10+ Holiday Teacher Appreciation Ideas—Plus Get Our Free Bundle of Holiday Printables
Get your hot cocoa carts and holiday hydration stations ready! We round up festive ways to celebrate your teachers and staff this holiday season. Plus, get our FREE bundle of holiday-themed teacher appreciation printables!
The holiday season is a great time to show your school's teachers and staff just how much they're appreciated. With that much-deserved winter break looming in the distance, your PTO can help your teachers make it to the finish line (with the help of a little hot cocoa, of course). Below, we round up fun and festive ways to celebrate teachers during the holiday season. You can also download our free mega bundle of holiday-themed teacher appreciation printables that includes:
- Holiday Hydration Station sign with holiday-themed teacher drink recipes
- Hot Cocoa Bar sign
- Holly Jolly Snack Cart sign
- Time to "Wrap Up" Another Year wrapping paper station sign
- "You've Been Elfed" classroom room service door hanger
- Hot Cocoa Cart sign
- "A Few of My Teacher's Favorite Things" editable form
- "Any Way You Slice It, Our Teachers and Staff Are the Best" mini pie gift tags
Holiday Hydration Station for Teachers
Hydration stations have taken teachers' lounges by storm. (If you haven't heard of this trend, here's how to set up a hydration station for teachers). Give your teacher hydration station a holiday spin with recipes like "Sleigh All Day" and "Grinch Water". You'll need cups, ice, water, and mix ins for teachers to flavor water to their liking. Your teachers will love this "refreshing" start to winter break! Get a "holiday hydration station" sign (recipes included) in our free mega bundle of holiday teacher appreciation printables.
Hot Cocoa Bar
The weather outside may be frightful, but the teachers' lounge is so delightful when there's hot cocoa with allllll the fixings! Get a hot cocoa bar sign in our free teacher appreciation holiday printables mega bundle.
Little Debbie Christmas Tree Treats for Teachers
You've Been Elfed!
Elfing teachers is so much fun! Ask teachers to select the supplies or treats they want the most. Then, elves (ahem, that's your PTO volunteers!) deliver items to their classroom. Get a "You've Been Elfed" door hanger in our free appreciation printable bundle!
Hot Cocoa Cart
A fun alternative to a hot cocoa bar in the teachers' lounge is a hot cocoa cart. Deliver cozy cups of hot cocoa (and toppings) to teachers. Wrap your cart in festive wrapping paper, add garland, colorful holiday lights, and a few jingle bells so teachers can hear it coming! Get a hot cocoa cart sign in our free teacher appreciation printables bundle.
Alvord Middle School PTO let students get in on the hot cocoa cart fun, too (check out the video below). What a festive way to spread holiday cheer throughout the whole school!
If a cart is too basic for your bougie PTO, try a sleigh! Hands down, Whispering Pines PTA wins the Internet for the most festive, decked out snack sleigh. Check it out below!
Wellington Landings PTO decked out a golf cart to resemble a reindeer. They then delivered special gifts to teachers and staff. What a creative way to surprise teachers with gifts!
Speaking of gifts, cozy socks are always a fun and festive gift to deliver to teachers. Incorporate a fun sock-themed message, like "May Your Tootsies Stay Toasty" or "Toe-tally Awesome Teachers".
Wrapping Paper Station
Set up complimentary rolls of wrapping paper, bows, and tape for teachers to take home for the holidays, or offer a gift wrapping station and have volunteers available to wrap teachers' gifts during the school day. Get a "Time to Wrap Up the School Year" sign in our free holiday teacher appreciation printables bundle.
Credit: Kristyn Schmitz
Holly Jolly Treat Trolley
Is there anything more jolly than a teacher treat trolley during the holiday season? Get a "Holly Jolly Snack Cart" sign in our free printables bundle.
"A Teacher's Christmas Playlist"
Pine Grove PTO set up a coffee bar for teachers in the lounge next to "A teacher's Christmas playlist" sign, which reads something like this:
- All I want for Christmas is a sub
- I'm dreaming of a quiet classroom
- Coughing around the Christmas tree
- Admin got run over by a reindeer
- The 12 days of observations
- It's beginning to look a lot like chaos
- Baby, it's dark outside
- Have yourself a merry little sick day
- I saw mommy doing lesson plans
- All I want for Christmas is sleep
Cozy PJ Day for Teachers
Teachers knock our socks off, so they "toe-tally" deserve a cozy day at school in PJ's, with a hot cocoa bar, Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and fuzzy socks to take home!
Coffee Baristas
Serene Hills PTO brought baristas on site to serve hot cups of coffee to teachers and staff before winter break.
Elf + Cookies in the Teachers' Lounge
Print and frame this Elf "Winter Break Is Coming!" meme and display alongside a platter of holiday cookies for a simple but thoughtful treat in the teachers' lounge!
Stock the Teachers' Lounge
When winter break is nearly here and teachers are ready to settle down for their long winter's nap, give them a few good snacks to hold them over! Here's how to stock the teachers' lounge with snacks and drinks teachers will love.
"A Few of My Teacher's Favorite Things" (free template)
A great way for your PTO to know what your teachers love the most? Ask them! Your PTO can also provide copies to parents to help them shop for their teacher's favorite things. Get the "a few of my teacher's favorite things" printable our free teacher appreciation printables bundle.
Mini pies for Thanksgiving
Just ahead of Thanksgiving, surprise your teachers with mini pies in the teachers' lounge (attach a fork to each pie using ribbon or twine). Get "Any way you slice it, our teachers and staff are the best!" mini pie gift tags in our free teacher appreciation holiday printable bundle.
Give teachers the "Gift of Time"
Ben Franklin Elementary PTO gifted their teachers and staff with the “Gift of Time”. Teachers could sign up to get their complimentary gift wrapping done by the PTO, giving them more free time to relax. (Get a "Gift of Time" coupon in our free editable teacher appreciation coupon book!)
Ugly Sweater Day for Teachers
Ugly Sweater Day is Dec. 15, 2024. Hibbing Schools held an "Ugly Sweater Day" for teachers, along with a secret sock exchange for teachers and staff.
McGee's Crossroads Elementary School PTA gave each teacher an ugly Christmas sweater cookie, a roll of wrapping paper with gift labels, and a candy cane.
Surprise Grinch Cups
Frances E. Norton Elementary PTA in Allen, Texas used rubber bands to secure green tissue paper to green cups filled with Grinch Hershey kisses, mini candy canes, and a special gift. Each cup was then topped with a red heart sticker. (You can get all the supplies on Amazon to make these cute Grinch cups for teachers: green tissue paper, green cups, and red heart stickers.)
Grinch Day
Celebrate the holiday season with Grinch Day! Serve up green treats in the teachers' lounge. Oh, and see if you can convince a willing parent volunteer (or principal) to dress up as the Grinch for teachers!
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