Despite being pretty exhausted and in need of the holidays, I’m always a little sad when the end of the school year comes around. I love my students and have so much fun in class that I know I’ll miss their cheery little faces and general silliness! So I really like to make the last day a special one; I always organise a little party for them (Teddy Bear’s Picnic themed for the 3-5 year olds) and give them each a small goodbye gift.
Having over 30 students, however, means it can get expensive to buy them all a present, so every year I look for ways to give them something nice and personal without breaking the bank. Here are some of the low-cost, end of year gifts I’ve given my kids over the years to give you some ideas.
Diplomas
I always give my kids a diploma at the end of the course; it gives the students a sense of completion and I also think it’s nice for parents to frame and put in the child’s bedroom. I’ve created a FREE, colourful and EDITABLE diploma for you to download here if you need one!
Crayon Hearts
These crayon heart tokens are easy (and fun!) to make and look pretty impressive! You can even write a personalized message on each heart. If you want to see how to make them in more detail, click here for the tutorial.
Mini Notepads and Pens
I found these fun post-it style notepads in different shapes and paired them up with a mini pen. I popped them into a bag, folded rectangle of black card and stapled it to the open edge. Then I added a message in gold gel pen. The notepads are inexpensive and you can find them in many shops or on Amazon.
Bags of Coloured Chalk
Another very simple gift is some sticks of coloured chalk tied up in a bag with a personalised name tag for each student. I thought of positive adjectives beginning with each of the letters in the child’s name and tried to choose the ones that would best describe them!
Bendy Pencils and Erasers
I found these fun bendy pencils and small animal erasers on Amazon. They came in a pack together – 20 pencils and 20 erasers, so there were more than enough for all my students. I paired them with these cute printable ice pops to make a special summery token for my kiddos!
Animal Pencil Toppers
This gift was a bit more time-consuming to make, but it was for a small group of six kids – plus it turned out so cute that it was worth the effort!
Cut out 2 felt circles per animal (one for the front and one for the back) and glue the all the face pieces on one of the circles with fabric glue. Then cut a pipe cleaner in half and sandwich it between the front and back circle – sticking them altogether with glue. Once it’s all dry, wrap the pipe cleaner around a pencil and slot it into the holder. The holder is just a strip of coloured card measuring approximately 21 cm by 7 cm. Fold one end up about a third and staple either side to fix in place. I added a star in a contrasting colour, and finished it off with a message tag.
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