Back to the 90s Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas + Free Printables

If you're totally (ahem) clueless about what to do for Teacher Appreciation Week this year (May 5 - 9, 2025) try a 90s Teacher Appreciation Week! Below, we round up the very best 90s Teacher Appreciation Week ideas from our community of PTO and PTA volunteers. You'll find: 

• 90s Teacher Appreciation Week themes for each day
• 90s Teacher Appreciation Week Canva templates
• A list of popular 90s snacks, cereals, lunches, candies, and drinks
• "Adult Lunchables" shopping list for 80 staff members (and sign)
• 90s Teacher Appreciation Week decor and supplies
• 90s Teacher Appreciation Week activities and gift ideas  
• A 90s school-safe playlist

90s Teacher Appreciation Weekly Itinerary Canva Templates

Santa Fe Elementary PTA in Moore, Oklahoma, threw an incredible 90s Teacher Appreciation Week celebration for their school’s teachers and staff. The idea caught some serious fire in our Facebook group and inspired PTO and PTA groups across the country to do the same. Use their 90s themed Teacher Appreciation Week weekly itinerary Canva template below. You can use the themes provided, or a few of the ideas on our list of 90s themed Teacher Appreciation Week ideas below. 

Credit: Santa Fe Elementary PTA in Moore, Oklahoma

USE CANVA TEMPLATE

 

The Horsemen PTA in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York, created a 90s TV show Teacher Appreciation Week itinerary - a fun way to integrate shows popular in the 1990s into your teacher appreciation plans! This itinerary includes themes for Boy Meets World, Seinfeld, Friends, Saved by the Bell, and The Fresh Prince. You can use their Canva template below! 

Credit: Horsemen PTA in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York

USE CANVA TEMPLATE

90s Teacher Appreciation Week Food and Drink Station Signs (Canva Templates)

Also included in the above set of Canva templates are these fun signs:

• "Ice, Ice, Baby" (the perfect 90s spin on a teacher hydration station!)
• "When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip" (serve a variety of dips, along with chips and veggies)
• "Sippin' on (Coffee) and Juice" (set up coffee, juice, and pastries)
• "You're All That and a Bag of Chips" (serve chips and sandwiches or subs)
• "Oh My God, Becky...Look at That Drink Cart" (stock a teacher treat trolley with a variety of beverages...don't forget to include drinks popular in the 90s!)

Photo credit: Santa Fe Elementary PTA in Moore, Oklahoma

90s Teacher Appreciation Week Adult Lunchables Sign and Shopping List

Wyandotte Elementary PTO in Lafayette, Indiana, had an "Adult Lunchables" themed snack station where teachers and staff could make their own snackleboxes full of their fave treats. Below, you will find a shopping list of all the supplies they used to make Adult Lunchables for 80 staff members. (Pro tip: they used a donation request platform to get all the supplies from parents!). 

Photo credit: Wyandotte Elementary PTO in Lafayette, Indiana

To set up their Adult Lunchables themed “snacklebox” station for 80 staff members during Teacher Appreciation Week, Wyandotte Elementary PTO in Lafayette, Indiana used the following supplies:

• Welcome to the 90s Adult Lunchables Sign (Canva template)

• Round 90s retro stickers (Amazon)
• Double snack containers with lids (Amazon)
• Bento snack food containers (Amazon)
• 4 blocks of pre-sliced cheese for crackers
• 2 packages cracker sized salami
• 2 packages pepperoni
• 2 lbs. sliced turkey
• 2 lbs. sliced ham
• 6 boxes of crackers, any kind
• 4 bags crostini
• 2 containers mini naan bread
• 3 cans whole black olives
• 3 jars whole green olives
• 3 jars petite size pickles
• 8 sliced cucumbers
• 6 packages cherry tomatoes
• 1 large bag almonds
• 1 large container cashews
• 2 large packages trail mix
• 1 large bag dried fruit
• 2 gallon size bags of sliced apples
• 2 gallon size bags of grapes
• 2 large containers of blueberries
• 2 large bags of M&Ms
• 3 packages of canned soda

Photo credit: Wyandotte Elementary PTO in Lafayette, Indiana

90s Teacher Appreciation Week Signs

The Horsemen PTA, Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York displayed signs in their teachers' lounge to give it a 90s throwback vibe. Their Canva templates are linked below! 

USE CANVA TEMPLATE

90s themed food, snacks and drinks for Teacher Appreciation Week

Our incredible community of PTO and PTA leaders had so many creative ideas to share when it came to 90s theme snack ideas that we couldn’t pick just one! Below, we round up a list of popular 90s lunchbox snacks, beverages, and lunch ideas that you can incorporate into your 90s Teacher Appreciation Week celebration. 

