Thursday, May 15, 2014

End of Year Teacher Gifts

With a new little one arriving soon, I've been trying to get all my ducks in a row. In the past I've always tried to have something handmade for my boys' teachers (and for two years I was a class mom and in charge of the the end of year gift). Here are some of the ideas I've come up with in the past:

Personalized Bookmark with a quote/verse 
(our preschool is church based, so the verse worked great)
I used scrapbook paper, printed the photo and the verse, glued it together and had it laminated at Office Depot. His teacher still uses it as a bookmark in her Bible.

Personalized Cups 
(with gift cards stuffed inside)
I bought the cups at Target, used scrapbook paper, photos and stickers (I did have it laminated before I placed it in the cup so nothing would come unglued or bend - but the thickness made it quite a challenge to stuff in the small opening). 
If it wasn't a class gift I think it would look adorable with a monogram.

 Personalized Clipboard
I found instructions on Pinterest for how to paint and modpodge a clipboard. I painted the clipboard first, printed out the Teacher's Prayer on cute teacher paper from Staples or Office Depot, mod podged it onto the clipboard and added a few embellishments and ribbons.
 Here's a better look at the sweet poem:

This year T made a card for each teacher with a painted handprint. If we hadn't participated in the class gift, I would have paired this card with a gift certificate to a nail salon (it would also be super cute if the handprint was cut out and glued to a fly swatter, with lots of ribbons and the gift card attached).

In the past N has painted rocks and wrote his name on them with a sharpie and we attached a card saying "This year ROCKED." This would be cute with an iTunes gift card or some cute jewelry.

N's teacher this year will be receiving a monogrammed hat with a card that says "Hats off to you for a great year."

And we also like to gift our boys coaches end of season gifts. Usually this is Chris' department and he picks up a Dick's Sporting Goods gift card and has N draw a picture on a card. Something like this (N's for baseball is first, T's for soccer is second):
Those that coach young kids truly have a big heart (and a lot of patience and understanding). After watching how the boys coaches have shaped them and given more energy than I think I've had all year, I really wish we could do more for them.

Do you have any great ideas? I'm ALWAYS on the hunt for things to do for the people who lovingly care for my boys! 


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