Gifting your Students on a Budget

It is hard for teachers around the holidays because we want to show appreciation for our students but don’t want to break the bank. You definitely do NOT have to spend your money on gifts for students (I have a freebie below), nor do you have to gift your students anything at all! However, I have come up with a list of inexpensive gift ideas for your students.

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Homemade Crayons

These are always fun gifts. I made some of these for Valentine’s day using broken crayons and a silicone mold. You can grab shaped molds at most stores. I got mine at Target, but craft stores carry them, as does Amazon. Break up the crayons, insert them into the molds, and place the molds into the oven until the crayons melt. My students loved these! Grab the molds pictured above here.

$1 Scholastic Books

The Scholastic book order is a great place to search for gifts for your students. They have a book in every catalog that is $1. I use to grab a few at a time and gift them to my students. The best thing is that you can use your points towards these books!

Candy

I’m not sure if you are allowed to give your students food, but if you are, candy is a great option (or bags of microwaved popcorn and hot cocoa)! They have great deals on Amazon from time to time where you can get 18 pieces of full-sized candy for $6! There are many candy combinations as well! Airheads are great for allergies, plus they are yummy!

A Gift Bag

The picture above of bookmarks is from Amazon, but I always scour the dollar spot at Target. I’ve had great luck there in the past. I always grabbed some mini erasers, pencils, and stickers to give my students. They also usually have cute gift bags. Craft stores like Michaels often have dollar sections as well!

A Gift for the Classroom

Instead of giving individual gifts to students, you could buy something for the entire class to use. Some examples are board games for indoor recess, Snap Circuits, STEM kits, playground equipment, etc.

Printables

Show appreciation for your students with these printables. This freebie includes a homework pass, “You are a gift because…” note paper, and 2 bookmarks for your class. You don’t need to spend anything to show your appreciation for your students with this download!

What are some gifts you give your students for the holidays?