• Dunkaroos
• Fruit by the Foot
• Gushers
• Fruit Roll Ups
• Lunchables (“Adult Lunchables” - a fun 90's spin on charcuterie)
• Tator Tots
• Ellio's cheese pizza
• Planters Cheez Balls
• Pop Tarts
• Eggo waffles 
• Pillsbury Toaster Strudel 
• Bagel Bites 
• Capri Sun or Hi-C
• Fruit cocktail
• Chocolate milk cartons 
• Good Humor strawberry shortcake ice cream bars 
• Hoodsie ice cream cups
• Snack Pack pudding cups (unfortunately, Jello Pudding Pops were discontinued!)
• 90s themed candy, like Fun Dip, Pop Rocks, Ring Pops, Push Pops, Warheads, and Bubble Tape
• 90s themed cereal bar (more on this fun idea below!)
• Pizza Hut—who could forget “No one outpizzas the hut”, and the Pizza Hut “Book It” reading program?

Kaitlin Popp, from Alden Hebron PTO in Hebron, Illinois, worked with their local Pizza Hut to create a “Book It” themed lunch for teachers. The PTO got Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas for all the teachers and custom-made “Book It” buttons, along with “Book It” certificates for each teacher. Kaitlin shares, “It was a HUGE hit, even though most of the teachers had no idea what Book It was!” 😊

Photo credit: Alden Hebron PTO in Hebron, Illinois

Santa Fe Elementary PTA hosted a fun 90s themed candy bar for teachers! On the menu: popular 90s candies, like Fun Dip, Pop Rocks, Ring Pops, Push Pops, Gobstoppers, Sour Patch Kids, Warheads, Fruit Stripe gum, Gushers, and Bubble Tape. 

Photo credit: Santa Fe Elementary PTA in Moore, Oklahoma

The Ultimate List of 90s Teacher Appreciation Week Ideas

From a "Start Your Day the 90s Way" cereal bar to a Reading Rainbow themed "blind date with a book", our community shares their most rad themes for a 90s Teacher Appreciation Week!

• “Start your day the 90s way” cereal bar + Saturday morning cartoons: Cereals popular in the 90s included Trix, Cap'n Crunch, Corn Pops, Kix, Waffle Crisp, Frosted Flakes, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Oreo-O's, and French Toast Crunch.
• "Pump up the jam" breakfast featuring bagels and jams (don't forget the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, PopTarts, and Eggo waffles!)
• Reading Rainbow x Blind Date with a Book: Remember wrapping your textbooks in brown paper bags? That's how this fun idea works! Request book donations from parents and then wrap in brown paper. Decorate covers with 90s Lisa Frank stickers (Amazon) and add throwback 90s stackable pencils (Amazon) and Reading Rainbow "Take a Look, It's In a Book" bookmarks (Etsy)!

• "Sugar, sugar, how’d ya get so fly?” (desserts, ice cream, and 90s themed candy)
• “Sippin’ on coffee and juice” (coffee, juice, and breakfast pastries or bagels)
• Fresh Prince "fresh" cupcakes 
• “Let me see that casserole” (variety of casseroles)
• “I dip, you dip, we dip” (chips, veggies, and dips)     
• “Oregon Trail” (set up a flavored water hydration bar and make your own trail mix station) 
• “You’re all that and a bag of chips” (sandwiches or subs and bags of chips)
• “Ice, Ice, Baby” hydration station flavored water bar: 90s themed drink recipe names include “Sippin’ on orange and juice”, “Tap the bottle and twist the cap”, “Smells like school spirit”, “Millions of peaches, peaches for me”, "Shiny happy teachers", "Summertime")
• “How ‘bout them apples?” (candy apple bar)
• "Slice, Slice, Baby" pizza bar 
• “Dude, where’s my cobbler” or “The Peach Pit” from 90210 (cobbler, mini pies and peaches)
• “TGIF” mocktails (try a dirty soda bar) in the teachers' lounge 
• "Saved by the (Taco) Bell” (provide lunch from Taco Bell for teachers and staff or bring in a taco food truck after school)
• "We'd be totally Clueless without teachers and staff like you" 
• “Rollin' with my homies” Clueless treat trolley (set up treats on a wheeled cart and serve teachers in their classrooms)
• “OMG Becky...look at that drink cart” beverage trolley (set up drinks on a drink cart and serve teachers in their classrooms)
• “Yo homes, smell ya later” (gift teachers mints, room spray, candles, and car fresheners)
• “I like big bundts and I cannot lie” (featuring a variety of Bundt cakes for teachers and staff)
• “No soup for you” from Seinfeld or "Soup, there it is" soup bar
• “You had me at Jello” (Jerry Maguire) 
• "I don't want no subs" (TLC Scrubs)
• 90s roller skating rink:  invite teachers to “roll on into the lounge” for a treat. Serve the typical fare from 1990s roller skating rinks—think giant warm pretzels, nacho cheese dipping sauce, and ice “slushies”!

