap, practical, always used up.
• Motivational calendars that brighten the classroom wall.
• Retirement gifts for teachers for the send-off at the end of a career.

Not sure where to start? Tell us who it is for and the occasion, and we will point you to the gift that fits. Or call 1-800-535-2773 and talk to someone who has done this since 1985.