Buying presents for teachers is a honored tradition in Britain. After all, teachers work very long hours, with unpaid overtime being the norm for many, looking after and educating our children. The chance to give a little something back is therefore a very important one.

However, choosing the right Gift for another adult, especially one who you probably know very little about personally, isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be just as hard as trying to find the right present for one of your children’s friends’ birthdays.

Fortunately, there are a number of go-to gifts that have served countless parents and teachers well for many years. If nothing else, the following gift ideas should at least get your creativity flowing and help to direct you towards to perfect present for your child’s teacher.

Mugs

Mugs are a great gift, and something that all of us could do with! Of course, a plain old boring mug isn’t going to raise many eyebrows, but there is an endless array of novelty and themed mugs which make the perfect gifts for the right teachers. For a teacher who loves science, a periodic table mug is bound to keep them amused for hours (have you ever met a science teacher?!).

As well as mugs that are perfectly themed for teachers of certain subjects, there are also plenty of mugs with humorous and charming designs that will appeal to anyone. And of course, you always have the “Best Teacher Ever” mugs to fall back on if all else fails.

Alternatively, if the teacher in question has just had, or is preparing to have, a baby, you might want to consider getting them something for the baby. Instead of, or in addition to the mug you buy for the teacher, throw in a matching baby cup!

Teaching Supplies

Something else that the modern teacher never seems to have enough of is classroom supplies! At first you might find the idea of buying your child’s teacher something that they need at work, and which the school should supply, a little uninspired. However, school budgets are tight! And most teachers just want to be able to give their students the best and most engaging lessons possible. This is much easier with access to adequate supplies.

As always, there’s no reason that you can’t make these supplies as fun as they are functional. Teacher stamps are a great example, such as this collection of stamps for teachers which can be personalised with the teacher’s name to make the gift extra special. But other things, such as pens, sharpeners, art supplies, are all things that most teachers wish they had more of when planning their lessons.

Tote Bags

Ever since a nationwide levy (which is soon to be expanded) was enacted on plastic shopping bags, there has been a boom in the market for so-called bags for life. These are shopping bags which are more durable than most, and which are designed to last, well, for life. There’s no doubting their practicality or usefulness, but they can be just as fun as they are useful.

Just like with the mugs, you can find tote bags with numerous themes and styles and manufactured from a variety of different materials. This includes numerous options that are particularly ecologically friendly. Some of these are made partly or wholly from recycled materials and are a wonderful gift for an environmentally conscious teacher.

Personalised Stationery

A personalised pen or set of pencils, which can carry either the teacher’s name or another customised message, can be useful inside and outside the classroom. You can get just about any kind of stationery personalised, and most suppliers with give you roughly 30 characters to work with. That leaves you plenty of room to compose an inspiring message that goes beyond a simple thank you. See if your child has a particular message or sentiment that they would like to share with their teacher and condense this into something that can be printed onto stationery.

Scented Candles

Teachers need something to help them relax now and then and buying alcohol for teachers as a gift is becoming a rarer occurrence. A good and healthy alternative is a scented candle. The calming aromas of a good candle are the perfect adjunct to a warm, relaxing bath. You might want to combine the candle with a bath lotion or similar product that can augment the effects of one another.

Vouchers and Gift Cards

These are the ultimate fall-back option. Of course, there’s no getting round the fact that gift cards and vouchers can seem a little lazy. If you are worried about this, include a special card with a handwritten message from your child. Of course, not all gift cards are going to be suitable for every teacher. Amazon is a safe bet, for example, but if you’re going for a more specialised store, make sure that you know you are giving them something they will find useful.

With Christmas just around the corner, many parents will soon find themselves buying presents for their children’s teachers. If you are dreading the prospect of needing to make the right choice, any of these six items are all but guaranteed to go down a storm.