Teacher Appreciation Ideas

As my daughter has gotten older it feels like teacher appreciation has become less of a thing. I don’t know if that’s because the school makes less of a deal about it (they do snacks and drinks and things for the teachers, so it’s not like there’s nothing, it’s just not coming from individual parents) or because it’s too overwhelming to give gifts when your kid has six or seven teachers.

If your school does theme days and you need some ideas, check out my post on teacher appreciation themes for the school.

Maybe it’s a little bit about teachers not wanting all those gifts, and I have written before about what teachers really want for teacher appreciation (spoiler alert: it’s gift cards).

But I also feel like there can be a middle ground, if you truly want to give a teacher something to acknowledge their hard work (and goodness knows they need all the acknowledgement we can give them).

The solution might be consumables, especially if you know things the teacher likes and uses like lotion or their favorite kind of coffee. Everything Pretty has some ideas for practical gifts you can give for teacher appreciation, some of which are consumables, and all of which sound thoughtful and nice, and not an apple shaped doodad among them.

The Applicious Teacher has another list of things teachers will actually appreciate, and it starts with a personalized note. If you know the teacher enough to get specific about something they’ve done for your child, or your child has said something nice about them, that’s great to include. Even better: get the kid to write or draw something special for that teacher.

I also love the idea that’s in both of these posts to get teachers personalized school supplies, whether that be a notebook, pens, sticky notes, etc. This personalized notepad that looks like notebook paper from Sophias Things on Etsy is super cute and every teacher is sure to love it. I’m not even a teacher and I always want more places to take notes!

If you’re a teacher I’d love to hear what you really like to receive for teacher appreciation gifts!

[Photo: Sophias Things]

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It’s not really that close to Halloween as I write this, but as crafters we’re always looking ahead and spooky season is one of my favorites. If it’s yours, too, or you just like things on the Gothic side, you should enjoy browsing and stitching projects from Ars Onirika on Etsy.

There’s a lot of pop culture inspired designs with a dark twist, from Harry Potter to Beetlejuice, Lord of the Rings to Edgar Allan Poe.

The biggest section of the shop is just called Easy Cross Stitch, but it covers a lot of ground, from text-only designs to stained glass windows, tarot card-inspired designs (I was going to share this one called The Stitcher as it’s relevant to our interests) and a green absinthe fairy.

I decided to talk more about that one instead just because I wanted to call out that while it’s in the easy section, it is labeled more accurately as being an intermediate design, so check those skill levels if you’re a newer stitcher. This one measures 122 to 169 stitches, which comes out to 8.7 by 12.12 inches or 22.2 by 30.8 cm on 14 count fabric. The pattern notes don’t say how many colors it uses, but it looks like a lot. This would be a great one to make for lovers of Art Nouveau or who have a fancy bar.

You’ll also find a large section of medieval and gothic designs, which includes lots of designs inspired by medieval artwork; a fantasy and magic section, filled with Harry Potter designs, fairies, Outlander and more; and classic art patterns, which is pretty much what it sounds like.

There are also alphabets and samplers you can use to make your own projects, a few literary samplers, and a set of Victorian cat designs you can personalize with your cat’s name.

If any of that piques your interest, you should definitely head over to Ars Onirika at Etsy and browse through their designs. Let me know if you see something you like!

[Photo: Ars Onirika]

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