Although Christmas gifts for students are not a mandatory part of the job, many teachers enjoy giving their students a little something special before the holidays. I recently posted a question on my Facebook page asking teachers for ideas, and some great ideas were mentioned! Here are some of the ideas that arose from the conversation. Maybe you will find a student gift ideas that you can use in your own classroom!
- a book
- We always have hot chocolate and a movie on the last day before Christmas break.
- My gift to my students is our Christmas party. I buy everything. I don’t ask the parents for anything. We have hot chocolate and a snack while watching the Polar Express in our PJ’s, we make a Christmas craft, and at the end of the day, we have pizza!
- I always give a few Scholastic books that I get with bonus points. My kids love to write. I always buy them a little notepad from the dollar store (3 in a pack for $1.00) and a fun pen. They love it!
- This year I bought ornaments to help a co-worker with her club’s fundraiser. We also do the movie and hot cocoa thing.
- I bought these light-up lava pens for under a dollar each (they are deep blue, purple or red). We also have a pizza party and play the Wright Family, trading new books valued under $5.00. They LOVE this! I order additional Scholastic books throughout the year for those who cannot afford to bring one or who have parents who choose not to buy. In my letter home to parents, I convey that it is not mandatory.
- This year I am giving my first graders “The Gingerbread Man” and attaching a cute gingerbread cookie in a Christmas bag.
- I always give them sweets/chocolates, and sometimes little treats too like mini pencils, erasers, etc.
- I did fleece scarves for my students this year. I made the scarves by purchasing a yard of fleece, then cutting a line to make a 6-inch strip, then cutting the little frayed strip ends. One yard of fabric makes about four scarves. It is super easy because you don’t need to sew them, and fleece does not fray. The students LOVE them!
- I also did fleece scarves for my students. They are 1/4 yard or 9 inches per student. Just lay the fabric out on a large table and use a rotator cutter or scissors. To make the fringe on the bottom cut up approximately 6/7 inch in 1-inch strips. The cost is around $2.00 per kid.
- I found an idea for “Snowman Soup” this year. It is $15 for 25 packages, and I printed the poem/label on card stock at school.
- A $1.00 book from Scholastic with a fun pointer (for Kinder students)
- Books and crayons that I bought before school started when they were cheap!
- Bonus points of free assignment passes
- This year we’ve been playing a lot of card games to learn new math skills, and my second graders love it! So I’m giving each of them a deck of cards ($1 each at the dollar store) and a packet with directions for how to play the games we play at school.
- I do a “Family Gift” – a CD of photos taken each day of the year and an ornament with the child’s picture, and a loot bag for the kids.
- Last year I gave my kids a little set of dominoes from Oriental Trading. They loved them so much, they’re getting another set this year! Oh yes, and a book, of course!
- We are having a Polar Express day. Each first grader is getting a bell necklace. We also have some train whistles. I also purchased a $1.00 book from Scholastic for each child.
- A picture of us all dressed up for Halloween and a pencil
- I buy wooden alphabet blocks and make the famous elf-on-a-block ornaments for my students. Having their initials on the block face makes it personal, too.
Hopefully, if you don’t have an idea yet, this list has helped you out! If you would like to share your ideas for student Christmas gifts, please comment under this post. Happy Holidays!
Are you looking for some fun Christmas ideas to do with your students this holiday season? Check out a couple of free ones HERE.
5 Comments
Such a wealth of ideas! I usually do the scholastic book thing, but this list has got me thinking … 🙂
Only nine more days …
Jen
Runde's Room
I have always gone to Lowes or Home Depot and had a piece of showerboard cut into 1 foot squares. (If you ask a manager, they will usually donate the cuts for free.) I hot glue a ribbon hanger on them and put a dry erase marker on the front with velcro stickers. The students seem to like them and it gives them something to play with during the day.
What fab ideas! We are also watching a Christmas movie as a special treat.
This year I made my class little goodie bags with sweeties, tinsel, an ornament and a winter bookmark for holiday reading!
Thank you for the ideas. Additionally, I have bought class gifts which have been a hit; playground equipment and board games.
I love the elf on a block! Wondering where you get the elf? I usually give my students each a clipboard, I modge podge scrap paper that fits their personality on the back (i.e. soccer kids a soccer print, my girly girls maybe a cute princess crowns) and then I Silhouette their name in a fun print. I clip a book or a little pad of paper and a new pencil to it. Then they can use the clipboards to hold their papers and do scoots.