10 New Teacher and New Staff Member Gifts and Basket Ideas Under $15, Under $25, and Under $35

Creating a community of support around new staff members and new teachers is one of the most important things we can do to retain teachers and, in turn, support our students. Welcome gifts and support or care packages are a great way to do this and no matter your budget, I have a few fun ideas that might help you as you’re designing your own!

Before you begin shopping, of course, it’s important to make sure that the curricular side of things is streamlined and easy for your new staff member or new teacher to take on. If you need help with this, I have a free curriculum map that can keep things organized and easy to share. Let this be MY gift to YOU!

Okay, now let’s do some shopping!

Teacher Gift Baskets Under $15

If you’re on a budget, there are plenty of cute and adorable items to assemble for a new teacher gift. These three combinations are a great place to start. I’ve used Amazon Affiliate links here, so if you were to use one of my links for a purchase, I will make a small commission at no cost to you. Plenty of these items are discoverable at local shopping destinations, but this seems to be the most universal way to share my gift basket ideas with you!

BASKET #1: THE STARTER TEACHER KIT

Every teacher needs to feel the warm fuzzies of a place for their favorite writing utensils and some stickers for their waterbottle and laptop. This pencil bag comes in a dozen different colors and this pack of stickers is more than any one person could use in a lifetime.

$6.95 Teacher Stickers: https://amzn.to/44EcRgB
$9.99 Pencil Bag: https://amzn.to/3rPgm5d

BASKET #2: THE COLORFUL TEACHER KIT

Teachers are the light of our lives because of their bright outlook on life and love of helping others. Gift your new teacher some color and fun with this colorful teacher kit!

$8.99 Pastel Macaron Highlighters: https://amzn.to/3DukgmE
$6.99 (varies) Teacher socks: https://amzn.to/3Y8DO9F

BASKET #3: THE HEALTHY MINDSET TEACHER KIT

Getting through a first year or a new year can take a toll on both the physical and mental health of a person. Keep your teacher hydrated and focused on one thing at a time using this rip-off daily planner.

$11.99 Collapsible Water Bottle: https://amzn.to/3Qu2aJl
$3.99 Today’s Plan paper pad https://amzn.to/3QgMYir

Teacher Gift Baskets Under $25

If your budget can stretch a bit, I have a few more ideas for you in creating new teacher gift. In each of these combos, you can always add snacks and items from the Dollar Tree or Target Dollar Spot (these change so often I haven’t included them in the post).

BASKET #4: THE KID AT HEART TEACHER KIT

Um…Crayola makes LIP GLOSS? The kid in MY heart added these to my cart right away and I only occasionally share my set with my 4-year-old daughter. New teachers get a workout talking, so combining these speech bubble post-its and chapstick is such a cute combo!

$16.75 Crayola Lip Smacker Lip Balm: https://amzn.to/3QtX93t

$7.99 Speech Bubble Post Its: https://amzn.to/3QazIf4

BASKET #5: THE PENCIL TEACHER KIT

You might have overlooked it because they’re so ordinary, but the amount of adorable pencil paraganglia out there is astounding. Gift your teacher these cute pencil treats for an easy win!

$4.47 Pencil Lanyard: https://amzn.to/3OsShKb
$8.99 Ticonderoga Pencils: https://amzn.to/44FGDRQ
$11.95 Coloring Desk Calendar: https://amzn.to/4720hJz

BASKET #6: THE ASTROBRIGHT TEACHER KIT

To a non-educator, this might sound crazy, but can you even imagine how much a new staff member would enjoy a giant stack of brightly colored paper? This mega pack of Astrobrights and the lined notebook paper would be a fun (and heavy!) gift to wrap!

$18.96 Mega Collection Astrobrights: https://amzn.to/43Jhtk9
$3.39 Astrobrights Filler Paper: https://amzn.to/3rIOlMG

BASKET #7: THE SNACK LOVER TEACHER KIT:

This box is already made and ready to ship! This is just one example of dozens of others on Amazon that will be packed and delivered to stock up your teacher’s snack drawer for those hangry afternoon staff meetings.

$19.99 Hangry Box: https://amzn.to/3Oy0nBx

Teacher Gift Baskets Under $35

These gifts ring in right around the $35 price point and would make great gifts from a group or a team. Feel free to mix and match from the list above to create even more possibilities for the new teacher coming into your lives.

BASKET #8: THE ENCOURAGED TEACHER KIT

I love these encouragement cards for teachers to be used as a daily or weekly reminder of how much they are believed in. And the cup? Just the perfect combination of words to keep up a teacher’s spirits.

$10.99 Encouragement Cards: https://amzn.to/43Mtd5f
$16.99 Teacher Cup with lid and straw: https://amzn.to/3YdU3Cs

BASKET #9: THE MAKEUP IN THE CAR TEACHER KIT

This one might be a bit personal, but I’m no stranger to needing to finish getting ready on the way to school. This gift is for the running-behind teacher like me!

$14.68 Anti-Puff Eye Roller: https://amzn.to/3Qft2MP
$12.99 Makeup bag for the car: https://amzn.to/3O67BLG
$4.97 Tinted lip balm: https://amzn.to/44XRdUi

BASKET #10: THE ORGANIZED TEACHER KIT

There’s a special joy about setting up your teacher desk at the start of a new job. These are some great ads for your new person!

$6.99 To Do List Daily Planner Notepad: https://amzn.to/477q3fE
$8.99 Mini Desk Organizer: https://amzn.to/3rEMkRz
$13.99 Floral Stapler: https://amzn.to/470V0Sp

No matter the circumstances, finding moments to celebrate, welcome, and lift up teachers in your community is time and money worth spending. I hope these ideas inspire you to spoil a teacher this year and continually look for ways to build the love in our community!

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