Are you shopping for a teacher in your life this year? Now, more than ever, teachers need to be shown a little extra love, support, and kindness. Between learning new virtual teaching techniques, juggling new roles, and trying to avoid falling ill, this has been an incredibly difficult year for educators. In this post, you’ll find teacher gift ideas from an actual teacher!
(Psst! Need more teacher gift ideas? Check out this blog post: How to Give Teachers Time and Money This Holiday!)
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.
Teacher Gift Ideas for the Virtual Educator
Know a teacher who is hybrid or virtual teaching? Nearly every educator is learning new technology this year and having to teach at least partially virtually.
I’m personally teaching hybrid–half of my class is in person and the other half is virtual at the same time.
Teaching online in any capacity means doing a lot of juggling. Why not make the task a little easier or a little bit more fun with some of these:
Blue Light Blocking Glasses
When I first started teaching using the hybrid model, I had a headache every single day. That is until I started using blue-light filtering glasses.
These glasses reduce the light that causes eye strain to the eyes, meaning the extra hours of screen time hurt a little bit less. If your teacher friend is struggling with feeling depleted or having terrible headaches from all the extra screen time, then these will be the perfect stocking stuffer.
Single-sided Headset
Hybrid teaching means that I need to be able to see and hear my in-person and virtual students simultaneously–and they need to hear me.
My school bought us all some wonderful Bluetooth headphones, but they turned out to work too well: the noise-canceling technology meant I couldn’t hear any of my in-person kids!
This led to wearing my headphones at a weird angle or holding them up to my face for ninety minutes. Cue even more headaches!
Try this headset for your teacher friends instead. The single headphone will allow an educator to listen to his or her class and an online classroom simultaneously. The microphone will also make sure that students can hear the lesson.
Gaming Office Chair
Now that I’m delivering all of my lessons, prepping lessons, meeting with parents, and attending staff meetings through a screen, I’m sitting down all day. The cast off office chair I received from a coworker who got it from her predecessor just isn’t working any more.
No matter how I adjust my terrible hand-me-down chair, nothing is comfortable after eight hours straight of sitting.
But you know who has office comfort down to a science? Gamers!
Chairs built for endless days of gaming are perfect for educators who now find themselves unexpectedly living in their office.
With plush seats, adjustable armrests, and the smoothest wheels, this gaming office chair is perfect for the virtual teacher in your life. They just may never want to leave work!
Cute Mouse
Teachers have always been a sucker for cute classroom decor. There’s no reason this trend should stop just because teaching looks a little different now.
This cute mouse will give your teacher friend the control he or she needs while putting a smile on his or her face. (And if this doesn’t suit his or her personality they have even more styles!)
Teacher Gift Ideas for the In-person Educator
While virtual teaching’s no joke, in-person teachers are facing different hazards. Students are still students, but the risks are higher. Help them get through their curriculum while staying safe.
Face Mask
What stocking would be complete this year without a face mask? Try finding one that speaks to your teacher’s personality.
Hand Sanitizer and Touchless Dispenser
Even without a pandemic, teachers have a hard time keeping hand sanitizer in supply. (I can’t speak for everyone, but I often catch my students using it to clean their cell phone screens!)
Worse, teachers are pretty much expected to pay for sanitizer out of their own wallets. Do them a favor and give them some hand sanitizer so they can skip the Walgreen’s run this month.
To make this gift a little more exciting (and useful!) add in a touchless hand sanitizer dispenser.
Now your teacher friend won’t have to share a bottle with 100 germy students!
Teacher Gift Ideas for the Anxious Educator
Teachers are already a neurotic bunch at the best of times. Never before have I seen anxiety in educators like this though. Everyone is scared. No one knows what to do.
Even those who excel at self-care are struggling.
Help your anxious teacher friend with some of these nifty goodies.
Weighted Blanket
The heaviness of a weighted blanket is designed to calm and soothe anxiety. They basically feel like big, warm hugs. Who wouldn’t want one?
Let the teachers in your life finally shake off their anxiety when they crawl into bed and underneath this super cozy blanket.
USB Diffuser
Have a teacher friend who loves essential oils? This diffuser is small enough to take on the go and plugs directly into a USB port.
I have one myself and I run it often. The output isn’t much, so I can aim it directly at myself without having to deal with students complaining about the “weird smell” coming from my desk.
(They just have no appreciation for oils, do they?)
Doterra is my favorite essential brand, but there are plenty of great ones out there. Lavender is known for its calming quality; a bottle of lavender with one of these cute diffusers would make a perfect gift!
Yoga Mat
I, personally, have never done so much yoga in my life as I have this year! Yoga is a great way to calm down the body. It forces us to slow down and just breathe–something a lot of us teachers need to be doing way more often right now.
For the perfect gift, pair a cute yoga mat like this with a subscription to the Down Dog Yoga App.
Teacher Gift Ideas for the Health-conscious Educator
There’s always that one teacher who’s getting their steps and eating carrot sticks during their lunch break. This year, though, even more teachers are (or should be!) prioritizing their health.
Plus, with more and more of us educators sitting all day long, the body stiffness is real!
I am that teacher that weighs out their food for the week on Sunday and races to the gym in the morning before work, so this is really just my own wishlist:
Fitbit Scale
Getting a Fitbit for Christmas is so two years ago, but did you know that Fitbit has body scales now?!
They’re super cool! They use your Fitbit data to track your weigh-ins, BMI, and body composition. If your teacher friend is also an athlete who loves geeking out over data, this would be a fantastic gift!
Headphones
I just don’t understand how anyone can work out with those little earbuds. If I work up any kind of sweat at all, they fall right out!
Instead, both my fiance and I wear these headphones. Even though they’re not a recognizable name brand, they’ve held up through some grueling workouts and a couple of years.
They sit on our heads nicely and don’t move whether I’m running, bench pressing, or squatting.
Plus, unlike the stupidly small earbuds, these are so big that no one will talk to you at the gym, which is exactly how this introvert likes it.
My fiance and I wear ours beyond working out too. We wear them while cleaning, while walking the dog, while doing chores….
Sometimes even when we’re doing those things together! (Have you ever heard of a more romantic arrangement for introverts in love?)
Audible Subscription
Ok, at first this may not seem like a health investment, but hear me out: as I said, I wear my headphones all the time.
But it’s not because I love headgear. It’s because I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks!
I look forward to my runs and gym time. Why? Definitely not because I enjoy working out (it’s hard and way too sweaty). But I love, love, love learning and listening to stories. Time flies by when you’re listening to a great story, even if you’re doing deadlifts.
An audible subscription will keep your teacher friend fueled with great literature for their workouts, zen time, or commute. It’s really the perfect gift for any kind of teacher!
Catalina Crunch
I freakin’ love carbs; who doesn’t? They’re not always kind to our hips, however….
Over the summer, I developed a weird craving for cereal that just wouldn’t go away… until I discovered Catalina Crunch! Now, I’m obsessed.
With the Catalina Crunch cereal, you can give your teacher friend the gift of late-night cereal without the guilt!
The macros are fantastic and it’s super yummy, too! If your friend likes dark, dark chocolate then their chocolate or chocolate banana is the way to go. Otherwise, their cinnamon toast is also fantastic.
The portion sizes are still on the small end (at least for this ravenous eater), so I recommend pairing it with lots of fruit or using the cereal as a topping for yogurt, oatmeal, or even Halo Top ice cream. Yum!
Other Teacher Gift Ideas
Hopefully, this helped you find some great teacher gift ideas for the educator in your life.
