Looking for some Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas? Check it Out!

Check it Out!  The school year is wrapping up in many places and it's time to think about how to thank those teachers and show a little appreciation to the school staff.  When my kids were in public school, I always gave each teacher and para pro a gift.  Now with 3 kids that could get costly but crafting something is much cheaper and easier!
I have made all sorts of teachers gifts, from giant cards to tissue boxes!  Many teachers don't want to admit that they really only need about 5 apple gifts so I try to think outside the box and I loved to use the class as part of the gift.  As a very active parent and PTA board member I spent a lot of time in the school and was able to get 10-15 minutes alone with the class to get them to participate in the gift crafting.  Whether it was just signing their name in Pre-K and Kind or writing a thank you note in the 4th grade, I found that the students really loved being a part of the making of a gift for their teacher.
If you can't get time with the class, ask the para pro for assistance.  Send in a note and what you would like them to do, along with the supplies of course, and enlist your child's help.  It's a mission they will love.
So what to make??  Well you can personalize so many things with or without the class and if you visit a Michaels or Hobby Lobby and check out the unfinished wood aisle you can find everything from serving trays and tissue boxes to plaques and boxes.  I love to useful things, like the wooden tissue boxes.  Just paint it a festive color add the teachers name with some letter stickers and a cute saying.  You could add a class photo and maybe even get the kids to "autograph" it!  Then just seal the whole thing with a few coats of Mod Podge.
I have some other ideas using photos HERE you can check out, like a trading card booklet.

Here is another useful cute idea, take a cookie sheet, cover it with some decorative scrapbook paper and add some notepads and cute magnets and you have a memo board that can come in so handy.  The one above wasn't made for a teacher but you could make them so many different ways.  Check out my previous post on how to make them HERE.  You can also see my clothespin magnets HERE that could be crafted with a teacher in mind.

Of course food is always a great option for gift giving and I have some cute ideas for that as well!  How about a cute little gift everyday of Teacher Appreciation Week or the last week of school?  Sounds like a lot of work?  It's really not.  Head over HERE and check out how easy and cheap it is!  There are a few more ideas on this post HERE as well.

Lastly I wanted to include the giant cards I used to make.  I don't have any photos but hopefully you can envision this with my instructions.  I used a brown paper book cover for the actual card.  They sell them by the pack and it's basically just a large piece of brown paper folded in half so they make great card bases.  12 x 12 pieces of scrapbook paper fit perfectly on all sides to decorate and it also stiffens the card.  I decorated the front with a cute saying like Thank You Mrs. Teacher... and of course with embellishments to match.  I would then use place cards, you buy them by the pack in the party supplies, or make your own, and have each child in the teachers class write their name on the outside front and then a little note on the inside.  Then I would arrange them on the inside 2 panels and glue them down so the fold is at the top and you can lift each flap to read the message.  You can give the kids free range to write their message or give them a theme like.. what do you like about the teacher or ideas for her/his summer vacation or their favorite thing from the school year.  If you have an extra space to fill, add one of your own!
Whatever you choose, it doesn't have to cost alot to show your appreciation.