Welcome Back to School: Affordable and adorable gift ideas for your students

As the new school year kicks off, giving your students a small gift at the first day of school can make a big impact. It’s a great way to break the ice and show them that you’re excited to start this journey together. Making a great first impression is crucial because relationships start forming the moment you meet, and strong relationships are the top tool for effective classroom management. Here are some affordable, cool, and cute student back to school gift ideas that you can either buy or make yourself.

1. Customized Bookmarks

Bookmarks are a practical and personal gift. You can make them using colorful cardstock and add motivational quotes or cool stickers (I buy mine from Aliexpress and they are very cheap). For a tech twist, include a QR code that links to a welcome message or a favorite educational website.

2. Pencils/pens/crayons

Pencils are always useful! Buy plain pencils in bulk and add a cool tag, or buy those (also very cheap) colorful and “motivational” pencils with positive affirmations on them. You can find a lot of options on Amazon.

These colorful pens are something I did for my 6th grade students in 2023. I bought the pens from Amazon (6 different colors a pack, $2 for a pack), and the tags are something special I created. I did upload these and 5 more gift cards/tags to my TpT store, scroll down to get the link.

3. Tech-Themed Stickers

Students love stickers, especially when they have a fun, techy theme. Look for packs of computer, robot, devices, or emoji stickers. These can brighten up their notebooks and binders, adding a bit of personality. Add 1 or 2 stickers to a cool looking gift tag/card and you are ready. Again, Aliexpress got you covered with their cheap stickers. Just search for “computer stickers” or “technology stickers”.

Here’s an example – I got this pack of 50 different gamer-related stickers from Aliexpress. The whole pack cost me like $2 and it can cover two whole classes of students if I gift 1 to each student 😊

4. DIY Stress Balls

Help students manage first-day jitters with DIY stress balls. You can make these using balloons and filling them with flour or rice. Draw cute faces on them to give each one a unique character.

5. Fun Erasers

Erasers come in all sorts of fun shapes and sizes. Look for ones that match the tech theme, like robots or computers. They’re practical and add a bit of fun to the school day.

6. A TREAT (like popcorn!)

Give your students a treat with a small bag of popcorn! You can buy pre-packaged popcorn or make your own (that’s what I did last year, and what I’m surely doing next year as well). Add a cute tag that says, “Popping in to say welcome back!” This snack is both fun and tasty, and it’s sure to be a hit.

These small gestures can make your students feel welcomed and excited about the year ahead. Plus, they don’t have to break your bank. Happy gifting and here’s to a fantastic school year!

And, if you need fun and cute Technology-related back to school gift cards/tags, I got you covered! Just go to my TpT store, following this link: Back to school Technology related gift cards tags for students and get a set of 6 different designs you can use with your students. Just print, cut and use them, extremely easy. Time to shine! Time to make a good first impression in your computer lab / technology classroom!