Each year my son’s school “does it up big” for teacher appreciation day, well, teacher appreciation week really. The PTA puts together amazing food spreads like a nacho bar, bakes treats, and plans activities to show some much-needed staff appreciation. I shared some of their ideas in this post about teacher appreciation week ideas – they go all out when it’s that time of year! We as parents volunteer to donate items, gifts, chocolate, blueberry muffins, soda, or whatever we have on hand just to show a little extra “Thank You” for all the time they spend on lesson plans, teaching, and helping our kiddos all year long. Plus, we typically send in a gift for each of the main teachers and something small for their special teachers. We even sometimes send in a bonus for their favorite teachers from previous years. Honestly, I’m still not sure why teacher appreciation week is the first full week in May, so close to the end of the school year (I’d love to see it in February or something, like the middle of the year), but I just do as I’m told because teachers put in hours of hard work just because they love it. And I am a huge fan of saying thank you!
DIY Teacher Appreciation Cards
These free printable teacher thank you cards are perfect for when you want to send a little thank you, snack, candy, or gift to any teacher you know. You can print them out, attach them to the gift, add little personal message (but only if you want to) and boom, your gift is ready to go. It’s not your typical DIY where you actually make something, but I count putting together a gift DIY so it counts! There are six different printable tags to choose from that should work for every special teacher in your child’s life! There’s a free printable gift tag for those who love music, enjoy those sweet treats (hello cinnamon swirl bread), one for that unicorn of a teacher who has a magical way of making the hard things seem easy. And many more! Really, any tag can be used for any teacher – you can let your kids choose or you choose which one would be best for your kids’ teachers! Only you and your child will know if a teacher will appreciate a plant or prefer some chocolate!
How to use the Free Printables
It’s really simple to use these tags. Just download the free printable template below and print them out. Then you can cut the tags out or if your kids are old enough, they can do it. Use a hole punch and make a hole on one side on the tag and fish a piece of twine, ribbon or some kind of string through the hole and around your gift. Or if you don’t have twine, you can also tape your tag to the gift or bag if needed. That’s it- super simple DIY gift tags done! I’d love to know if you use any of these for your child’s favorite educator this year – tag me on social! Just like with teachers, tagging me and sharing when you use my ideas goes a long way – it totally makes my day!
Teacher Appreciation Gifts
While these cards are great, sometimes you still want to add a heartfelt gift to make your teacher’s day – so I’ve included some simple DIY gifts (and when I say DIY gift, I mean ones you can just toss together) to go with your selected free printable tag. If you’re looking for some unique gift ideas, our teachers really thought these orange gift ideas were adorable, there’s even a fun teacher specific tag included. We’ve also used some of these classic apple gift ideas. And, these cricut teacher gifts are just what you need for those beginning of the year thank you’s or those end of the year goodbyes. And if you can’t find one of these that work, one of these printable thank you tags with gift cards is always an appreciated gift (or so my teacher neighbor says). Or a gift card plus a small homemade gift and one of our free printable cards was also recommended – that personal touch is always encouraged a great idea! And if you’re still stuck, some of the best teacher gifts I’ve seen include:
A heartfelt note – this one is a great opportunity for kids to be included in writing the note and also a good inexpensive teacher gift ideaGift certificate – something to a local restaurant or activity you know they enjoy, like my son’s teacher loves ice cream so we got her a gift card to the local ice cream place – super easy gift! Tote bag – get one with a cute teaching quote or cool design that’s large enough to hold papers, notebooks, and such. They’ll be able to carry everything while still looking stylish (this isn’t recommend for men teachers). This is more of a practical gift compared to other fun gifts above. Chocolate bars, candy, or another treat you know they’ll enjoy – you can often stock up cheap at the Dollar Store! Those would go great with the sweet tag!
More Free Printable Gift Tags
You can never give out enough gifts! Check out these other fun printable gift tags for the next time you want to say thanks!
Free printable Christmas gift tags – a set of 20 different gift tags perfect for all the winter holidays! Thanksgiving tags – fun Thanksgiving themed gift tags for sending home leftovers, giving away pies, and just saying thank you! 12 days of Christmas gifts – gift ideas and gift tags for the 12 days of Christmas – you know five golden rings! Just because gift ideas – fun just because gifts with free printable gift tags (of course) for various occasions! Free get well cards – punny (and funny) get well soon cards for when someone you know is sick!
Download the Free Template
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes. If you do not see the form, click here to get to it. If you’d prefer to not provide your email, you can purchase a copy of the DIY teacher appreciation cards in my shop here. If you do not see the email immediately after you fill out the form, make sure to check your promotions, spam, and junk folders. I recommend printing the tags on white cardstock and and adding a personal note on the back (this is a great opportunity to teach your kids about how writing a nice note can be a thoughtful gift)! The file will come with:
Instructions and personal use copyright info Teacher appreciation gift tags
