Gift Ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week

Teacher Appreciation Week is an annual event held the first full week in May to celebrate the hard work and important contributions of teachers and other school personnel. This year’s Teacher Appreciation Week will take place May 2-May 6.

Ask any teacher what they would like to receive as gifts and most will tell you they don’t want dozens of small trinkets or homemade baked goods. PTAs/PTOs have the opportunity to spearhead activities and appreciation gifts for the week, making it enjoyable for teachers and easier for parents. By asking parents for a $5 or $10 donation, schools can create a memorable Teacher Appreciation Week. If there are 300 students in a school, there will be a sizeable budget.

During teacher appreciation week, you may want to cater a breakfast or lunch in the teacher’s lounge. Parents might also be willing to donate extra items like fruit or drinks to keep costs down.

Consider giving teachers a long-lasting promotional item with the school’s name and a special thank you message. There are plenty of lower minimum items that teachers will use for many years. A useful promotional gift for teachers who don’t have easy access to a coffee or water station is a reusable coffee tumbler or water bottle. Contigo and Thermos tumblers are name brand promotional items with low minimums, starting at just 48 pieces. Bottles that allow for ice are good for teachers who don’t have the ability throughout the day to refill their water bottles on a regular basis. One such bottle is a 34 oz. BPA free water bottle. It is made of super durable Tritan plastic. It has a threaded color lid and threaded spout. This custom water bottle makes it easy to add ice through its wide opening and drink through its narrow opening. 

Teachers will also appreciate beautiful Moleskine® notebooks which also have low minimums. Moleskine notebooks have a rich history. While the Moleskine® brand wasn’t developed until the late 1990s, famous artists and writers such as Hemingway, Picasso, and van Gogh used similar notebooks during their storied careers. In addition to the sleek Moleskine® notebook cover designs, most Moleskine® products contain acid-free, FSC Certified paper. FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council, an organization that promotes environmentally and socially responsible forestry. Acid-free paper is good for the environment as it’s very durable. It stays the same for up to 100 years, meaning there is less likelihood of any wear and tear and waste as users hold on to these notebooks for a very long time. Teachers will love these notebooks for meetings and classroom notes. 

With teachers being given laptops and tablets for classroom instruction, schools continue to become more technology driven. The gift of a branded tablet or laptop bag will be most appreciated and used on a daily basis. Eco Promotional Product’s extremely functional tablet sling bag has a main compartment with a padded sleeve fitting up to a 15" laptop to keep school issued electronics safe.

Teacher Appreciation Week is only a month away. Start planning now to make your event a success.