Gifts for Teachers

You could probably find a million ideas on google for good or bad Teacher gifts.  I didn't have time for that.  Now, I don't like to think of myself as a cheap skate, but I definitely don't want to sink a large amount of money into a gift giving project. 

Finding the right package is the first step when planning your gift to give to all the wonderful folks at your child's school.  Most little tins or plastic bowls will cost you in the neighborhood of a dollar per person.  You could opt for the plastic treat bag instead.  But, I prefer those styrofoam coffee cups from the good ol' Dollar Tree.  These babies come in a pack of 6 for a buck and they are heavy duty so they hold up well and the lid stays on nicely, even in the hands of a Kindergartener. 

The next step in keeping your cost low but the sentiment high, is to decide what to put inside each cup.  I filled each cup with a packet of hot cocoa and a handful of hard candies I picked up at the Dollar Tree as well.  I chose hard candy because most people enjoy it and it was inexpensive.  I specifically picked the bags with the biggest quanity for my dollar.  Think butterscotch and peppermint and cinnamon discs.  Werthers are very festive, too.

For a little over fifty-cents per cup, Patty was able to hand out 24 little goodies to teachers and faculty this morning.  And let me tell you, she looked like a professional gift giver!  It was so adorable. 

Oh, and I used my Photoshop program to create the little circle on top of each cup.  It has a little Santa and reads, "Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas this year".  A line from my favorite Christmas song, I might add!  There is nothing handier than digital scrapbooking.  I placed two circles into a blank 4x6 .jpeg and printed them at Walgreens.  Plus, I got 33% off my order yesterday!

That picture on the bottom right is the classroom gift.  It's full of things like Lysol wipes, baggies, crayons, and pencil top erasers.  I grabbed one of the holiday basket bags and a red charger plate (both at the Dollar Tree) and tried to make a pyramid of goodness.  I gotta say that charger plate really gave the gift stability.  And who knows, maybe the class can use the plate in an activity or re-gift it!

Either way, Patty had a blast handing out those cups today and I know the class will be able to use all of the goodies in their giant goody bag when school begins again in January! 

Update: Ug, I found two terrible typos in this post!  Eeek.  But, it's all fixed now!