Teacher Appreciation Gifts that will Knock Their Socks Off

There are so many teachers who give so much, going above and beyond to make sure their students learn and love learning--and are happy at the same time.  I love giving truly meaningful gifts to those special people, beyond flowers or a gift card that will be gone and forgotten in no time.

With a little planning, you can give teacher appreciation gifts that will knock their socks off!

I've been thinking lately about what kind of teacher appreciation gifts might fit the bill this year.  For quite a few years now, I've created gifts using Heritage Makers because they're so personal, and many times I spend less than I would on flowers or a gift card.

When my kids were in elementary school, we gave their teachers little books.  You can {see a few of them here}, page by page.  I would have my kids help me write the books--they would write something they loved about the teacher, something they learned in class, something they improved at with the teacher's help, etc.  We sprinkled some photos in, too.  We LOVED giving those books to those special teachers because we knew they really showed the depth of our appreciation, and we knew they would be cherished for years.

Now that my kids are older, my mind keeps going back to the gifts I made for their teachers more recently:  personalized candy bar wraps and notepads.  I'm thinking this might be just the thing this year, too.

The candy bar wraps (underneath the scissors there) are nothing more than a 12x12 scrapbook page from Heritage Makers, printed on lite paper so that it's easily wrapped around a Hershey bar (after it's cut).  You can make four wraps from one page.

 

2023 UPDATE:  Heritage Makers became YPhoto under Youngevity (which purchased Heritage Makers in 2013).  YPhoto uses only templates, so the creativity showcased here is no longer available there. Best-in-the-industry quality and permanent cloud photo storage with guaranteed privacy are required for anything recommended here by Photo & Story Treasures, so we highly recommend Forever.  

Using Forever's Artisan program for digital scrapbooking, you can make items similar to those shown here.  This video tutorial shows you how to craft with high-quality scrapbook pages, and this one shows you how to use Artisan to create something unique and then print at home (for instances in which you need thinner paper, sticker paper, etc.)  You can see just a few examples of crafting I've done using Artisan here.

Then I made matching notepads from Heritage Makers to go along with the candy bars!  They come in a set of 4, and each one can be a different style or name. 

I really love how personal these are!

Get started creating something those special teachers in your life will always remember!

Then Pin this for next year!  :)