Clutter Free Gifts for Teachers and Others

The teacher above said "The absolute BEST gift you can give a teacher is absolutely free! If there is a teacher who you feel has made a difference in a child's life, sit down and write a letter. Talk about all the wonderful things that teacher has done, and how they have made learning fun and rewarding for the child. "
This teacher also suggested sending copies to the principal, and superintendent. She saves these notes in a folder and when she's feeling blue, stressed or having a hard day she'll pull out the folder and read them. They lift her spirits and make her feel good about being a teacher. "this is one piece of paper that will NEVER be considered clutter!"

Creative Commons Photo by cliff1066™

With budgets always tight, teachers often buy supplies from their own pockets. This is probably a gift more suited to the elementary teacher, but you never know until you check. How about a goodie bag or box with tissues, antibacterial wipes, pencils, scissors, erasers, tape, stickers etc. If you want to be sneaky about getting ideas of what's needed you can observer by volunteering in the class. Another option could be puzzles or educational games. Can't figure out what to get try a gift card for a a local teacher supply store or a department store.

I know two elementary teachers who have lending libraries in their classrooms to encourage reading. They bought these books with their own money. Does your student's teacher have a classroom library you can contribute too? Other parents have made donations to the school library for more books, in honor of the teacher. They send a note to the teacher to let them know about the donation. Many teachers like books by nature, how about a gift certificate from a book store for them to get a book of their choice.

Creative Commons Photo by Ali Edwards

You could always do something for the teacher. One preschool teacher received a box entitled "Date Night In." It included microwave popcorn, movie sized boxes of candy and a gift card to the local movie rental. The teacher loved it because she got to share it with her hubby. You could also give movie tickets for the theater. My warehouse store sells these in sets of two for less than the price of a matinee.

Do you really want to pamper your teacher. Contact the other parents in the classroom and suggest everyone chipping in together for a really nice gift. Such as a visit to a day spa, a nice gift card to a restuarant, book store or department store. This way they can get something they couldn't normally afford, or something they really need or want. This way they get something nicer than an individual parent can afford, and it will get used and won't clutter up their world.

Creative Commons photo by LePetiteRetreatDaySpa

The only problem with food is that there's so much of it around the holidays, and while homemade is nice some teachers won't partake of homemade goodies. One family had the tradition of handing out nuts each year. They would wrap them nicely in shinny paper before delivering. Now we're not talking peanuts here, try cashew or pecans. The nice thing about this gift is if the receiver doesn't eat nuts they can regift, or take the nuts to a holiday party for the hostess or a snack contribution. Coffee, tea and cocoa are also nice gifts. Another nice food gift could be for Subway, Starbucks or something like that. The nice think about these food gifts is that they are less likely to add to ones waistline during the holidays, because they can be consumed several months after the seasonal festivities.

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