Welcome to guest post week here at Baby Cheapskate. This guest post is by Ashley of Frugal Coupon Living.

Teachers take such great care of our kids that we want to give them gifts that say we appreciate the love and learning they provide throughout the year. However, depending on how many teachers your child or children represent, this can get very expensive. And you may feel like you’re constantly trying to come up with something else fun, new, creative and yes, inexpensive.

Seasonal Gift Ideas
Beginning of the Year Gifts
So much of classroom resources come out of the teacher’s pocket. I was always grateful of the parents who helped me out with supplies in the start of the year. These items will go on $1 sales at the office supply stores at the end of the summer – get some for the kids and a few extras for the classroom! Walmart has an adorable stationary/school line of binders, folders, dividers etc from Carolina Pad. They tend to stay below $6 in value.

Winter Holiday Gifts
December is a great time for a small gift. Just a small token of appreciation is nice, such as a holiday-smelling candle that you’ve personalized with the teacher’s vinyl initial. You may be able to find these at a local craft store or someone you know who does personalization. Or, get a Starbucks gift card – $5 buys one drink. Pair that with a mug (personalized, if possible) and some homemade goodies for a nice little thoughtful gift. For a slightly larger gift, place popcorn, hot chocolate, a warm blanket (find a $5 one at Walmart) and a small movie store gift card in a basket (from the $1 store) and call it a movie basket. Or, if you’re very crafty, make an easy apron out of some fun holiday fabric for them to wear while they’re enjoying baking during the season.

End of the Year Gifts
Most parents want to give their teachers something that really shows how much they’ve appreciated them throughout the year. But, it can get very expensive! Some ways to cut down on this expense are to go in on gifts with a close friend who also has a child in your child’s class or to organize a class gift. With everyone donating $5-$10, you can put together some nice large gifts for your teachers.

• The Big Gift: One possible idea is to create a theme that matches the teacher. For example, choose the theme of gardening. Some families might pick up a spade, flower seed packets, gardening gloves, etc. Others might not have a chance to run to the store and might donate $5 to $10 per student. The home room parent (or you) puts this money together and grabs a gift card to a home improvement store. Place all these freebies in a large tin bucket (see if you can get a vinyl letter to monogram and personalize). Perhaps even a student or two can decorate a cute flower pot. One year, my parents put together a spa package for me. I had PJs, a nice little tote, and a gift card to our local spa. That was very much appreciated.
• The Crafty Home Made Gift: A fellow teacher of mine once got a mosaic bench for her garden. Each child donated some money ($5 to $10) toward the concrete bench and each child made a square tile. A crafty parent put it all together. Other craft gifts include a pot of flowers – not any flowers but decorative flowers you would find at your craft store. Attach these flowers to pens with green flower tape and the teacher has a bouquet she can use all year around. Another student made a fellow teacher of mine a notepad. She decorated the front page and her parents took the cover to Kinkos where they created notepad for her.
• Photo Gifts: Make a fun gift with the class picture from any of the photo sites that offer freebies or deeply discounted items (Snapfish, Kodak, Shutterfly, etc). Get the whole class to go in on this one or pair it with a gift card to their favorite store (everyone loves Target!) for an added bonus.

Other Ways to Give

Utilizing your Freebies
It is perfectly fine to put free items into your gifts. I tend to add a couple additions to make the basket friendly. I have gotten free to very cheap brownie mixes at the store and made them for my child’s teachers to remind them that I appreciate them. Another time, around spring, I took some $1 tin buckets from Target and added a bunch of Easter candy freebies inside the bucket, tied it with ribbon and filled it with Easter grass from my gift closet. Don’t forget to utilize Vista Print and other free resources for personalized tote bags, note pads, business cards, stationary, etc. Teachers love these!

Pay it Forward
What you consider junk might not be to a teacher. Three pay it forward gifts I got that I simply loved were a rocking chair, label maker and a digital camera. I took pictures every week of my students to my parents could see what was going on. Also, would your teacher rather you donate to a cause in their name? Donating to local, national, or international charities has lasting effect and the charities usually provide the donor (your teacher) with updates throughout the year. All in all, consider yourself. What would a token of appreciation look like to you? What would you absolutely love to do for yourself one day or even for five minutes? What have you seen at the local specialty store that was absolutely adorable but you had no reason to buy it for? Shop year around and be creative. It really doesn’t have to be expensive!

Ashley finds and writes about deals on her website Frugal Coupon Living. A former fifth grade teacher, turned stay at home mom, she enjoys using her blog to ‘teach’ others about saving money!

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