Thanksgiving is coming up—the season of turkeys, cornucopias, and gratitude. While Thanksgiving gifts for teachers are not expected, you may want to show a teacher friend or your child’s teacher how thankful you are for them with a gift. Whether you’re a room parent, parent, or fellow teacher looking for ideas, here are 36 ways to say thank you this season.
1. Pumpkin pie card holder
Put a coffee, grocery, or movie card into this pumpkin pie card holder and we bet the card holder ends up on display on a fridge somewhere. So adorable!
Buy it: Pumpkin pie card holder downloadable at Etsy
2. Thank-you card
Thank-you cards, handwritten by you or your child, are underrated. All teachers love a note of thanks especially when it’s in a beautiful note card.
Buy it: Thanksgiving card at Etsy
3. Thanksgiving candle
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The personalized note on this candle will make it that much more special. And it smells amazing!
Buy it: Thanksgiving candle at Etsy
4. Handprint art
Bring handprint art into 2023 with this beautiful template. Have your child place their hand in fall-colored paint to complete the template. Then, dry and present.
Buy it: Handprint art template at Etsy
5. Fall-themed gift bag
Print tags and attach to bags filled with fall favorites that you know your teacher will enjoy—cookies, coffee beans, tea bags, the list goes on.
Buy it: Digital download Thanksgiving tags at Etsy
6. Teacher gift box
Give something that will spruce up a teacher’s classroom and make teaching a little more fun. This gift box includes a personalized dry-erase board, markers, and an eraser.
Buy it: Teacher gift box at Etsy
7. Puzzle art
This personalized puzzle piece art can decorate the classroom. With a slight change to the wording, it would make a fantastic gift from the entire class.
Buy it: Puzzle sign at Etsy
8. Thanksgiving candy bar wrapper
These cute candy bar wrappers are a great way to turn ordinary candy bars into inexpensive Thanksgiving gifts for teachers. You can also use them as an addition to a larger gift basket.
Buy it: Candy bar wrappers at Etsy
9. Personalized earrings
If your teacher loves everything personalized, make sure they have personalized earrings, complete with a teacher-inspired design.
Buy it: Personalized earrings at Etsy
10. Planter
This planter is great for a teacher’s desk or windowsill. Print a tag and place it around a planter with a succulent or other plant that’s easy to take care of.
Buy it: Downloadable Tag from Making Joy and Pretty Things
11. Turkey cookies
Turkey cookies will brighten up any teacher’s day, and they can take them home to share with their own family.
Get the recipe: Turkey Cookies Recipe at Practically Homemade
Buy it: Candy Corn and Candy Eyeballs at Amazon
12. Gift basket for the teacher who does extra
For the teachers who give “extra,” tape gum to fabric leaves and use the leaves to fill mini gift baskets. These are Thanksgiving gifts for teachers that young children can help prepare.
Get the tutorial: Life Sew Savory
Buy it: Extra Gum Variety Pack and Mini Woven Baskets at Amazon
13. Pumpkin bread
Pumpkin bread that tastes and smells delicious? Yes, please! Wrap a loaf in a tea towel and top with a gift card to make this a Thanksgiving treat for a favorite teacher.
Get the recipe: Pumpkin bread recipe at Sally’s Baking Addiction
Buy it: Tea towels at Amazon and gift tag at Frugal Coupon Living
14. Teacher-themed spatulas
Thanksgiving is a time for baking. Give a teacher-themed spatula that can be used to scrape a bowl of dough or just be displayed.
Buy it: Teacher spatulas at Amazon
15. Turkey thank-you jar
Here’s another craft that kids can make and gift themselves. Have your child write down all the reasons they are thankful for their teacher, then make a turkey with a small mason jar and candy.
Buy it: Mini mason jars at Amazon
16. Thank you for bee-ing you
A little lip balm goes a long way for teachers who are talking all day long. Tape a tiny tub of lip balm onto a customizable gift card for teachers you know. This is also a great option for a group of teachers.
Buy it: Lip balm gift card at Teachers Pay Teachers and Burt’s Bees Lip Balm at Target
17. Thanksgiving cookie mix
Give the gift of baking—the yummy smells from the oven, the tasty cookies to decorate—with prepared cookie mix and a recipe all in one.
Get the tutorial: Cookie Jar Gift at Lil Luna
Buy it: Mason jars at Amazon
18. “Thanks a Latte” coffee card
Attach a gift card to a Frappuccino and you have an instant gift!
