Teachers are special people, they spend their days teaching, guiding, and leading their pupils in so many different ways. And they sacrifice a lot of their time and energy. This is why finding cool teacher gifts to thank them for what they do is so satisfying.
Teachers get plenty of gifts over the Christmas period, but we found some more unique options for you to choose from. These include brilliant DIY kids craft options as well as thoughtful bought items. If you are after something uniquely Australian, we have that too!
Take a look at our gift ideas for teachers and choose the ones that suit your child’s educators best.
Buy Christmas presents for teachers
The best teacher Christmas gifts include a bit of fun, practicality, and personality. Here are some brilliant teachers’ presents for you to choose from.
Engraved pen
There aren’t many teachers who don’t need a pen at least once during the day. Ensure that your child’s teacher always has one ready, and doesn’t lose it, with a unique engraved pen in a smart gift box.
The message says: “A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, touches a heart, shapes the future.” But there are a few other quotes to choose from, so even if you’re buying for a couple of teachers, you can personalize each one.
Shop for an engraved teachers pen here.
Potted plant set
Teachers who help your little ones learn and grow into young, smart, and well-balanced young adults will appreciate the acknowledgement that this gift gives.
This small wooden planter comes with basil seeds and is engraved with the quote: “Thank you for helping me grow.”
Shop for a potted plant set here.
Off Duty Socks
The bottom of these socks read: “If you can read this” on the right, and “This teacher is off duty” on the right. They also have typical teacher-themed illustrations on them, like apples, rulers, pencils, and books.
They’ll make a cute and cosy gift for any teacher, and provide them with some well-deserved relaxing time over the festive season.
Teacher tote bag
There’s nothing better than a gift that is practical, useful, and fun. This tote covers all 3 of those, though. It’ll hold all of the most essential teaching supplies, is comfy to carry, and looks stylish as well.
The tote has a ‘ Teacher nutritional facts’ design which shows teachers how hardworking, patient, and inspirational they are.
Shop for the teachers’ tote here.
Wine tumbler
This works especially well for high school teachers since we know teaching teens can be a little more challenging. If you know a teacher who enjoys a glass of wine over the weekends, brighten up their days by gifting them this wine tumbler.
The quote etched onto the glass says: “Because students.” It’s a quirky and relatable gift that shows you appreciate your child’s teacher and all their patience in dealing with a class of kids all day.
Shop for this wine tumbler here.
Affordable handmade teachers gifts
A handmade present is an excellent way for students to show teachers appreciation for their hard work. The following DIY thank you gifts can be made at home.
Decorated jar with stainless steel straws
This gift can be personal and practical. Clean and decorate a glass jar before filling it with a set of stainless steel straws.
Reusable straws are a great gift if this teacher loves the ocean. Consider painting dolphins, fish, and turtles swimming on the outside of the glass jar. Acrylic paint is non-toxic and can be used to decorate the glass jar.
Decorated organization containers
A good teacher is often organised and loves a tidy classroom. Decorating containers can be a fun craft project with practical use in the school.
Buy clear plastic containers with a recessed lip so that items can be easily located and neatly packed together. Consider using paint pens or permanent markers to decorate the boxes with your teachers favourite animal.
Tree and star biscuits
Who doesn’t love a Christmas tree biscuit? Baking is a great life skill to teach children, and Christmas is the perfect occasion to make themed biscuits.
Buy a cookie cutter to make the thinly rolled batter into a tree or star-shaped biscuits. A natural food dye can give colour to icing sugar for decorations.
Gifts for female teachers
If you’re looking for something particularly feminine, here are a few great choices for female teachers in Australia.
Relaxing bath bombs
Is there a better way to unwind than with a scented bath bomb in the evening? These home-made gifts are easy to make and have a long shelf life. They are known to uplift your mood and increase your sleep.
Buy a set of bath bomb moulds that can be reused year on year.
To make eight bath bombs:
- Use a large mixing bowl and 2 cups baking soda, 1 cup corn starch, 1 cup citric acid, 1 cup Epsom salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix 2 tsp water, 5 tsp melted coconut oil and 20 drops of lavender essential oil. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients while mixing.
- Once it is the consistency of damp sand, you can pack it into the moulds.
- Add dried flowers like roses to the bottom of the mould for a floral touch.
- Leave in the moulds for 5 minutes to set before removing them and letting them dry for 12 hours.
Unique shell necklace
This shell-based craft project can have beautiful results. An iconic cowrie necklace requires a string of the same style of similar sized shells.
Depending on what you find, a sand dollar shell can even appear alone as a delicate pendant.
Once your shells are collected, it is time to clean them. Arrange them from smallest to largest before threading every second shell on a thin chain or buy a necklace cord with clasps.
After reaching the halfway point, you can thread the remaining shells in descending size before adding clasps. The result should be a necklace with the largest shell in the centre.
Organic crochet pom-pom
Making a crochet pom-pom is a great way to introduce your children to crafts. The result is an adorable ball of yarn that can be used as a Christmas tree decoration.
The disc method is easy. You can use cardboard or buy a pom-pom template. Wrap even layers of organic yarn through the disks until the centre circle is too small for the thread to pass through.
You can change yarn during the process by tying a new thread to the end of your last strand for a mixed colour pom-pom. Slip your pair of scissors between the cardboard layers or template and cut around the circumference of the circle.
Once cut, slip a strand of wool between the disks and tie a knot to secure the puffy pom-pom strands. Leave enough thread for a loop to hang the ornament. You can now cut the cardboard away or remove the template.
Gifts for male teachers
Male teachers can seem trickier to buy or make gifts for, but really they’re not much different to the ladies. Something thoughtful, useful, and handmade will always be a good choice.
Check out our gift ideas for male teachers below for some inspiration.
A USB filled with memories
Adding a special message from your child or the entire class in a video can be an incredible gift to thank your teacher for their hard work.
The increased use of technology means a high-speed USB with extra space is a gift that a teacher can use daily, especially to keep class memories on. It will also ensure your child’s thank you message is kept safe for many years to come.
Coconut decorated date balls
Who doesn’t like a high-energy snack? Making date balls with your children for a favourite teacher is both fun and affordable.
This simple recipe is vegan friendly and only uses three ingredients. Check with your teacher beforehand if they enjoy the taste of coconut or if they have any allergies.
Add 12 fresh dates (soak dry dates in water) and a handful of raw pecans (toasted are fine too) to a food processor. Blend the ingredients until you have a sticky dough-like mixture.
Using a spoon, scoop the mixture into your hands before rolling them into bite sizes. Decorate the balls with coconut – and goji berries for a Christmas theme – before letting them set in a fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Homemade coffee soap
Natural soap can be expensive! But there are many soap making recipes that you can try at home. Treat your child’s male teacher with a masculine coffee soap that is easy to make.
To make 8 bars of soap, you will need:
- 225 g of heated glycerin soap
- ¼ cup of used coffee grounds
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 tsp of powdered milk
Mix it all together and pour it into a mold to set.
We have a detailed Christmas gift guide for all types of men here.
Do you know of great Christmas gifts for teachers?
Now that you have excellent teacher gift ideas, it is time to choose one or two to get started. Remember to give yourself time for the supplies or moulds to arrive.
Get crafty this year and give baked goods, bath bombs, necklaces, pom poms, and other thoughtful presents. Christmas is a time best spent with family, so make sure your children help you along the way! This way they’ll also feel happy and proud when they hand their teacher gifts over.
Add your suggestion in the comments below. Your idea could bring joy to an Australian teacher this Christmas!
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