Teacher Appreciation 2018

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 Petal Bag Giveaway

teacher appreciation gift bags

Are you desperate for one of the petal bags I have been mass producing? Enter TheRoomMom giveaway to win a fabulous Teacher Manicure Set! The giveaway ends Friday, April 4 at noon (EST). Two winners will be selected.

teacher appreciation gift bag

  • Click on this Entry-Form link to enter the giveaway!
  • Winners receive one drawstring petal bag containing clear nail polish, nail clippers, tweezers, and an emery board. Keep it for yourself or give it to your child’s teacher and become the #1 room parent.

Entry Form Information

  • The entry form links to TheRoomMom on Bloglovin, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Click the social media links in the entry form and complete the regular “like” or “follow” procedures on the sites directly. Then submit the entry form after you complete the like or follow. Just hitting submit does not create a follow or like.
  • Already following TheRoomMom? You can leave a comment below and enter the name you used to comment in the entry form. You can enter a new comment every 24 hours and submit another entry form creating more chances for you to win.
  • All likes, follows, and comments are “verified” at the end of the contest, and the two winners will be randomly selected.

teacher appreciation petal bag giveaway

 

Petal Gift Bags

teacher appreciation gift bags

In my last post, I mentioned how I needed a crafty project to keep me busy on my spring break from school, and I started sewing petal pouches. “Crafty project” is really code for I-will-disappear-for-2-days-and-ignore-my-family-except-to-feed-them-while-I-get-lost-in-a-project.

Here is how it went down. I made two bags for a teacher appreciation gift I had in mind using materials I had on hand. Miss Priss and Mr. Star Wars wanted a bag too, so we bought some additional fabric and ribbon and made 2 of the large petal bags for them. I now had a small collection. The collection looked unfinished since I had not tried the smallest size bag possible in the pattern. I made two more bags in the mini size. Now, I had a set, but the set would be broken when I gave some of the bags away as gifts. I returned to Hobby Lobby for more material determined to make enough bags for a personal set and have some spares for gifts (and a giveaway??).

petal bag collection

Jump to today. Petal bags cover my dining room table. I do have enough for my own set and some for gifts, so I am starting to relax a little just in time for school to start again tomorrow. These are my plans for the bags…

teacher appreciation gift bag

Teacher Appreciation Gift: School Manicure Set

  • clear fingernail polish (so it can be used to stop a run in your tights, fix a fraying shoelace, or other classroom emergencies)
  • nail clippers (great for snagged nails during the day)
  • tweezers (just in case someone gets a splinter)
  • emery board

tween gift bag

Tween Gift: Trendy Manicure Set

  • fingernail polish in “ice cream” colors
  • nail clippers
  • emery board
  • nail art stickers
  • Emi-Jay-like hair ties (in the mini bag)

baby gift bag

Baby Gift: Diaper Bag Dopp Kit

  • pacifier
  • Aquaphor
  • travel Q-tips
  • baby nail clippers
  • travel baby wipes

dog treat gift bag

Pet Gift: Dog Treat Bag

  • dog treats

TheRoomDog’s best friend is on the injured list, and we haven’t been able to get the dogs together for vigorous playdates, which greatly reduce TheRoomDog’s need for other activity– like eating pencils. We are trying to deliver the get well gift before the treats are gone. (Bad dog, Birdie.)

dog treat gift bag birdie