DIY Back to School Gifts Ideas for Kids & Teachers

As August comes to an end, kids and teachers have mixed emotions about going back to school. Personalized DIY back to school gifts ideas will highlight the new school year and help teachers and kids have a great transition from summer into the school year.

Summer is over and it's time for them to shift their thoughts to classroom activities and the season ahead. Your thoughtful DIY homemade gifts will help kids have the right attitude while going back to school.

DIY Back to School Gift Ideas For Kids from a Teacher

Teachers and parents love surprising their kids with personalized back to school gifts ideas like a happy back to school party or meal. It will leave a positive impression on the students’ lives when they think back to the beginning of school and have such a happy memory.

DIY Decorations for Back to School Party

Graffiti Wall

Attach a piece of butcher paper to a blank wall. Give your classmates markers and invite them to draw and write what they hope to accomplish in the coming school year. This graffiti wall will transform into a work of art as the party progresses.

Wishes in Bottles

First, collect a lot of bottles and clean them. Next, decorate them into colorful paper and then ask your classmates and teacher to write down their back to school wishes and expectations on small pieces of paper. Then, throw these pieces of paper into the bottles and hang them around the room. Open them when you’re nearing the end of the year so you can reflect on how the year went!

Bake Cookies for a Yummy Back to School Treat

The teachers could organize a breakfast or lunch event for the children and their parents. If it’s not in the budget to provide the food, each family can bring in something to share. It’s a nice opportunity to let your unique DIY cookies express a special back to school teacher appreciation.

Here are some easy ideas for DIY cookies and other snacks to give as a back to school gift.

  • Sugar cookies cut in festive designs and decorated for the season 
  • Chocolate chip cookies or brownies are simple to make and bake
  • Loaf bread, dinner rolls and sweet rolls make great back to school gift ideas
  • Preparing peanut butter pancakes sounds difficult, but can be quite easy if you have all the ingredients beforehand

Homemade Back to School Gifts for Kids from Parents

There are a lot of reasons to give a DIY homemade back to school gift to your kids. Imagine your children's surprise when they see their present on the first day of school. Here are some of our ideas for DIY Kids Gifts:

  1. Back-to-School Breakfasts

It’s important to put a smile on your kid’s face before they go to school. It’ll be easy with these delicious and easy-to-make breakfast ideas. Nothing gets you ready for the day like the smell of baking in the morning. DIY French Breakfast Muffins, with nutmeg batter supply a particularly tantalizing aroma that is sure to brighten up your kids first day of school.

  1. DIY Back to School Baskets

Back to school baskets are appropriate for kids of all ages. You could include a variety of back to school supplies or fun toys they’d enjoy like comic books, coloring books, sticker books, a welcome back to school letter, or picture books.

The back to school basket should be brightly colored, full of fun decorations, and be individually decorated to the likes of each child. If you present it using a plastic organizer basket the child can even use it to store toys or books afterwards. 

  1. Personalized Notebooks

A Stack of brightly colored wire bound notebooks would be a great gift idea for kids. Customizing the notebook with some back to school messages for your kids will make the gift even more meaningful.

Educational Gifts for Children

You will find a variety of different types of subject matters included in educational back to school gifts. It’s important to learn what your kid’s favorite subject is when considering this gift. If you pick a subject they have no interest in then your kid won’t be too happy, but finding an interesting book about the solar system for a child who loves science would be a great gift!

Personalized Engraved Crystal Educational Plaque

There’s a variety of traditional engravable gifts that you can give to your kids to let them know you’re proud. Almost anything can be personalized, including picture frames, desk clocks, key rings, pens, and more, but the most popular is the crystal plaque.

Your kids will love having their own crystal educational plaque in their room to remind them of the great job they did in the previous school year. Its clear and sparkling reflection will always remind them of your personalized kind words.

A variety of online trophy stores like DIY Awards can offer the personalized service. You can design your own personalized crystal plaque according to the tastes or interests of your children.

