Editor’s note: If you choose a theme or activity that includes food, keep dietary restrictions and allergies in mind during planning; offer alternatives like gift cards or prepackaged foods that won’t spoil for those staff members that need it.
Our Favorite Superheroes
Decorate a bulletin board with personalized superpowers, such as “Mrs. Smith’s superpower is getting kids excited about reading!”
Put a water bottle or two with a superhero label on each teacher’s desk.
Offer a variety of “hero” sandwiches for lunch. Borrow some kids’ action figure toys to use for centerpieces.
Make T-shirts or capes for each teacher with a “super teacher” iron-on design.
Give each teacher a take-home certificate with their superpower on it.
Share a superhero shout-out on your parent group’s Facebook page!
A Little Pampering
Stock the staff restrooms with soft toilet paper, nice soap, and rich hand lotion.
Put out mini scones and muffins in a basket in the teachers lounge.
Set up a tea and coffee bar.
Offer gourmet finger sandwiches and mini quiches for lunch one day (have plenty so teachers can fill up!)
Provide mini massages in the teachers lounge.
Taylor Swift
Wildest (or mildest) dreams taco bar (with hot and mild sauces) or "Shake it off" smoothie bar
Make a DIY friendship bracelet banner to display in the teachers' lounge
Pick a snack to feature for an "In our (fill in the blank) era" theme; for example, "In my chocolate era" or "In my apple era"
Don't forget the life-size Taylor Swift and Travis cardboard cut-outs!
Get even more Taylor Swift teacher appreciation ideas, including free printables ("Our teachers make the whole school shimmer" sign and a Taylor Swift appreciation week at a glance calendar)
Bar None, You’re the Best Teachers Around!
Five days of buffet-style fun! Our video instructions on how to set up a trail mix bar can work for almost any kind of bar you’d like.
Breakfast parfait bar
Soup bar (attach a “souper teacher” label to the to-go containers)
Trail mix bar
For smaller, denser treats like chocolate chips and fruit bits, plan on about 1 oz total per person; for larger, bulkier mix-ins like popcorn and pretzels, figure on 2 oz total per person. This should result in a generous serving to take home.
Hit discount stores like the Dollar Store for serving supplies and even snacks, or buy snacks in bulk to cut costs.
Popcorn bar
Sundae bar
Our Teachers Are Stars
Arrange an applause parade in the hallways as teachers walk to their classrooms.
Give out small bags of Starburst candy with a tag that says “You’re the star of our school!”
Deliver fan mail (notes from students that start with “My teacher is a star because...”) to teachers during class.
Roll out a red carpet Walk of Fame for a VIP lunch in the staff lounge; decorate the carpet with stars showing each teacher’s name.
Give each teacher a personalized “You Set the Stage for Success” certificate; use categories like “Most Encouraging” and “Best Team Player,” or draw from students’ fan mail comments.
Major-League Awesome or Thanks for Covering All the Bases
Decorate a bulletin board with “stats” on each teacher designed like baseball cards.
Give each teacher a baseball cap or baseball jersey-style shirt with the school and PTO name and “Major-League Awesome” or other catchphrase.
Provide a “home run” luncheon: hot dogs with all the fixings, chips, large soft pretzels, Cracker Jacks, and Baby Ruth candy bars.
Make “baseball and bat” pretzel rods and put a few in a little bag for each teacher.
Raffle off four tickets to a weekend home game by your local baseball or farm team.
It’s Such a Treat To Have You as Teachers
Send teachers home each day with something to enjoy whenever they want.
S’mores kit (embellish with a “s’more teachers” gift tag)
Hot cocoa kit
Gourmet trail mix in a lidded cup (try some of these sweet and savory trail mix recipes)
A handful of chocolate-covered strawberries in a take-home container
Small gift card for personal use
Public Displays of Affection
Decorate classroom doors with expressions of love for that room’s teacher.
Decorate a bulletin board with “I love my teacher because...” notes.
Ask parents to contribute teacher shout-outs for morning announcements.
Draw and write chalk messages on the sidewalks outside the school.
Give each teacher a take-home autograph book with their “I love my teacher because...” notes inside (print on self-adhesive labels and stick one to each page after taking down off the bulletin board).
It’s the Thought That Counts
Collect and drop off teachers’ dry-cleaning.
