Budget-Friendly Teacher's Gift Idea…
If you’re still in need of a last minute teacher’s gift that’s budget-friendly, check out this creative gift reader, Suzie, put together:
I wanted to share my teacher’s & bus driver gifts this year. I snagged 3 copies of the movie “The Blind Side” with Sandra Bullock off amazon for $4.99 each and put a pack of popcorn and a $1 box of movie theatre candy with it. Added some ribbon and a bow and I had a awesome inexpensive gift! I spent $6.50 on each teacher!
Walmart has $5 movies and so does Target. This makes a great teachers gift and a great alternative to the Hot Cocoa I’ve given in the past.. 🙂
Just wanted to share in case any of your readers were looking for a neat quick teachers gift!
Thanks for passing along your idea, Suzie! Also, if any of you have any last minute frugal gift ideas, please feel free to share them in the comment section. Thanks so much! 🙂
We made “movie night” baskets for my daughter’s teacher and bus driver. I had some of the plastic old-fashioned popcorn tubs that I had gotten on clearance at Target for $0.25. I gave them each 2 of these. Then I added a bag of microwave popcorn, a box of theater size M&Ms (Wags sale last month), and the RedBox Groupon codes from this weekend. I may have spent $3 total, and they both loved it! I’m sure they are enjoying it now with all the snow we have gotten!
My son’s preschool has eight teachers and support personnel, each of whom pitches in with the various classes at different times each week. I bought bags of Hershey’s Kisses on sale (plus coupons, of course!) and got them for around $1 a bag. I bought some of those Chinese takeout boxes from the Dollar Spot at Target and filled each one with the Kisses. Those will go to each person while he got another special gift for his main teacher.
This is such a great idea. https://www.nycsinglemom.com
That is a great idea.. This year I did. Kroger last week during the $5.00/10 sale they had Krusteaz cookie mix on sale for .99 with .55 coupons on the box. Doubled they were free. Couple of weeks back Kroger had Hot chocolate on sale same type sale. Wrap them together with some Nice Target black and white paper an nice big White hand tied bow. 8 Teacher .50 each…..and Did not heve to bake them.
I did a “stress relief” basket for my daughters main teacher, 2 EC teachers, my son’s 2 moms morning out teachers, and his babysitter. I bought baskets at AC MOORE for $1.00 each (nice gold wicker baskets when they were on clearance at end of last year, regular $5). I used red and green tissue paper at the bottom (got for next to nothing last year), and in each I placed a box of variety tea bags, a 3 set of starbucks singles, a bath poof, a small yankee candle, a small bubble bath, a $5 target gift card (got $10 when spent over a certain amount black friday and I was able to go back later and get it as 2 $5, and another 2- $5 for the candle deals and bought 1), burt’s bee’s chapstick, small lotion, and a variety of chocolates. I think the total for each was around $8 – $10 each. I went to the dollars store and bought the 3 pack of cookie christmas design plastic wraps for cookie trays which fit perfectly. On a printed small card (printed on thick paper) it says: Stress Relief Kit (formally known as Calgon take me away 🙂 Direction: when experiencing a stressful day or particular situation run warm water in tub and utilize bubble bath to endure a safety of bubbles to hide out in. Light candle and after slipping into tub, indulge in an array of chocolate candies. Stay until the water is cool and the chocolates are gone, and then after you leave your oasis smooth lotion on as a reminder of the your mini vacation. (For a true mini vacation, use the gift card to get a fun easy read book to carry you to another place). – so far have given to 2 of the teachers and they were super excited!
wow didn’t realize how long winded I was till hit submit, lol
What a nice and thoughtful gift! I love your idea!!!
Not exactly a last minute gift, but for the past two years I have made Vista Print post-it pads (when they have an awesome deal of course) “from the desk of …..” with little hand prints on them. Then I mount them on the 4 x 6 acrylic picture frames with a cute scrapbook paper insert and stand it so it acts as a note pad holder for their desks.
Her male teacher last year was an English soccer fan, so we made put the team emblem on a matching background and he really liked it alot!
My husband is an elementary public school teacher and received a bottle of wine from a second-grade student.
I’m sorry, but that is really funny about the bottle of wine! My mom is a public middle school teacher, and last year one of her students gave her a $100 gift card to Macy’s! We were all shocked!
I just have to comment here… (as a teacher) If you do want to give a gift, write a personal note to the teacher thanking him or her. Even better, help your child write the note. If you have the money to spend, ask the teacher if there is a certain student in need or if the school has a fund for those students and donate to that (gifts or money). I’ve worked for two schools and at both we had needy students for whom the gifts would mean so much. Every year I give donations to these students/funds and, if asked, I would recommend this to the parents as well.
That is so sweet and thoughtful! You sound like a caring teacher who loves the students.
I put together a small package of “Christmas potpourri” this year (orange slice, lemon, other spices etc.) in cute wrapping and added hand sanitizer from bath and body works. When educators are home, they simply put the potpourri contents in a pot on the stove and add water and simmer. The smell is amazing! Smells just like Christmas should 🙂
This is a cute idea! I bought my daughters teacher a bath & body works plug in I snagged for next to nothing. I really like the kisses in the take out box. I think I will make some for the lady in the school office that I bug often!! 😀
Another good idea is filling a wire wisk with hershey’s kisses wrapping and tie at the handle with cellophane and pretty ribbons and attatch a tag that says “We Wisk You a Merry Christmas” Love, The Cain’s (family name). You can find wisks very cheap and kisses too. I’ve done this for about three years for people that I want to give gifts to but can’t spend a whole lot on. They come out very cute and they are loved!
I wrapped up Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (retail $8.99) in tissue paper with a ribbon, stapled one of our holiday postcards to the ribbon as a gift tag, and wrote “Seasoned” Greetings. Inexpensive, fun, and useful. You could really use any seasoning and it would still work. 🙂
As someone who lives on a teachers salary, I know about stretching budgets. I can also tell you that teachers aren’t concerned with how much the gift costs, teachers of all people understand it is the thought and effort that counts. It doesn’t cost anything to make a card so start there and then add to that IF you can.