Ways to Give Back to Teacher’s This Holiday Season

“Jingle, jingle, ho, ho, Happy Holidays” – it’s that time of year where we start to spread the holiday cheer, and what better way to demonstrate that by giving back to those very special people in our lives, teachers. Today I am talking about giving back to teacher’s this holiday season.

Why Give Back to Teachers?

Teachers play such an important role in our children’s lives. They foster deep connections with our children. Teachers take on different roles in making sure all needs are met, and they demonstrate a sense of selflessness that, let’s be honest, not a lot of people are capable of offering. They spend anywhere from 8-10 hours a day, give or take seven days a week for an average of 36 school weeks, and this doesn’t even take into account, grades, lesson planning, observations, professional development workshops, and all the other “stuff” that comes with the territory.

With that being said – teachers deserve a lot of holiday cheer, as well as, an acknowledgement for all their efforts. When it comes to choosing a gift for that special teacher there are a variety of options. You can never go wrong with a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts gift cards. They are safe, affordable, and cherished by all teachers because what teacher doesn’t live off coffee.  I have an old post for gift ideas for teachers here if you are looking for a traditional gift idea to wrap up!

BUT what if you did something different this year?

Now you can never be faulted for gifting a teacher a gift card. They are 100% always appreciated, especially when it’s a gift card to help them with their classroom, and they are always 100% immediately used. Yes, a gift card to Target is always valued and appreciated. Some people like the idea of giving back to classrooms. Giving back to classrooms is still a way to give back to teachers this holiday season. You can try one of the following ideas:

Giving Back To Classrooms

TpT gift card

TpT gift card – stands for Teacher Pays Teacher . If you don’t know this website already it’s basically the holy grail for teachers. Rather than reinvent the wheel on a variety of educational topics, teachers can search particular topics they are working on in class (i.e., letters) and purchase work that has already been created by other educators. This saves teachers tons of time, but it can get costly for them. So, why not take some financial burden off of them for a bit.

You can purchase a gift card in any monetary value you wish, or TpT just launched the TpT Class Fund. The TpT Class Fund is where teachers can create an individual class page where they identify resources they are looking to purchase and how those resources will be used in the classroom. Then others (i.e., other teachers, parents, community volunteers, corporations, etc) can make a donation to the teachers’ personal funding page. 

Donors Choose

Donors Choose – This is another great way to give back to classrooms and the community. This has gained widespread popularity among teachers, who look for others to help them with materials or experiences for their classroom. Basically, teachers create a classroom page identifying what they wish to have/need for their classroom. Some request can range from materials (i.e., crayons, markers, paper, etc) to funding a field trip to a museum. The rewarding part of this gift is that you, as the donor, can choose what project you wish to support. It’s a public charity so your donation is tax deductible. I’d say that’s a win-win! 

Making a Donation in a Teachers Name

Making a donation in a teachers name. I have heard of a few schools choosing charities and local organizations to donate to as a class. Why not consider choosing a charity or organization of your own and make a donation in the teachers name? Consider supporting a local after school program for kids in need or funding a classroom library for a low income school. I love this idea because it reminds me there is still kindness in this world, but also a gift doesn’t have to be a materialistic possession.  

Volunteer

Volunteer – this one is an oldie but a goodie. Some teachers just need help taking things down in the classroom and hanging up new class projects. Others need help with their classroom bulletin boards (again, taking down and putting back up). Some appreciate the help when it comes to preparing for a classroom/school party. Parents can help, cater, or work a school fundraisers. Another way parents can support teachers is to volunteer to take on lunch duty where you monitor the cafeteria and playground. Although these might not feel like a “big gift” your donation of time is extremely appreciated by any teacher. If the teacher is anything like me, they may also love donations of time for laminating and prepping materials for their students!

Field Trips/Classroom Parties

Field Trips/Classroom Parties – Funding and sponsoring a classroom field trip or classroom party is a valued gift for any teacher. Many would be surprised to learn that many teachers fund these events, if not all, then some of it. 

Giving Back to Teachers

As a former teacher, I know there have been times where I felt there was never enough time to engage in some personal experiences for myself, which often led to stress. So these next couple of gifting ideas are geared towards the spirit of time, which we all know we need more of. Time is the perfect way to give back to teachers this holiday season.

Cleaning Service

Cleaning service – As a teacher with a family the last thing I wanted to do on the weekends when I had the free time was clean. Let’s be honest it’s the last thing anyone wants to engage in when they have free time. So give the gift of cleaning! Collect a certain monetary value from each family or have families anonymously donate what they feel is appropriate to hire a cleaning company to clean your child’s teacher’s home for a day. Not only are you gifting time, but a day of stress free for a teacher to relax.  

Asana Rebel App

Gift card to Asana Rebel – is kind of the jack of all trades when it comes to a health and wellness app. The app includes an exercise section, sleep section, nutrition section, meditation section and music for focus section. I think most people could benefit from an app like this, but teachers particularly because over the course of a school year we tend to neglect ourselves (i.e., our health and wellness). Again, collect a certain monetary value from each family or have families anonymously donate what they feel is appropriate. Teachers can purchase a week, a month, or a year subscription, which is roughly $79.99. Families are not only gifting time, but potential years worth of stress free for a teacher.

These apps can be found on Itunes or Google Play, and they offer a free trial period for seven days.

Spa Finder

Help teachers relax with a massage or facial this time of year by purchasing a gift card to spa finder. I know I mentioned unique gifts other than gift cards, but I believe a gift card that offers a service rather than tangible things is still unique and very deserving! Every teacher deserves a 60 or 90 minute break to unplug from the world. Help teachers relax by gifting them a gift card to spa finder so they can pick a services that caters to their needs!

These are just a couple of different ideas to contemplate when thinking about how to show those special teachers in our children’s lives that we appreciate ALL they do. It is important to give back to teachers this holiday season. At the end of the day a simple acknowledgment by saying, “thank you” is sometimes all we need. Feel free to share additional creative ideas or apps that would be fun and different to gift a teacher. 

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