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Are you looking for teacher retirement gifts? Check out this list of what teachers say they actually want as a retirement gift!
At the end of any career, it’s so nice to show someone how much you appreciated the work they did throughout their life. I think teaching is one of the hardest jobs to have.
Working with kids for 30 years is not my idea of fun, but for teachers it is.
I bet that any one of us can think back and remember a few teachers who had a big impact on our lives. Since teachers give their hearts to a lot of our children, and frankly have to put up with them on a daily basis, sometimes you want to give a teacher something extra special when they retire.
Or maybe you have friends or family members that are teachers and you are wondering what a good retirement gift would be, either funny or sincere!
I surveyed a bunch of teachers and one of the questions I asked them was what they would like as a retirement gift. So, let’s dive into the answers!
Best Retirement Gifts for Teachers
I asked this as an open-ended question so survey respondents typed in their answers. For other questions, I gave them a drop-down menu, but I really didn’t know what they would say, so I was surprised by some of the answers!
Here is how they responded:
- Gift Cards – Amazon, Visa, Spa Day, books, BevMo, nice dinner
- Travel vouchers, all-expense-paid trip, a night away in a fancy hotel
- Something to remember their students by – pictures, handwritten notes, class gift, handmade gifts, a scrapbook of time at that school
- Visits from their past students or inviting all of their students to a party
- Jewelry
- Plants or shrubs for the gardeners
- Fun gifts like t-shirts, signs, rocking chair, Ipad, a nice bottle of wine
- CASH!
Teacher Retirement Gifts From Class
We always give our elementary school teachers a favorite things questionnaire at the beginning of the year so we have plenty of ideas on what gifts to give them throughout the year.
My kids were fortunate to get two amazing teachers the last year they were teaching. At the end of the year, the class pitched in and we got them a special gift card plus made them a class gift.
And about 50% of the teachers I asked, said they would love a personalized gift from the class or something to remember their students by. A scrapbook of the year or from the entire time the teacher was at a school would be cherished. Shutterfly, Costco, and Snapfish make designing photo books pretty easy.
One year I had every student fill out a few questions about our teacher and then typed them up and made a paper binder with pictures from the class in it.
Some of the questions asked were: what was your most memorable moment in the class, what was your favorite thing about teacher X, what was something you will always remember teacher X saying, what was the funniest thing teacher X ever said, etc.
It was so fun and sweet to see all the answers from 6th-grade students. They had an ex-military male teacher that year and I was almost in tears when the students wrote about how they would remember his encouraging words and big hugs.
Handwritten cards by past students and parents expressing gratitude were high on the list too. You can use my free Thank You printables to get started or browse through my roundup of teacher appreciation cards.
Dayswithgrey.com has a cute list of gifts from the class for younger grades.
Travel Gift Cards for Retirement
Many of the teachers on the survey said they would love to receive travel gift cards or vouchers! So what kind of travel gift cards can you get?
A prepaid vacation would probably be amazing but hard to pull off unless you can know the spouse. It’s much easier just to pool some money from other families and present them with a travel gift card they can use on their own terms.
If you know the person well, you probably know if there is a specific airline they like or hotel chain. If not, you can ask a friend or spouse if you know them or work it into a general conversation. See if they prefer flying or maybe cruising!
Here are a few great vacation gift cards that you can get off Amazon!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and Cricut.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links (purple text). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Best Travel Gift Cards for Retirement Gifts
These gift cards would not only be great for teacher retirement, but for anyone. Travel is so expensive and if someone can help with the costs in any way, they would love it!
Southwest Airlines Gift Card $200
Southwest is my go-to airline since it flys to so many places and so cheap. Great travel gift if you live somewhere where Southwest flys to.
Airbnb $100 Gift Card
If you know the retiree prefers to stay at houses than hotels or likes to travel internationally, then Airbnb would be a great choice.
Hotels.com Red Gift Cards - E-mail Delivery
Or if they prefer nice hotels, then a Hotels.com gift card would go over well
$200 Mastercard Gift Card (plus $6.95 Purchase Fee)
If you don't know what they prefer, then you could opt for a generic gift card that they can use anywhere.
$100 Visa Gift Card (plus $5.95 Purchase Fee)
Visa gift card again is a great way to cover everything!
Amazon eGift Card - Amazon Logo
Anyone can use an Amazon gift card. And then they can buy other gift cards or things they would need for travel. When I surveyed teachers on what gift card they prefer above all, Amazon was at 70%!
EFYTAL Retirement Gifts for Women, Sterling Silver Compass Necklace, Jewelry Gift for Her, for Coworker, Teacher
A nice piece of travel jewelry could also be a nice touch to add to a retirement travel basket.
Don’t just hand them a gift card! Make it cute with these free gift card printables.
Free Printable Retirement Gift Card Holders
Make the teacher retirement gift card a bit more special with a cute printable and a handwritten note on the other side.
Download the printable below, there are two to choose from. Print it out on cardstock.
Then cut around the outer edge of the rectangle with scissors or a paper trimmer.
Use removable double-sided tape and attach a travel or Visa gift card.
Write a quick note on the bottom or flip the printable card over and write a longer one on the back.
Put the card in an envelope, a bag, or simply hand it to them at the retirement party or on their last day of work.
If you prefer to give them other gift cards, I have an Amazon gift card printable and a coffee cup PDF printable too.
Grab the Free Downloads Here!
Click Here to download the Teacher retirement printable that you can add any gift card too!
Click here to download the Adventure Awaits travel gift cardholder.
I hope you got some useful gift ideas for a retiring teacher from this list! I’m sure they’ll appreciate and love anything from past students and parents.
If you’d like to save these retirement gift ideas for teachers for later, simply hover over the top left of the image below and PIN It now!
If you are a retired teacher, I’d love to know what your favorite gift was! Comment below.
Thanks so much for stopping by and have a creative day!
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