Gift Card Girlfriend | Thank You Teacher

Thank You Teacher

My sister Paige is a school teacher. She says teachers love to receive gift cards and particularly enjoy the following:

Target, Wal-Mart, Staples and other places to buy school supplies

Book and music stores

Salons or spas for a little pampering

Specialty hot or cold beverage stores.

Don’t forget office staff, janitors, aides, and other educators who help care for your children throughout the school year.

Group Teacher Gift

Get Inspired: The group gift is a standard for teacher appreciation week because parents can all contribute a little bit of money to make a big difference. I saw this teacher gift card tree in Family Fun Magazine, but wanted to take it up a notch in creativity and down a peg in effort.

Get the full instructions on my blog post.

Apple for Teacher

Get Inspired: Pair an Applebee’s Gift Card with a Scrabble Apple game, a delectable apple butter or strudel, or make a homemade apple pie. (Any gift card works when attached to the Apple-shaped game).

If you have a little more money to spend, get an Apple Store gift card. But note, it’s not the same as an iTunes gift card.

Thanks for the Helping Hands

Get Inspired: Get a gift card for a manicure or to a bath and body shop. Attach it to an oven mitt, pair of gloves or mittens, or a bottle of hand sanitizer.
Tell your teacher you appreciate the helping hand she gives your children. Or say, “I know my kid can be a handful–thanks for being his teacher.”

Bookstore Gift Card

Get Inspired: Amazon is a perfect gift card for teachers. They can order anything from books or classroom supplies to personal items.

Pair this apple-themed gift card from Amazon with the Scrabble Apple game shown above. Deliver it with a book to add to the teacher’s classroom library or have the kids make homemade bookmarks.

Tuck a Gift Card Inside

Get Inspired: Tuck a gift card inside a book. It can be one for younger children to read and add to the classroom library such as Teacher Appreciation or it can be a book for the teacher to read on her own.

Make at set of labels for the teacher to put inside the books that are part of his or her classroom library.

Smart Start

Get Inspired: Attach a gift card to a bag of Smarties, Smart Water, Smart food or any of the other food products labeled “Smart” on the market.

Write, “Thanks for giving my kids a Smart Start on life.”
“Thanks teaching my Smarties!”
“Thanks for putting up with my Lil’ Smarty Pants!”

Classroom Gift Card

Get Inspired: At GiftCards.com, you can create a Personalized Gift Card.
Select a class picture or a great picture of the teacher working with the children. Upload and create a gift card she can use and cherish at the same time.

Extreme Thanks

Get Inspired: My daughter’s teacher has gone to the extremes to help her out this year (5th grade camp!).

I want her to know how much I appreciate it. I’m thinking I’ll pair a gift card with Xtreme Sours candy (she’s a young teacher, she’ll appreciate it!) and write, “Thanks for going to the Xtreme!”

You’re a Lifesaver!

Get Inspired: Got an outdoorsy or adventuresome teacher? Get a gift card to a water-themed place such as Bass Pro Shops or Legoland Aquarium. (Actually, any gift card will work.)

Tie the gift card to Lifesaver candy and write, “Thanks for being such a life saver this year!”

Thanks for your Thyme

Get Inspired: Attach a gift card for books, entertainment or the movies to a bottle of thyme or a fresh thyme plant. Express appreciation for the “thyme” spent with your children. The gift card will give her a way to enjoy her free “thyme” over the break.

If the teacher likes to cook, get a cooking store gift card instead. If you can’t find “thyme,” get a small clock or timer the teacher can use in the classroom.

Apron filled with Love (and Gift Cards!)

Get Inspired: Get an apron and have parents pin gift cards and recipes to the apron. Pack the pockets with treats, seasonings, or more gift cards.

Though I’ve seen this idea with kid hand stamp aprons, today’s teacher might enjoy something a little trendier. Just a thought.

Food for Thought

Get Inspired: This is an idea from the Thank You Coach page, but it works well for teachers too.
Print a class photo and use the computer to add an inspiring quote. Frame it up and give it to the teacher along with a restaurant gift card.

Add one great quote or print several quotes from the students.

A few of my favorite teacher quotes are:

“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth.’” ~Dan Rather

“In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.” ~Jacques Barzun