It’s that time of year again – the sun’s out, exams are nearly over and it’s time to get ready for the summer holidays. But wait! Behind every great student is a great teacher, and every great teacher deserves some recognition for the hard work and dedication they’ve put into teaching you or your child over the past year.
Finding perfect gifts for teachers can be a tricky business. They probably already have 100 mugs that tell them how great they are every time they open the cupboard door. Chocolate’s good, but does it say “you’re the best teacher in the world”?
What do teachers really want? Rack your brains to think about what you’d enjoy if you spent every day moulding young minds and every evening marking essays and book reports. If you’re buying a present for your child’s teacher, ask your child what their teacher has said they like or don’t like in class – teachers are known to drop not-so-subtle hints around the end of term. They might even reveal some hobbies or other interesting facts about their teacher that’ll help you find the right teacher gift for them.
First on the List – WINE!
Teachers love wine. Unless they specifically state that they hate wine (in this case, replace with cider or beer) or don’t drink alcohol, it’s a proven fact that wine is always gratefully appreciated. Who wouldn’t enjoy a glass after a day’s double PE and extra marking?
If your teacher in question prefers non-alcoholic drinks, why not put together a little hamper of lovely organic cordials? There are some delicious flavours available, from rhubarb and rose or elderflower and lemon, and they make a lovely gift for a hot sunny day.
Personalise your wine, beer, cider or cordials with a big gift tag with a handwritten note or even a poem on it.
Personalised Bag for Teacher Stuff
Teachers spend a lot of their time carrying a hefty stack of books and papers, pencil cases full of felt tips and all sort of other classroom odds and ends to work every single day. Make their life easier with a study new bag, personalised with their name or a fun slogan on it.
One of The Occasional Reporter’s team’s teachers used to say “Go out and come back in again!” if anyone was in a bad mood. A catchphrase like this would work really well on a bag!
(The bag in the pic was made by Snappy Crocodile Designs)
Coffee and Book Club Subscription
Teachers love reading. That’s a fact. Why not appeal to their join loves of coffee and books with a coffee and book club subscription?
If you’d like to make it even more personal, you could choose some books you know they’d love, and pick a nice bag of coffee to go with them. An instant (pun intended) winner!
Personalised St-yay-tionary
There’s nothing a teacher loves more than good stationary, so getting them some lovely pens or pencils will always go down a treat.
To make their gift even more special, put the “yay” into st-yay-tionary by looking for places to get personalised pens and pencils or even personalised notebooks. Then they’ll be able to make sure they don’t get taken by mistake in the staff room!
Create a Personalised Front Page
Has this year been particularly momentous? Did your teacher guide you through your exams like a champion? Do you want to do something extra-special for them?
We make our personalised front pages for anyone, and they’d be perfect as a special gift for a teacher. You could share some of your proudest moments in their class, and some of the funniest, and we’ll do the rest, telling a touching story about how they’ve helped you become the person you are today.
And if you’re buying it for your child to give to their teacher, perhaps a picture of the two of them together would look great as a centrepiece – so their teacher can remember your little one’s achievements with them forever.
Ask us for more information about our front pages here. What would you put on yours?