It’s safe to say that there are two types of teacher gifts that are always popular: food gifts and gift cards (not necessarily in that order). This year, you can add a personal touch to those homemade gingrebread people or no-bake peppermint cookie balls with one of these lovely—and free—printable teacher cards. Each of these free printable food gift cards ties into a simple culinary theme and is nothing that can’t be pulled off last minute, especially with a little help from the kids.
Okay, well, maybe a couple of them require a little planning. But teachers really are the best and they deserve all the extra love we can give. Which is also why we really focused on cards that are designed beautifully and tastefully. (No offense to comic sans.)
Also note none of the ideas here are too holiday specific — which means they’re not only great regardless of what holidays your teacher celebrates, but they can be used for end-of-year gifts, and Teacher Appreciation Week too.
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Updated for 2023
Related: Our giant list of more than 200 DIY holiday gift ideas for everyone on your list
Free printable teacher cards for food gifts:
For the holidays and beyond
Know that there are so many ways to package holiday food gifts–especially baked goods. Check out our post on 10 festive ways to package holiday cookie gifts or grab a pretty tin (these are so gorgeous!), a wide-mouthed mason jar, a bakery box, cellophane, or a pretty cork top jar that can be used over and over. It’s really hard to go wrong.
I can never resist a great pun, or a great mini bundt cake which is a clever, slightly more gourmet alternative to cupcakes. The free thanks a bundt’ch printable teacher gift card from eighteen25 is adorable — and these recipes from Bonni Bakery looks exquisite. I would try all six flavors.
The free Smart Cookies teacher printable at Make Bake Celebrate might be one of the simplest, sweetest ways to demonstrate your teacher appreciation. If you or your kids like to bake, make a batch of cookies together, to connect act of giving to someone who has given to your child in a meaningful way.
If you want a slightly more sophisticated version of the tag above, maybe for an older child, Skip to my Lou has (as always) a beautiful free printable tag made just for teacher gifts. Whether you give a dozen cookies or a single one, it’s just perfect.
This “Thankful For You” free teacher printable at Eat Sleep Make is perfect if you’re looking for a simple, yet sincere message, no puns. Get out your loaf pans and bake a loaf cake or Zucchini Bread, wrap with simple brown kraft paper and attach the note. Voila: a simple, stand-out gift for a stand-out teacher.
Related: 14 more of the cutest printable teacher cards to make thoughtful food gifts more fun.
Whether you want to hand out boxes, bags, or tubes of cookies, check out these free printable holiday cookie bag tags from Balancing Home as a simple way to package some homemade baked treats.I love how they look clipped with a clothespin to the top of a colorful gift bag; you can even have your kids decorate the clothespins to make them more personal and festive.
The free printable ExSTRAWdinary teacher gift tag from Giggles Galore is a reminder that not all food gifts have to be baked goods. Attach it to a festive bottle of sparkling cider — or your teacher is a fan of frapucinnos, with a gift card for Starbucks or your favorite local coffee shop.
Related: Wonderful ways to make 12 of the most popular gift cards more gifts
Of course a bottle of wine isn’t appropriate for every teacher (or necessarily allowed — check your school rules!) But this free printable wine bottle thank you tag from How About Orange is so sophisticated, and would be fine with a non-alcoholic gift as well. A beautiful four-pack of gourmet Fever Tree Ginger Beer perhaps? Or try something fancier, like Lyre’s Italian Orange Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo.