If you have no good design ideas, the samples at DIY Awards are great places to start. For example, we have a plaque that features a large heart in the center to show your love and care for kids and can even have a special message engraved as well. 

Easy Back To School Gift Ideas for Your Teacher

School Supplies for Teachers

Purchasing some school supplies for your teacher can go a long way. It will make an even bigger impression if you provide cute DIY school supplies like:

* A unique pencil with homemade flowers attached

* A homemade paperweight created with pressed flowers or leaves

* Back to school-themed bookmarks for teachers who are book readers

* Teacher school supplies bag

Back to School Gifts Ideas for Female Teachers

Think of your teacher’s personality, hobbies, and taste and then choose a customized gift for them. If you know your teacher’s hobbies then there are tons of different types of gifts you can pick. Just brainstorm ideas relating to their favorite things to do after school. The most sincere gifts will be the ones you think of and make from scratch.

DIY Oven Gloves for Teacher Who Enjoys Cooking

Oven gloves are always a vital role in the kitchen. If your teacher enjoys cooking or baking then this would be the perfect gift! Some glove ideas include animals, hearts, apples, etc. These DIY oven gloves will decorate your teacher's kitchen and always remind them of the special student who gave them to her!

Lanterns for the Gardener

Turn your grandma's old glass jars into rustic garden lanterns. This DIY lantern will be the highlight of your teacher's patio or garden. If you don't have any jars stashed in the cabinets, you can use any glass food jar that has a lip or ridge around the top.

Either way, when you recycle glass jars to make garden lanterns you conserve the raw materials it would take to create brand new ones. Plus, you end up with beautiful decorative garden lanterns guaranteed to win you compliments.

Easel

Make an easel if your teacher is a talented painter. Easels are a necessary tool for most painters and are usually made from wood. They can be made portable, convenient, and even recyclable. 

DIY Crystal Plaque

Your female teacher may be interested in a crystal plaque if she’s interested in collecting elegant crafts. Customize a crystal teacher awards/plaques at diyawards.com

Their online personalization wizard helps you create the plaque exactly how you want it so you can customize one for each of your teachers.

You can customize your teacher’s plaque to feature an open book design. The crystal book award offers you a large personalization area where you can engrave your back to school quotes/poems or a teacher appreciation note.

Back to School Gifts Ideas for Male Teachers

Choosing a back to school gift for a male teacher isn’t too difficult. Almost all men are interested in sports, games, and outdoor activities. The perfect male teacher gifts ideas usually involve sports or the outdoors. Here are some interesting gift ideas:

  •  DIY Book about your male teacher's favorite sports stars
  • Survival Bracelet - Survival bracelets are made of parachute cord, which has become the standard utility cord for most outdoor people. These bracelets are quite popular right now and are great gifts for anyone who camps, fishes, hunts and more. You can even feature your own designs or notes on the bracelet.
  • Fishing Equipment - If your favorite teacher is a fisherman ask him what equipment he’s missing. Research how to recreate some of these hand-make them at home. Make sure to ask your parents for help with some of these harder to make presents.

Back to School Gifts Ideas for a New Teacher

Finding personalized back to school gifts for teachers has never been easier, especially for new teachers. Imagine how a new teacher feels before the first day of school. As if teaching students wasn’t hard enough, but now they’re in a completely new environment. Giving the new teacher a gift is a great way to welcome them to the school and get off on the right foot.

Although it may seem cliché, giving the teacher an apple is a tried and true way to get on their good side. You can't deny that there isn’t a better way to show your recognition on the first day of school than an apple-themed gift.

  1. Gift Bags

Make a gift bag for your teacher that’s in the shape of an apple then fill it with teacher supplies and goodies. 

  1. Apple-Themed Bookmark

Avid readers are always forgetting which books they've left a bookmark in or losing them and substituting receipts and paper scraps. Making your own personalized bookmark solves this problem and making them out of apple clips would make them even cuter!

  1. Teacher Appreciation Plaque