Gifts for Teachers

A Thank-You for the Teachers' Lounge

Teaching takes patience, nerves of steel and a truly impressive amount of coffee. Our teacher designs celebrate the job with humor: red pens, stacks of grading, recess duty and the same question answered for the tenth time today. They make great end-of-year gifts, thank-yous from the whole class, birthday surprises and congratulations for new teachers who just finished student teaching.

If a whole class or a group of parents is chipping in, pair the gift with a card signed by the kids – teachers often keep those for years. Choose a line they'd happily laugh at in front of colleagues, and skip anything that knocks learning itself. When you don't know someone's size, a relaxed, comfortable fit is the safest bet. That's also why a lot of classes go with a mug: it fits everyone, lives on the desk or in the teachers' lounge, and quietly reminds them of a special group of students long after the school year ends.