If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for inexpensive Christmas gifts for students. Let’s face it, with the rising cost of living and more students in our classrooms.. It’s hard to be able to put together Christmas gifts on a budget!
Disclaimer: I’m not saying you have to do Christmas gifts for your students!
Some educators decide that they want to do Christmas gifts for their students – and some decide they don’t want to. And some decide to do a nice craft or keepsake in class to send home for Christmas. There’s honestly no right or wrong. This is entirely a personal decision that you need to make for yourself, your circumstances and what you want to do. So don’t let anyone pressure you into making that decision – you make it for yourself!
But if you decide you do want to gift your students something for Christmas, read on in this blog post where I’m sharing some great inexpensive Christmas gifts for students to give you some ideas.
Gift Ideas
Scholastic Points
This one is probably the one that I see the most. Educators save up their Scholastic points through the year and then use them to get free/discounted books. Books always make great Christmas presents and this one is a winner!
Ornaments
Another popular gift is to make an ornament. This is great on it’s own or paired with another gift if you wanted to combine gifts. I always purchased the cheap clear ornaments (even cheaper if you buy them in the post Christmas sales ready for next year!) And then add in some items inside the ornament. I’ve cut out little book covers of our favorite books from that year. I’ve filled them with snow and printed out pictures of them, laminated and stuck inside the ornament. And I’ve even filled them with candy or marshmallows for a fun treat!
One thing I did one year, that I still look back on and love now. Is that I put about 10 little strips of paper in each one with positive statements for the children to read to help them see how loved they are. Families loved it and I had loads of comments on it afterwards!
You can also use them as craft opportunities to make with your student to send home too. This one of the snowmen is my favorite and it always turns out so good! I love watching students get creative and design their snowmen in different ways.
Candy Canes
You can not go wrong with candy canes! There’s so many fun and cheap ways to decorate them into reindeers etc to make them look even better as gifts. But they’re also super affordable to purchase – especially when you have a lot of students to purchase for!
Make Your Own Play Dough!
This one is also fun. I usually just get a little clear bag, add in the ingredients needed to make play dough, write a recipe up and add in a cookie cutter! They always turn out great and go down so well – plus the recipe cards can be saved by families to use again in the future. (Lots of families honestly never realize how easy it is to make play dough!) This works well for slime too.
Crayons and Coloring
This one is also a lot of fun. My favorite way to do this is to usually print out 4 Christmas images to a page. Cut them out individually, attach 1 or 2 crayons to them – and done! They look great and kids love to color.
Melted Crayons
So, you know when you have snapped crayons through the year? Or ones that are just dead/ruined? Do not throw them away. Keep them safe in a little box. Then, melt them down and turn them into something fun to send home for students! (You can send home the printable coloring pages here too!)
Some of my favorite things to do with melted crayons are;
- Student names.
- Christmas characters.
- Favorite characters/hobbies of students.
Gloves and a Hat (Or a Chocolate Bar!)
I haven’t done this one personally, but I’ve seen it shared before.. And I actually love it! Purchase some bars of chocolate and a pair of gloves for each student. Then, pull the gloves on the top of the chocolate bar like a hat and then decorate the bar like a snowman! It looks great and such a helpful gift. I’ve also seen some educators gift gloves and a hat, and sometimes even a scarf too. Gifts like that can be hugely helpful for student and their families.
Bubbles
Kids love bubbles. They’re super affordable to buy, and you can often purchase them in bulk packs for a little bit of money. These, tied with a cute Christmas gift tag, always go down really well with students!
Reindeer Lollipops
Print out a reindeer face, cut out the nose, and stick a lollipop there. A fun way to dress up a basic gift that is super affordable – and a cute treat for your students!
Snowman Soup / Hot Chocolate
I usually test out on my Polar Express Day in the classroom how many of my students enjoy hot chocolate. If they all love it, I put together some hot chocolate packets / snowman soup for them. They work out super affordable for students and they’re such a lovely treat for them to take home! In the past, I’ve also purchased plain mugs and then had students decorate them and add this to their gift as well.
Play Dough Pots
All year I keep my eyes peeled for deals on the big packs of play dough pots. When they go on sale, I usually grab a few packs of them. They look great wrapped up with a Christmas themed cookie cutter as a gift to send home.
Purchase in Advance – Look for Deals!
I have a box that I keep hidden away with items that I pick up on sale throughout the year every year and I add them in. They can be things for reward boxes, Christmas gifts, birthday gifts.. Or even just things to use in the classroom. I love doing this because it helps to spread the cost through the year.. It often works out cheaper.. And it means I always have items there if I’m caught out on a birthday or run out of time at Christmas.
Those are some of my favorite inexpensive Christmas gifts for students. It’s a pretty big list, so I hope there’s something that you can use if you’re looking for ideas. And don’t forget – this is personal choice! You do not have to purchase a gift for your students.