Wash their windshields (or even the whole car).
Give a mini face lift to faculty restrooms or the teachers lounge.
Give each teacher one or two “get out of recess duty” coupons.
Offer an extended lunch for teachers while parents cover cafeteria duty.
Teachers Are Punderful
Your teachers will get a chuckle even while they’re moved by these sentiments.
Hand lotion: “We’re in good hands with you”
Doughuts: “We doughnut know what we’d do without you”
Mini hand-held fan: “We are your greatest fans”
Goldfish crackers or gummy fish: “You are oFISHally the best!”
Seed packet or small potted plant: “Teachers plant seeds of knowledge that will grow forever”
Nacho Ordinary Teachers or Taco ’Bout Great Teachers
Leave a mini potted succulent plant on each teacher’s desk.
Set up a taco, burrito, or nacho bar for lunch. For centerpieces, turn 10-gallon hats upside down and fill with classroom supplies.
Visit teachers during break periods with a paletas (Mexican popsicles) dessert cart.
Offer teachers piñata time in the gym.
Churro truffles are relatively easy to make; put a few in a small box for each teacher to take home.
We Think the World of You
Decorate a bulletin board with a map showing where your school’s teachers are from and include a fun fact about each person.
Offer a breakfast cart with pastries from around the world: scones (England), croissants (France), fried dough sticks (China), blini or sirniki (Russia), and pandesal (Philippines).
Represent teachers’ nationalities with food provided potluck-style by volunteers at a “Best Teachers in the World” luncheon. Decorate with flags from different countries and geographic stickers like the ones put on old-fashioned luggage.
Design a “passport to free time” that includes coupons for parents to take over lunch duty, recess duty, or supervising the drop-off/pickup line; students can contribute with classroom job coupons, too.
Send teachers home with a variety of cookies from around the world; attach a gift tag that says “Thank you!” in different languages.
Let’s Get Real, We Couldn’t Survive Without You (Survivor theme)
Survival kit: Bring your teacher supplies or other desired items for their classroom.
Immunity challenge: Put together a self-care kit with tea, hand sanitizer, energy bar, etc.
Message in a bottle: Write a note to your teacher.
Desert island smoothies: Use tropical fruit for a refreshing treat.
Life’s a beach: Give each teacher a pair of flip-flops and a beach towel with the school logo.
We’ll Be There for You (Friends theme)
The one with the dozen lasagnas
The one with all the candy
The one with Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.
The one with Phoebe’s cookies
The one with the cake
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
#1 fan: Write a letter to a staff member.
Time out: Put out small, individually wrapped treats for a quick break.
You’re an MVP: Create personalized award certificates.
Team colors: Wear your teacher's favorite sports team gear or favorite colors.
Saved by the bell: Provide ice cream or coffee treats at the end of the school day.
Fruits and Flowers
Seed packets (herbs or flowers): Teachers plant the seeds of knowledge.
Fresh flowers or small potted plants: Our garden is in full bloom thanks to you; or, we couldn’t have picked better teachers.
Oranges, clementines, tangerines: Orange you glad it’s almost summer?
Bananas: We are bananas about you, thank you for all you do!
Fresh-squeezed lemonade: Your zest for learning is so refreshing.
Best Staff in the Galaxy (Star Wars theme)
May the forks be with you (any meal)
Thank you we shall (any treat)
After-school refuel (snacks at the end of the day)
Yoda best staff member (personal notes for each staffer)
Jedi supplies (restock classrooms with favorite school supplies, books, etc.)
We Appreciate You to Pieces
We’d be in serious trouble if we didn’t have you
We don’t domi-know what we’d do without you
Here’s a clue how much we appreciate you
We are bowled over by you
We’d be completely puzzled without you
You Help Us Take Flight
Snack service (snack cart or room service)
Drink service (drink cart or new insulated mugs filled with coffee)
In-flight meal (food truck or other)
In-flight entertainment (movie passes)
Baggage claim (take-home treat)
Our Staff Takes the Gold
Gold medal goodies (fridge restock)
Breakfast of champions
Refueling station (coffee or tea)
Winners circle (snacks)
Finish line (dessert bar)
Originally posted in 2017 and updated regularly.
The best PTO advice, ideas, and inspiration delivered weekly. Don’t miss it!
