Holiday gift giving can be tricky, so let’s chat about 5 Holiday Gift Ideas for Paraprofessionals. Our paraprofessionals work so hard all year, so the holiday season is a great time to give them a gift to show them how much you appreciate them.
Holiday Gift Idea #1: Personalized Gifts
Personalized gifts are a great way to give a meaningful gift to your paraprofessionals. One idea would be to personalize a tumbler with their name. I have given my assistants matching personalized insulated tumblers with their name the kids call them. For example, Ms. Whitney, Ms. Suzy, Ms. Smith, etc. Another great personalized gift would be a personalized teacher bag with their name. I have been gifted personalized bags, and I still use them for all the things I have to carry to school every day. If you have a Cricut, you could make the personalized logos yourself, of there are lots of great affordable options on Etsy.
One other personalized gift I have received and loved are ornaments. You could get personalized ornaments with your paraprofessionals names, the year, your school name, classroom name, etc. You can see an example of a personalized ornament I received in the photo at the top of this blog post. Each bead represented a student in my classroom. Personalized ornaments are such sweet, thoughtful gifts!
To add an extra special touch to your personalized gifts, you could stuff the tumbler or bag with extra gifts. I like to add gift cards, snacks the person likes, school supplies, hand sanitizer, etc. Lots of the filler items could be found at the dollar store or the value section of Target.
Holiday Gift Idea #2: Team T-Shirts
Another great option for a paraprofessional gift is team t-shirts. In my classroom, we always give gifts to each other during the holiday season. One year, one of my paraprofessionals got t-shirts for our classroom team that said “Chaos Coordinator.” We still wear those shirts now! It was such a fun, throughtful gift for our classroom team. It gave us a fun way to coordinate some days at school with our matching t-shirts.
This is another option that you could make yourself if you have a Cricut or something similar, or you can find tons of options on Etsy. You can also give these in a bundle with extra smaller gifts if you wanted to add to your gift.
Holiday Gift Idea #3: School Supply Bundle w/ Badge Holder
The next gift idea I have for you is school supply bundles with badge holders. This is a great way to give your paraprofessionals the school supplies they like and need for the classroom. Also, I don’t know about everyone else, but I absolutely love getting new badge holders. There are tons of great teacher options on Etsy whether you like a lanyard, reel, wrist band, or any other type of badge holder. You can find a great option here. My assistants and I love being able to have our badge and our keys together on one holder.
In addition to the badge holder, you can give a bundle of school supplies. Some fan favorites are flair pens, personalized stationary, click counters, stamps, and timers. This is a great holiday gift idea, or you could give this gift a the start of a new school year too!
Holiday Gift Idea #4: Gift Cards
A fool proof holiday gift idea for paraprofessionals would be a gift card. I like to give my assistants a little survey in the beginning of the year to get an inventory of their interests, likes, and favorite things. You can find a great survey on the Simply Special Ed TpT Store (free!) here. This quick and easy survey can help you make sure you get a gift card your paraprofessionals like.
Like the other gift ideas, you can bundle a gift card with other small gifts if you wanted to add a little extra to your gift. I will frequently make a cute card and write a handwritten note along with a gift card to show my appreciate for my paras. A sincere, handwritten note can go a long way to show your gratitude and appreciation for all they do!
Holiday Gift Idea #5: Self-Care Set
My last gift idea for you is a self-care set, like a lotion, soap, and hand sanitizer set. You can use the Para Favorites Survey to make sure you get scents your paraprofessional likes. A self-care set is a great gift for this time of year because we could all use some extra relaxation over the holidays! I love getting lotion, soap, and sanitzer sets as a holiday gift. You could also do bath bombs, bath salts, eye masks, face masks, and so much more! You can find all of these items at places like Target, Bath and Body Works, Ulta, etc.
I hope my 5 holiday gift ideas for paraprofessionals are helpful to you! The holidays are a great time to show your paraprofessionals just how much you appreciate them and all they do in the classroom. If you use any of these gift ideas, share a photo in the comments or tag @simplyspecialed on instagram! For more ideas on how to get to know your paraprofessionals likes and interests, check out Alyssa’s blog post here. What gifts do you give your paraprofessionals during the holidays?