90s Teacher Appreciation Week Décor Ideas

• The Horsemen PTA, Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York, wrapped oversized boxes to look like giant Nintendo Game Boys and VHS tapes (impressive, right?!).

Photo credit: Horsemen PTA in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York

• For a fun 90s table centerpieces for teachers’ lounge, glue together stacks of old CD cases and VHS tapes
• Leave out disposable cameras for teachers to use (some of your younger teachers might need a quick lesson in how they work 😉)
• Multi-color 90s click pens (Amazon)
• Inflatable cell phones (Amazon)
• Inflatable boomboxes (Amazon)
• "I love the 90s" tableware (Amazon)
• 90s cardboard cutout stand up photo prop (Oriental Trading)
• 90s 3D table centerpiece (Oriental Trading)
• 90s CD paper plates (Amazon)
• Mixed tapes and boombox banner (Amazon)
• Back to the 90s banner (Amazon)

Photo credit: S&S Elementary PTO, Southmayd, Texas

90s Teacher Appreciation Week Activities and Gift Ideas for Teachers and Staff

• Take a risk...pick a disk! Invite each teacher to pick a disk - one lucky teacher will win a prize in theirs!

Photo credit: Horsemen PTA in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York

• Encourage teachers to wear 90s attire! Hold a contest and award the teacher with “the most rad” outfit. Popular 90s attire included grunge (inspired by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, flannel shirts, and Doc Martens), jelly sandals, wind breakers, chokers, Puka shell necklaces, baggy pants, and bright neon. Or, encourage your PTO volunteers taking part in Teacher Appreciation Week to don 90s attire. We're loving the D.A.R.E. fanny pack (from Amazon) below, shared by Douglas MacArthur PTA in Lakewood, California!

Photo credit: Douglas MacArthur PTA in Lakewood, California

• Customize these 90s icon posters from Tidy Lady Printables with each teacher’s photo and favorite memory from the 90s, like watching Saved by the Bell or 90210.
• "As if you weren't already Amazon": Gift teachers Amazon gift cards with this fun theme from the popular 90s movie Clueless. 
• 90s school supply bar featuring school supplies popular in the 1990s, like Trapper Keepers, stackable pencils, multi-click pens, anything Lisa Frank, Smencils, Mr. Sketch washable markers, Paper Mate erasable pens, and Scratch 'n Sniff stickers. 
• "Like Corey and Topanga, our PTA is stuck on you!" Set up a supply bar with "sticky" school supplies, like Post-It notes, tape, and glue sticks for teachers. Props to Horsemen PTA in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York, for this fun idea, shown below!  

Photo credit: Horsemen PTA in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, New York

• Flashback to the 90s: display staff baby pictures in the hallway and invite staff members (and students) to guess who’s who!

Photo credit: Santa Fe Elementary PTA in Moore, Oklahoma

• Caricature drawings – invite a local artist to draw caricatures of each teacher.
• Line up students to give teachers and staff high fives in the hallway for a warm (and totally rad) welcome!

90s Themed Playlist

Play throwback 90s music in the teachers' lounge or during morning announcements. Here's a list of popular 90s songs to get you started! You can also use this clean teacher-approved “90s Babies” classroom-safe playlist on Spotify.

• "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice
• "Hangin' Tough" by NKOTB
• “Party like it’s 1999” by Prince
• "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
• "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys
• "This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan
• "MMMBop" by Hanson
• "All Star" by Smash Mouth
• "I’ll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts (also the theme song from the hit 90s show, Friends!
• "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba
• "Fly" by Sugar Ray
• "I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers
• "Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)" by Backstreet Boys
• "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M.
• "Wonderwall" by Oasis
• "No Rain" by Blind Melon
• Songs from popular 1990s T.V. shows, like "Full House Theme" by Jesse Frederick, "Saved by the Bell Theme" by Scott Gale, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, and "I'll Be There for You" by The Rembrandts

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