I have two daughters, and each daughter has two teachers (a teacher and an aide). Each year, on a tight Christmas budget, I try to come up with something different but useful to give as a holiday gift for the teachers.
Since I have a 19 year old in addition to my 9 and 5 year olds, I know the drill when it comes to teacher gifts. There are a lot of great gift ideas in the aisles of Target and WalMart that are inexpensive, lovely to look at, and things you think a teacher would use. But in my mind, I think if I buy that awesome coffee set, the teacher will already have 9 other coffee mugs and she doesn’t drink coffee. If I buy the bath set, she’ll have a house that only has a shower and skin allergies. If I buy the candles, she’ll get 14 other candles that she’ll end up selling at a yard sale in the spring anyway.
I try to find something different.
This is going to be the first post among the Christmas gift ideas that will help you put together a nice, memorable gift – but memorable because it’s something a teacher can use!
This year, it’s Pasta Night baskets! While browsing the aisles of my local Michael’s craft store, I found these items in their dollar clearance section. The gift I’m making includes four pasta bowls, a bag of tri-color pasta, coasters, four placemats, and a set of paper napkin rings. The items are going to be put into a colander that I found in the Dollar Store. Viola! Pasta Night gift basket for $12 per teacher!
Our Michael’s had a variety of four of five different patterns – we purchased the set above for the teacher, and the set below for the aides:
It provides a quick meal on a busy night during the holidays for the teacher, as well as a colorful gift for your child to give. If you want to upsize, you can add some Italian seasonings, a garlic press, and a jar of good pasta sauce. You can do the gift for under $10 if you eliminate the paper napkin rings, coasters, and the colander.
What a great holiday gift!