Gift-giving is a great way to show your appreciation for someone, and it’s even more meaningful when the gift you give is handmade. Whether it’s for a teacher or parent, giving something made with love is always a good gift.
Making homemade gifts gives students an opportunity to get creative and express their gratitude in a unique way that doesn’t require spending lots of money. From cards to keychains, there are endless possibilities when it comes to creating thoughtful presents that teachers and parents alike can appreciate.
In this article, we’ll explore some simple yet heartfelt gifts students can make for teachers and parents.
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Gifts Teachers and Parents Will Love
Tile Coasters
Plain, white tiles are the perfect canvas for handmade gifts students can make for parents and teachers! Have them paint an intricate design or a picture of their choosing, or splatter paint the tiles for unique, one-of-a-kind looks!
Place a square of felt on the bottom of each tile to protect the surface and use ModPodge to seal the tile after painting.
Decorated Chocolate Bars
Looking for cute and tasty gifts students can make? Use a chocolate bar as your canvas!
Wrap white construction or copy paper around the bar to make a new wrapper (don’t take off the foil!) and decorate it to look like a snowman, reindeer, bouquet of flowers, and more! The sky is the limit!
Keychains
Handmade keychains make for a simple yet meaningful gift to give to parents and teachers. Not only are they easy to make with basic crafting materials, but they can also be personalized with special messages or images that reflect the recipient’s interests and passions.
From colorful beads and charms to personal photos, there are endless possibilities when it comes to customizing these easy and practical gifts.
Ornaments
Ornaments always hold a special place in a parent’s heart, so they make the perfect gift! You can even have students make them for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day if you want!
Here are three ornament ideas that we love that use clear ornaments that you can buy in bulk.
1 – Pom Pom Ornaments
Pom Pom ornaments are easy and fun to make. They’re also great fine motor skills practice!
Simply have students place different colored pom poms into a clear ornament, hot glue the lid on, and tie a ribbon on top.
The pom poms can be any color, so get ones for an upcoming holiday, a parent/teacher’s favorite color, or even the colors of a favorite sports team!
2 – Ribbon Ornaments
Ribbon ornaments take a record of how tall the child was when they made the ornament.
Use curling ribbon to measure the child’s height. Cut the length and place it in the clear ornament. Tie a ribbon on top and include a note about the ribbon being a reminder of how tall the child was when they made it.
3 – Fingerprint Ornaments
From fingerprint snowmen to fingerprint butterflies, ornaments that feature a child’s fingerprints are always super cute and have a ton of sentimental value.
4 – Puzzle Ornaments
Spray paint puzzle pieces green (before bringing them in for your class) and have students glue the pieces together to form a wreath or frame. Decorate with a tiny ribbon bow and write the year on the back.
5 – Photo Ornaments
Take individual pictures of your students posing or jumping. Print the photos and cut out each child. If students are old enough, they can cut out their own image. Glue the photos to a pre-made, store-bought ornament (think Walmart or the Dollar Store).
6 – Pony Bead Ornaments
Go old school and make some pipe cleaner and pony bead ornaments for families. Use red and white beads to make a candy cane or multi-colored beads to make a star.
7 – Salt Dough Ornaments
Even more old school than pony bead ornaments, salt dough ornaments (just salt and flour!) are an elementary school staple. Make shapes, handprints, or whatever you want!
8 – Make Gnomes
These little gnome ornaments are perfect for working on fine motor skills and they’re absolutely adorable (and inexpensive!).
9 – Borax Snowflake Ornaments
Turn ornament-making into a science lesson and make some borax crystal snowflake ornaments for your students’ families.
10 – Paint Swirl Ornaments
Get clear plastic ball ornaments. Let students choose the colors of paint they’d like to see inside and have them squirt a few drops in. Put the top back on and spin the ornaments to coat the inside with paint. You could even add their name or the year in vinyl on the outside of the ornament.
Candy Cups
Have students make cups of candy goodness! Using a clear, plastic cup with a lid, fill the cup about 1/2 way with different types of wrapped candy and lollipops.
Put the lid on and, instead of a straw, put a pencil or pen in the top! It’s a cute gift that teachers and parents can use and will enjoy!