Get the printable: Thanks a Latte Tags from Kinder Craze
Buy it: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino at Amazon
19. Caramel apple cider kit
We can almost smell the caramel apple now! Arrange all the ingredients in a basket with a recipe for caramel apple cider.
Get the tutorial: Caramel Apple Cider Kit at Thirty Handmade Days
Buy it: Wooden Gift Baskets and It’s Fall Y’all Disposable Cups at Amazon; Apple Cider Packets at Target
20. Stovetop simmer spices
Another way to make a teacher’s house smell amazingly delicious and fall-y—an orange, spices, and water.
Get the printable: Spices Tag (Free) at Shaken Together Life
Buy it: Clear Treat Bags at Amazon
21. Thanksgiving soap
These soaps are so cute for a staff bathroom or home bathroom. We always need soap to keep the germs away!
Buy it: Pumpkin soaps at Etsy
22. Mini pies
A personal pie in its own little box for teachers from the PTO or for the other teachers on your list.
Get the tutorial: Thanksgiving Pies at Larissa Another Day
Buy it: Bakery Boxes at Amazon
23. Single slice of pie
For another pie-inspired idea, make individual-slice boxes and gift each teacher a slice to take home or eat at lunch. This would be a great addition to a Thanksgiving-week potluck or PD session.
Get the tutorial: Thanksgiving Pie Slices at Crafting Cheerfully
Buy it: Thanksgiving Scrapbook Paper at Amazon
24. Dipped pretzels
We will never say no to pretzels rolled in chocolate and sprinkles. Salty, check. Sweet, check.
Get the tutorial: Chocolate-Covered Pretzels at Inside Bru Crew Life
Buy it: Pretzel Rod Bags and Thanksgiving Sprinkles at Amazon
25. Wine
Wine, but with a cute thank-you note attached.
Get the printable: Thank-you note at Frugal Coupon Living
26. Hand sanitizer or soap
Hand sanitizer and soap are a classroom staple. Keep your teacher’s classroom stocked and add a cute tag to let them know you appreciate them.
Get the printable: Thankful gift tag at Frugal Coupon Living
Buy it: Pumpkin Harvest Hand Soap at Amazon
27. Teacher to the core
Print these adorable tags and attach to a caramel apple for a cute Thanksgiving take on the apple for the teacher.
Buy it: Awesome to the core tag at Rainy Lain Design
28. School supplies
November is a great time to help teachers refresh their school supplies—they’re running low, but holiday and new year restocking is weeks away. Even better if school supplies come in an adorable school bus package.
Buy it: Sticky note value pack at Amazon
29. Thanks for putting up with my kid candle
If you have, well, that kid, and a good rapport with their teacher, this candle will bring a smile to their face and make them feel appreciated.
Buy it: Thanks for Putting Up With My Kid candle at Etsy
30. Fill your own potholder
These Thanksgiving gifts for teachers are a cute take on the cookie-mix gift. Just put the packages of mix into potholders that have a thank-you note on the front.
Buy it: Potholders at Etsy
31. Teacher off-duty towel
Remind your child’s teacher that holiday breaks are coming soon with a towel that will remind others not to bother them!
Buy it: Teacher Off-Duty towel at Etsy
32. Coffee mug warmer
Heading into the winter, help keep a teacher’s coffee warm with this practical gift.
Buy it: Mug warmer at Amazon
33. Spa box
Did we mention that holiday breaks are coming? This spa box is one way to show a teacher that you recognize their hard work, and they deserve a relaxing afternoon.
Buy it: Spa box at Dear Ava
34. Teacher survival kit
This makeup bag is super cute and could be used for makeup, school supplies, or the miscellaneous things that teachers need throughout the day like bandages, hand sanitizer, and hair bands.
Buy it: Teacher Survival Kit at Amazon
35. Thanksgiving picture book
Teachers are always looking to expand their classroom libraries, and there are some great Thanksgiving picture books out there that aren’t all turkeys and corn. For example, Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf is a story about how a group of people regularly gather in the woods to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Buy it: Thanksgiving in the Woods at Amazon
More books: 29 Diverse and Thoughtful Books for Thanksgiving
36. Personalized leather bookmark
Give a teacher a leather personalized bookmark with their name or a short phrase. The leather smells scrumptious and they’ll be able to come right back to where they left off in the book they’re finally getting to read now that it’s the holiday.
Buy it: Personalized bookmark at Northwest Gifts
Plan ahead with our list of DIY holiday gifts for teachers.
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