There is usually a lot of debate whether teachers should spend their own money to buy their students gifts throughout the year. I struggled with the idea myself, especially considering how little I made this year due to a middle of the year shift in districts. However, I did end up getting my students a little something. Check out what I did for my end of the year student gifts.
End of Year Student Gifts
After talking to another teacher on my grade level team, I decided to follow in her shoes and get my students a beach bucket with some goodies. She bought $2 buckets from Walmart, but I was lucky enough to find $1 buckets from Dollar General. At Party City we found an 18 pack of jump ropes for $12, mini beach balls for $0.60, and mini “splasher balls” in an 8 pack for a couple of dollars. At Dollar Tree and got $1 bag of cotton candy. Then at Walmart I got a pack of 8 bubbles for $2.97.

All in all, each bucket cost around $4. I used my oil paint pen to write their names on each one. I think they turned out pretty cute.
Did you do end of the year student gifts? What kind of gift did you do?
Editing to Add – In 2022
In 2022 I did something very similar BUT I found an awesome deal on the buckets over summer! I was able to score the buckets at Dollar General for just $0.50 a piece! Be sure to check out Dollar General or Walmart for their after summer clearance! I also used Oriental Trading to get these cute cactus beach balls (to match my classroom theme) and some fun sunglasses. This time I didn’t include the splash ball or cotton candy. I bought bubbles from the Dollar Tree but they are definitely cheaper at Walmart!
Leave a Reply