Cards
Creating handmade cards is a great way for students to express their appreciation for teachers and parents. With a few simple materials, crafty students can create cards that are both sentimental and unique.
Here are some ideas for heartfelt homemade cards.
1. Pop-up card: Students can make pop-up cards with a variety of images, such as flowers, animals, or even their own artwork.
2. Photo collage: Students can make a collage of photos of themselves and their teacher/parents to show how much they appreciate them.
3. Handwritten letter or poem: Students can write a heartfelt letter or poem expressing how much they appreciate their teachers and parents. Acrostic poems are always great for this because students aren’t as intimidated by the idea of writing them as they are other types of poetry.
Holiday Photos
Use a green screen as your backdrop and snap photos of your students during pajama day. Edit it to add a Christmas-y fireplace background to the photo. Print them out and have students create a cardstock frame around the picture that’s decorated with markers, stickers, and more.
Silhouette Images
Trace your students’ profiles and use a Cricut or a pair of sharp scissors to cut out the image on black cardstock. Add to an inexpensive frame and you have a beautiful silhouette image that families will cherish. Be sure to add the year!
Painted Rocks
Have students paint cartoon faces on small river rocks. They’re great for paperweights and just for decoration!
Snow Globes
The Dollar Store usually has inexpensive plastic snow globes for crafts around the holidays. Grab enough for your students and make a snow globe for families! Take a picture of each student as they pose like they’re trying to break out of a snow globe. Have the pictures printed and cut out the image of each child. Laminate the pictures. Hot glue the image to the inside lid of the snow globe, fill it with water and glitter, and you have a fun desktop gift for families.
Alternate Idea: If you don’t want to use an actual snow globe, you can make a snow globe from contact paper and make it into a magnet. Place the child’s photo on a piece of contact paper, add snow shapes or glitter around them, add a “base” cut out from construction paper, place another sheet of contact paper on top, and then cut everything out in a snow globe shape. Add a magnet strip to the back.
Handmade Calendars
Have students color or draw 12 pictures. Scan them or glue them onto calendar pages for the new year. Bind them with yarn or string or, if you’re fancy, plastic binding!
Homemade Sugar Scrub
Sugar scrub is easy and inexpensive to make. Your students can leave it unscented, or if there are no allergies to them in your classroom, you could add a drop of essential oils.
Chore Coupon Books
Make coupon books of chores and tasks (i.e. – do the dishes, take out the trash, watch a movie together, etc.) for students to cut out and sign. Gather them together and staple them, or make a booklet with ribbon.
Tie Fleece Blankets
With just two fleece rectangles and a little patience, students can create soft, knotted-edge blankets by hand. It’s a great, quiet activity, perfect for small group work or buddy projects—and a warm, practical gift for someone special.
Handprint Lazy Susan (Functional + Cute!)
Using a simple Lazy Susan from the craft store or IKEA, decorate the top with student handprints in a circle, like a wreath. Parents can use it at home and be reminded of their child’s little hands every time they spin it around.
Soup or Bean Mix Gift Jars
Layer dry beans or soup mix ingredients in a mason jar and tie a ribbon around the top. Add a small printed recipe card and a festive tag from the student for a gift that warms both the belly and the heart.
Mod Podge Fabric Plates
Flip a clear plate upside down and use Mod Podge to adhere seasonal fabric to the bottom. Glass plates work beautifully, but plastic ones are great for younger students. Once dry, it becomes a cute decorative plate that families can use year after year.
Mini Bow-Painted Canvases with Photos
Use 4×6 canvases or similar-sized art boards and stamp them with red and green bows dipped in paint. Add a holiday photo of the student and frame the piece with a few rhinestones or glitter. Add a magnet to the back to turn it into a fridge-ready treasure.
Handmade gifts are a great way to show your appreciation for teachers and parents. Not only do they make meaningful, lasting presents that demonstrate thoughtfulness, but they’re also creative outlets that allow students to express their individual personalities through art or craft projects.
Whether you opt to create something like keychains or personalized cards – there is no limit on the type of handmade gift ideas you can come up with! With just a little bit of time and effort, both teachers and parents will have a gift they love for years to come.
