best teacher gifts

Teacher Appreciation 2018

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The first full week of May is National Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States. It is no secret that I love putting together small gifts or gestures of appreciation for my children’s teachers. Many people work with my kids, so I am always trying to find a gift idea that I can mass produce and is cost effective. When we start counting the various core teachers, special area teachers, and support staff who interact with my 5th and 7th grader on a daily basis, it is over 25 people.

To make sure I do not leave anyone out, I am setting up a beverage bar tomorrow for the entire faculty. I bought 16-oz. Solo cups in a fun color, pretty straws, and a selection of individual sized drinks. My school has an ice machine, but if this is something you are considering for teachers, don’t forget bags of ice too. People can drop in all day to the teacher break area and fix a cold drink to take back to the classroom.

NOTES:

  • Provide a variety of sizes and options. I purchased Coke and Diet Coke in 12-oz and 8-oz cans, sparkly flavored waters, Snapples, and a few sodas in bottles with twist off lids. A twist off lid is great if you don’t want to finish the drink in one sitting (or students return and you have to start teaching again). The smaller soda cans work well if you need a little refreshment but don’t have time for a larger drink.

  • In place of a beverage bar where people go to a common location and serve themselves, you could print a fun, individual label and attach to the Solo cup. THESE LABELS are Avery 5263, 2″ x 4″. Put a can of soda and straw in the cup and deliver to individual teachers.

  • If this is something your school’s PTA or parents’ group is considering for the faculty and staff, they could order Personalized Can Coozies with the school logo to give to teachers. There are many sites that sell party items like this in bulk for groups.
  • Depending on how well you know the teachers, you could kick the beverage idea up a level and give individual gift bags with cocktail kits. There are so many airplane sized liquor options at liquor stores now, it can be fun to give a small bottle of alcohol, a mixer, and a lime. This may not be appropriate for your school community– you be the judge. I did put together a little gift like this for the teachers returning from multi-day field trip with my daughter to Williamsburg, VA. I knew the group of teacher chaperones, and I was pretty confident they would love the gift!

I have many great teacher gift ideas. CLICK HERE for more inspiration.

 

Teacher Gift Card Boxes

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teacher gift card boxes finished

New craft tool + end of the school year = excessive amounts of time designing an end of year teacher gift for the faculty members and staff at our school who work with my children all year. I found THIS VIDEO on YouTube to make small gift boxes using cardstock paper and got busy. First, I needed a new paper cutter tool that also had the option for scoring paper (highly recommend!). Next, I fiddled with the box proportions to come up with a size that would hold a giftcard, or in our case, scratch off lottery tickets. Finally, I spent many hours cutting and folding boxes with coordinating colors and patterns. Time well spent in my opinion– not so much for the rest of my family.

To see more DIY envelope type crafts to hold gift cards for teacher gifts (or any person) click HERE and HERE.

teacher gift card boxes

Materials

  • paper cutter with paper scoring tool as well (I have THIS ONE)
  • cardstock paper in various colors
  • double sided tape in an E-Z dispenser, .27″ width (like THIS)
  • Elmer’s glue
  • Washi tape or stickers to close flap

teacher gift card boxes supplies

Directions

  • Watch THIS VIDEO to get the hang of folding the boxes and attaching the sides and flap.
  • Each box with flap needs two pieces of paper. The box paper is 4″ x 8 1/4″. The flap paper is 8 1/2″ x 3 1/4″.
  • Place the box paper (4″ x 8 1/4″) landscape direction on the paper cutter and score lines at 4″ and 4 3/8″. Turn the paper portrait direction and score at 3/8″ and 3 5/8″.

teacher gift card boxes make score lines

  • Place the flap paper (8 1/2″ x 3 1/4″) landscape direction and score lines at 4 1/2″ and 4 7/8″.
  • Fold along all of the scored lines and using the scoring tool or a dull edge, press the folds to make them crisp.

teacher gift card boxes fold on scores

  • On the paper that will become the box, cut 3/8″ into the center on the folds that are near the middle of the paper. Then cut a small triangle out of the paper, so you have center flaps that can tuck into the box when you fold up the sides.

teacher gift card boxes score lines

  • Place the box paper flat on your work surface. The side of the paper that will become the outside of the box should be facing up. Run a strip of double sided tape along the edge flap of the bottom half of the box.

teacher gift card boxes double sided tape

  • Fold the little triangle notches into the center and then fold the box together. Carefully press the non-taped side strip onto the taped side strip to form the box. Put the attached sides of the box on a flat surface and press/rub the scoring tool inside the box along the taped edges to stick the sides together firmly.

teacher gift card boxes folding

  • Line up the flap along the back of the box. The shorter edge of the flap should come over the top of the box. With a light bead of Elmer’s glue, run a little across the back of the box and attach the flap making sure the edges line up evenly.

teacher gift card boxes attach flap

  • Let the glue dry. Fill the box and then close flap with a piece of Washi tape or a sticker.

teacher gift card boxes empty

Notes

  • The finished box is ~3 1/4″ wide x 4 1/2″ tall x 1/2″ deep. You can make the boxes bigger or smaller by playing with the original paper sizes.
  • We added a square of cardstock (2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″) to the front of our flap to be able to write a note.

teacher gift card boxes sample