We are right in the middle of the holiday season, arguably the busiest (and most expensive) time of the year. 

This season can feel stressful, as we quickly find ourselves running out of both time and money. 

Even so, we want to give our students a little something to show how much we care for them. To help you, I’m sharing gift ideas that won’t break your bank and don’t take a lot of time and energy. 

Keep your sanity intact with these easy gift ideas!

10 Easy & Inexpensive Student Gift Ideas

The Classic Santa Hat With A Twist

When it comes to inexpensive gifts, all you really need is a dollar store and a bit of creativity. 

Buy each student a Santa hat and write their name on it with glitter puff paint! 

Students love anything that has their name on it, and you’ll love the fact that no one can say, “I lost my present!” 

Bonus, these hats make for a great class photo. 

Words Of Encouragement 

After Thanksgiving break, have each of your students write something they like about their classmates. 

Turn these words of encouragement into a collage or letter and print them out for your students. They will love seeing what their classmates said about them. 

Bonus, write a note from yourself too! 

Classroom Coupons

Students love nothing more than “getting away” with something. You can help them do that by giving them classroom coupons. 

Classroom coupons can be for simple things like:

• Sit next to a friend.
• First in line.
• 10 minutes of free time.
• First choice of centers.

Or you can make the coupons a bit of a bigger deal with things like:

• 5 or 10 points on an assessment. 
• No homework for a day.

You can make this as high stakes or low stakes as you want. Whatever you choose, your students will love feeling like they are “getting away” with something. 

Personalized Calm-Down Jars

We’ve all seen different versions of a calm-down jar. They are super easy to make and with some smaller containers, you can make one for each of your students. 

All you need is water, glitter, glue, and jars for each student. 

Make them personal by writing their name on the lid!

The Gift Of A Story

You can find cheap stories at the dollar store that your students will LOVE. 

Make them super special by wrapping them and personalizing them with their names.

Snowman Soup – A Classic For A Reason

I think we can safely say that most of our students enjoy hot chocolate. 

Send your students home with a Ziploc bag of snowman soup! 

There are different versions available online, but the easiest way to make it is with hot chocolate mix, marshmallows, and candy canes. 

Lego Brick Crayons

You’ve been in school for a few months and all of your students’ beautiful crayons that they started the year with have somehow turned into smaller versions of themselves. 

Make it part of the plan by taking those crayon pieces and melting them into a lego brick mold. 

Now students have “fun” crayons and you don’t have to deal with little pieces anymore!

A Personalized Ornament

Go to the nearest store and buy a pack of simple ball ornaments. 

Then use a gold or silver sharpie to write their name and a “Love Ms./Mrs. —-”.

Students will LOVE how personal this is, and you’ll love how little time it takes!

Treat Tags – The Options Are ENDLESS

I made my Treat Tags as an easy way to create gifts for your students.

All you have to do is decide what tag you are printing and buy the treat that matches it! 

Some of my tags are for food treats, like bananas, grapes, raisins, and goldfish.

Other tags are for pencils, water bottles, and more! 

Click on the photo for more information and to pick up your copy now.

No matter what you choose for your students, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make it perfect. 

At the end of the day, your students just want what we all want, to feel loved and appreciated. 

What are you giving your students this year? I’d love to hear!

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