Top Ten Gifts for Elementary School Teachers

Elementary Teachers are great. They are patient, creative, encouraging, and they help children learn! This Christmas, why not surprise your child's teacher with something extra special and straight from the heart. Some gifts that may be a little overdone are apples or wooden memorabilia with "#1 teacher" or "A+ Teacher."

While those are nice and very classic for teachers, there are lots of other ideas that teachers would appreciate. In fact, encourage your children to ask their teacher what their favorites are. Some teachers enjoy having a stock of special candy or cookies to give out. Most teachers will readily accept any additional books to add to their classroom libraries. However, it is also nice to give a more personal gift that is just for the teacher to enjoy.

10. Fragranced Body Lotion-There are several fancy lotions available and a nice fragrance is a major plus. Teachers enjoy something to refresh them in the midst of chaos and the right scent can do just that. Some personal favorites are Victoria's Secret Amber Romance and Bath & Body Works Holiday Scents. Bath&Body Works has lovely holiday scents for lotion, shower gel, and body spray.

9. Home Interior Candles-While your child's Elementary Teacher is grading their work, or setting up for tomorrow's lesson, they definitely appreciate to have a scented candle to help relax and enjoy the evening. Look for scents like apple cinnamon and coconut. Seasonal candles are great because teachers can use them to help decorate the classroom as well.

8. Music! Not very many students bless their teacher with the gift of music, there is a variety of holiday CDs out there that teacher's will not only enjoy, they will also share with their class for years to come. Music is also helpful for those work times for children to resist the temptation to chatter. Also, music helps teachers after the kids are gone to focus and prepare for the next day and week. Holiday music is recommended, although any kind of music is usually appreciated. Have your child ask their teacher what their favorite band or artist is and find something the teacher is sure to enjoy.

7. A timer-Most teacher's use timers routinely for tasks, however, why not purchase a timer for a teacher with a little more class? Underwood distrubuting has timers available particularly for teachers. For 35 dollars this TeachTimer was specifically designed for classroom teachers. It has the ability to set up warning bells and is an excellent time management tool for teachers and students.

6. Office Supplies-Teachers love and need fun post-its, sticky tack, decorations, paper clips, staples, glue, scissors, etc. Ya know all that stuff you had to buy for your child at the beginning of the school year? Teachers need to have all that stuff in supply throughout the year for when their students lose their things. It is also a great idea to purchase a gift card for your teacher to Office Max or some other teacher supply store. Stickers are also high on the priority list for teachers.

5. Teacher Gift Set Pails from Oriental Trading Company are also a great gift. These pails run for $14.95 and include some lovely teacher items. Aluminum clip key chains with pens, apple shaped sticky notes and an apple candles are only some of the items that come in the brightly colored pail. This is a great way for your child to bless their teacher this year.

4. Willow Tree is well known for their beautiful figurines. Their special "wisdom" figurine is especially great for teachers to thank them for sharing their wealth of knowledge. Willow tree figurines are also available for under $10.

3. Teachers, much like everyone else, really enjoy chocolate. A gift basket with gourmet treats is available from "Simply the Best Baskets" for $29.99. If you are having a tough time deciding on a gift, go with the classic gift of quality treats.

2. TeacherSuds is shower/bath gel that comes in a beautifully decorated greeting card type style packaging. The bottle itself reads "You are the coolest teacher in school." Great scent and available for $12.00

1. The "To My Teacher Tote" available from Abernook contains teacher's books, apple stress balls, pens, charms and more and is available for $40.00.