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50 Best Christmas Gifts for Students
The holiday season is upon us, and it’s time to start thinking about Christmas gifts for students. Whether it’s your first year teaching, or you’re a veteran teacher, a great gift list with inexpensive gift ideas is always much appreciated.
Student gifts under a classroom Christmas tree is a great way to get kids excited for Christmas time. From a handwritten note and coupon books to little treats and a fun pencil, your elementary students will be grateful any of these holiday gifts.
Best Ideas for Inexpensive Gifts to Students
I asked the teachers inside the Teachers on a Budget FB Group what they give their students as a Christmas present, or end of year gift. The perfect gift for a lot of students, while on a limited budget, can seem difficult this time of the year. However, it doesn’t have to be. If you get creative, you can make a little bit go a long way. A lot of these fun ideas are a great price when you buy in bulk, and turn out to be the best gifts.
- Experience Gift coupons (see below for examples)
- Lead a directed drawing on canvas boards. Let the kids keep it or give it to parents as a gift
- 1.00 Books from Scholastic
- Make a class coloring book. Take pictures of the kids doing their favorite things. Then, use a picture app (colorscape) to turn them into coloring sheets. Give with a pack of crayons.
- Multi-Colored Ball Point Pens with a Candy Bar
- A clear ornament filled with m&m’s
- Christmas Bookmark Rulers
- Magic Scratch tied up with a ribbon and candy cane
- Scented markers – each kid gets 2-3 tied up with a ribbon.
- Invisible Ink Pens
- Winter stretchy gloves
- Fleece scarves
- Class exchange: everyone brings in a wrapped $5.00 gift, then all the kids get to pull a gift from under the tree
- Homemade chocolate dipped pretzel rods. Print cute labels, and wrap them in cellophane. These also make simple parent gifts from the teacher. My sweet friend, Jeannine, used to make these for her students and us teachers. We loved them!
- Books from FirstBook
- Sensory toys
- Make gingerbread ornaments
- Stackable Gingerbread Pencils
- Reindeer Book Buddies from Oriental Trading
- Christmas Pop-it Keychains
- Mini Pop-It Keychains
- Pop-it Letter KeyChains
- A Christmas card with a hand written note wishing them a Merry Christmas, and letting them know they’ve come such a long way. Sometimes a simple note can be the perfect present.
- .Pop-it bracelets
These are all great inexpensive gift ideas for kids of all ages. If you have a tight budget, remember more isn’t always better. Like I said above with the Christmas card and hand written note…sometimes smaller goes a long way. The kids truly just want to know you care about them. What are some of the most memorable gifts you received as a student?
Great Christmas Gift Ideas for Students
- Mini playdoh with a letter cookie cutter for the first letter of their name
- Sensory bag with dry ingredients for hot cocoa, mini marshmallows, and a candy cane. A sensory bag could be a cellophane bag filled with Christmas colored pom-poms and a sensory toy.
- Small stuffed animals or Beanie Babies (buy a bag of gently used from a garage sale)
- Small fleece blankets
- Craft pencil bags from amazon and fill it with Christmas pencils, erasers, candy, etc.
- Reindeer noses
- Crayons and Coloring books
- Stockings and have the kids bring stocking stuffers to pass out.
- Personalized Water Bottles
- Classroom Board Games
- MadLibs
- Personalized ornaments
- Fill a stocking with chapstick, candy bars, and a fidget toy
- Mugs from the Dollar Store filled with packet of hot chocolate mix and a candy cane (Personalized if you have a Cricut)
- Fuzzy socks
- Art Kits from amazon or a local craft store
- White playdoh and snowman kits
- Sticker Books
- Green playdoh with sequence, and mini pom-poms to decorate a tree
- Personalized Pencils
- Dry erase boards from your local Dollar Store or visit Home Depot and have them cut 8×11 melamine boards
- A mini stocking filled with a waterpaint set
These would also be a great option for younger kids to get their best friend a fun gift during this Winter holiday.
Great Experience Gifts for Students
Another great student gift is to give them an experience coupon. Simply type out the experiences on different colors of card stock, and attach a candy cane. There is a good chance, after Winter break, both you and the students will appreciate this little break. Even the older kids, in middle school and high school, will appreciate an experience coupon. It’s a free, easy gift to end the year on a positive note.
- Hat day
- Stuffed animal day
- Homework pass
- Wear slippers to school
- Free time
- Switch Your Seat
- Play or lead a game at the end of the day
- Choose something from the bucket of craft supplies
- Read a book or recite a fun poem to another class or the principal
- 10 minutes of drawing time
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of ideas for Christmas gifts to students from the teacher. There are great deals that often last through the end of the year.
What do you think their favorite gift will be? Hopefully, when they are home enjoying Christmas eve with their whole family, they will remember your little gift and it will bring them joy. Now, if only we could bottle that joy until the end of the school year.
Before you go, here are more posts you will enjoy:
25 Fun Christmas poems for kids
55 Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids
Fun Classroom Party Ideas for Christmas
Gift Ideas for Student Teachers
