Christmas Gifts for Teachers That Leave the Classroom

By the last week before winter break, a teacher's desk can hold a small mountain of gifts: mugs, hand lotion, gift cards, ornaments and a surprising number of things with apples on them. A good teacher gift is for the person who goes home at four o'clock, not for the classroom, and it comes with something the student made or wrote.

This guide starts with the school's gift policy, then the note that costs nothing, gifts at three budgets and a class gift for several families to share.

Check the school's gift policy first

In Colorado, Boulder Valley and 27J Schools in Brighton both publish a written rule about gifts to staff among their school board policies, under the code GBEBC. The 27J policy, adopted in 2021, says staff "shall not accept gifts from students except as such gifts represent tokens," and calls letters of gratitude from students appropriate. It sets no dollar figure and does not define a token. A reasonable reading is something small that is clearly a thank-you rather than a payment.

Boulder Valley's policy discourages gifts from students and uses the Colorado law figure for substantial value, currently a face value of more than $75. The same kind of rule usually sits among the board policies of the school's own district, and that is the place to look before buying.

The part that costs nothing

A note in the student's own handwriting is the part of the gift that is theirs, and it is the kind of letter the 27J policy calls appropriate. The Emily Post Institute's advice on notes is that a handwritten note is warmer and more personal than a call or an email, and that it can be brief. For a young child, one sentence and a drawing are enough. For an older student, three sentences: what they learned, one moment from the term, and thank you.

Give the note a good card. Ladyfingers Letterpress, based in Colorado Springs, makes a "Thanks for Putting Up with My Kid" letterpress card (shop the Thanks for Putting Up with My Kid card) for the parent's line, and the student can write inside.

Token gifts, under $15

When the policy asks for a token, a small food gift fits: it gets used up and takes no room at home.

• A Dick Taylor brown butter bar: 73 percent Northerner Blend dark chocolate infused with browned Humboldt Creamery butter and finished by hand with roasted cacao nibs and sea salt (shop the Dick Taylor brown butter bar).
• Bee Squared Apiaries orange blossom honey, a varietal honey with a citrus flavor from a Colorado-based apiary, in a 12-ounce squeeze bottle (shop Bee Squared orange blossom honey), for stirring into a cup of tea at home.

Either one with the card comes to $17.50 to $18 at listed prices.

A tin of tea, about $31 to $35

Tea suits a teacher who talks all day, and a pot at home marks the end of it. A 100-gram canister holds about 40 cups of 200 milliliters at the brewing amount on the label.

• Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël, a festive black tea scented with mild Christmas spices and pieces of cinnamon, almond and apple, in a 100-gram canister (shop Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël).
• Mariage Frères Casablanca, a blend of black and green tea with mint and bergamot that works hot or iced (shop Mariage Frères Casablanca), for a teacher who does not take spice.

For other teas, see the tea collection.

A notebook that is not for grading, about $25

Teachers write all day on other people's work. This one is for theirs. The LEUCHTTURM1917 medium hardcover notebook is A5 size, 5.75 by 8.25 inches, with 251 numbered pages, a blank table of contents, two page markers, a gusseted pocket and a thread-bound spine that opens flat (shop the LEUCHTTURM1917 A5 ruled notebook in navy). Add a pen loop, which sticks to the inside back cover so a pen travels with the notebook (shop the LEUCHTTURM1917 pen loop). For other notebooks, see the notebook collection.

A class gift from several families

When room parents collect for one gift from the whole class, the total is larger than any family would give alone, so check the policy and ask the school first. If the school agrees, a gift the teacher would not buy for themselves works well: the notebook, a canister of Esprit de Noël and a bag of Dick Taylor's chocolate coated almonds, organic California almonds coated layer upon layer in 65 percent dark chocolate (shop Dick Taylor chocolate coated almonds). Put every student's signature, or a line from each, in one card.

Teacher gifts by budget

Prices follow the listed price on each product page. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com, and more gift ideas are in the gift boxes collection.

Short answers

What is a good Christmas gift for a teacher? Something for the person rather than the classroom, such as a tin of tea, a good chocolate bar or a notebook, with a handwritten note from the student.

How much should you spend on a teacher gift? 27J Schools in Colorado limits gifts from students to tokens, and Boulder Valley uses the Colorado law figure of more than $75 for substantial value. Check the district's gift policy; a card and a small food gift under $20 is a reasonable reading of token-sized.

Are food gifts good for teachers? Food gifts that are sealed and keep at room temperature get used up rather than stored, which makes them easy to give when the family does not know the teacher's tastes well.

Can a whole class give one gift? That depends on the school. A pooled gift is larger than any one family's, so ask the school or the room parent before collecting.

The tea or the chocolate is the reason to deliver the note.

See also: holiday gifts for nurses, with a break-room box and a small gift for one nurse.

Sources & Further Reading

• 27J Schools: Policy GBEBC, Gifts to and Solicitations by Staff
• Boulder Valley School District: Policy GBEBC, Staff Gifts
• The Emily Post Institute: Complete Guide to Writing Thank You Notes