Hellobee

It can feel really hard to find the perfect gift for teachers, nannies, and coworkers, but it doesn’t have to be! In my experience, teachers, nannies, and coworkers are often the most appreciative among all gift recipients (despite all the viral articles claiming all teachers hate mugs). There are so many great gift ideas for this group, 10 of which I’ve rounded up below (price listed subject to change and hopefully drop during this week’s big holiday sales):

1/ Mug warmer ($24) – Teachers may have too many coffee mugs, but I bet most of them would appreciate a mug warmer. This is a wonderfully thoughtful and useful gift for any tea, coffee, or hot chocolate lover. Pair with a mug (if you dare – this one is my new favorite), a gift card to Starbucks or your favorite local coffee shop, or any other tea/coffee/cocoa themed gift.

2/  Flowers – Flowers are almost always appreciated by almost everybody. They’re beautiful and thoughtful and don’t end up as clutter.

3/ Gift card to Walgreens or Michaels – This idea is definitely geared toward teachers, although my office sits above a Walgreens so it’d work for my coworkers too! Earlier this year our preschool director suggested Walgreens or Michaels gift cards as a way to give back to the school if your time/schedule did not permit hands-on volunteering. The teachers love to use the gift cards to print photos for the classroom or re-stock their arts and crafts supplies. When Big P handed his teacher a $20 Walgreens gift card earlier this year, I have never seen a smile so big or a person more appreciative of a small gift.

4/ A bottle of her favorite alcoholic beverage (and/or a 6-pack of Diet Coke) – My coworker celebrated her birthday yesterday and she received the most thoughtful presents: a bouquet of flowers, a 6-pack of Diet Coke (which is almost already gone ha), a bottle of Tanqueray gin, and a bottle of tonic to go with it. Clearly our coworkers have been paying attention to what she likes, and I can attest that she was very touched. Never underestimate the value of paying attention to what people like and gifting accordingly, even if the gift itself doesn’t seem expensive or special (I will pretty much love you for life if you bring me gummy bears). This tumbler is adorable, by the way, for any Diet Coke lovers.

5/ Rose water facial spray ($12) – A small beauty product can be a very thoughtful gift. This rose water spray has rave reviews and multiple uses. And it’s something I’d love to get as a gift myself, which is always a good sign.

6/ Spotify Premium or Netflix gift subscriptions – Gift subscriptions can be tricky because the last thing you want to do is purchase a subscription to a service the recipient doesn’t want or need. I would contend, however, that almost every single person enjoys music and movies/television (at least in some capacity). Teachers may be able to even utilize a Spotify or Netflix subscription in their classrooms. Bonus, you can buy them on Amazon!

7/ Cute beanie ($9) – I recently ran (well walked) a 5K and instead of a t-shirt the race gave out beanies. I’ve gotten so much more use out of that beanie than I would a race t-shirt, which got me to thinking that a beanie could be a great gift for teachers or nannies standing out on the playground or coworkers commuting into the office (or anyone really). This beanie is adorable and inexpensive too!

8/ Amazon prime (starts at $33) – Every year we give our nanny an extra week’s pay as a Christmas present, but we also try to include a gift card to her favorite restaurant or some other small-ish but thoughtful gift. This year I’m giving her the gift of Amazon Prime, which let’s be honest is a really darn good gift. She already uses our Prime account to buy a few things (often for our own kids to whom she gives the BEST presents) and now she can do it freely without having to ask every time, plus she’ll get access to all the other Amazon Prime benefits including Prime Video.

9/ A really nice water bottle ($45) – Really nice water bottles are great gifts for almost anyone. Pair with a gift card or 6-pack of the recipient’s beverage of choice.

10/ A handwritten thank you note (free) – My kids are still pretty young, but I’ve already experienced the highs and lows of finding childcare and picking the right school. I am so, so, so unbelievably thankful for my son’s teachers and nanny. All the gifts in the world really couldn’t convey the level of my gratitude, so this year I plan to include a hand written note with each of our gifts.