17 Easy End of the Year Gifts for Students

The end of the school year always sneaks up fast! If you’re someone who enjoys giving your students a little gift as a parting gesture, now is the perfect time to start planning. While it’s important to remember that you don’t have to spend a lot of money—nor do you have to give gifts at all—it can be fun to think about some affordable and meaningful options.

Gift-giving can be as simple or elaborate as you want it to be. Your local dollar store can provide a treasure trove of budget-friendly ideas, which is a relief when you’ve likely spent much of your own money on classroom supplies throughout the year. But full disclosure: no teacher is obligated to give gifts, and there should never be any pressure to do so.

If you want to, that’s awesome—if not, that’s okay too! But if you’re looking for fun, affordable gifts, or even free alternatives, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive into some creative ideas!

PUNNY and Simple Gift Ideas

Do you want to give your students something memorable, but don’t want to break the bank? Here are some pun-filled, easy gift ideas that will leave a lasting impression!

Crazy Straws

Grab some Crazy Straws from Amazon, Party City or Oriental Trading Company to create a cute, and affordable, gift for your students!

Add gift tags to them with a saying, like “This school year was STRAW-some”. “Thank you for a CRAZY STRAW-some school year!”, or “SIP SIP HOORAY! Let’s celebrate our last day!”, and you have the perfect end-of-year gifts for your students! It’s a simple way to make your students smile while keeping your costs low.

Glow Sticks

Glow sticks are another affordable option, and with a little creativity, you can turn them into a thoughtful gift. Attach a note that says, “I loved watching you GLOW this school year!” or “Keep SHINING BRIGHT!” It’s a fun and cheerful way to celebrate the progress your students have made.

Beach or Stress Balls

Another great idea is to give your students a beach ball or stress ball with a tag that says, “I hope you have a BALL this summer! I will miss you!” It’s simple, fun, and functional, offering your students a reminder of your class as they relax over summer break. Grab some adorable ones here.

Bubble Wands

Oh, and you cannot go wrong with a bubble wand! Of course you’ll have to add a note that says something like “Have a BUBBLY and fun summer!”, “You BLEW me away this school year”, or “I hope your summer BUBBLES with fun!”. 

End of the Year Fun!

If physical gifts aren’t your style, why not focus on making memories instead? Here are some end-of-year activities that will create lasting impressions and don’t require spending much money.

Class Picnic

This could be a whole class picnic celebration, where everyone brings a treat to share or you just have lunch outside together! You can supply water bottles and add a cute note to them! Just grab some water bottle stickers and write a personal message or punny saying on each of them!

A label that says “SIP SIP HOORAY you’re going to [insert next grade level here]!” is a fun way to celebrate the end of the year!

Award Ceremony

You could also host an award ceremony where students get awards that their classmates chose for each other. 

This one takes some time on your end, but it is FREE (besides the paper and ink, but hopefully your school supplies that)!

Create a list of awards that students can choose to vote for their classmates to win. Then, go through the list and see which award each student got voted for the most. Make award certificates for each student and then present them like a real award ceremony! This will be a fun memory for students to look back on!

Field Trip

A walking field trip to a local park is also a great option that doesn’t cost anything, but if you want to provide a little gift for that, you could always grab some inexpensive sunglasses and take a picture as a class wearing them at the park! 

A perfect gift idea would be to print out the class picture for each student, too!

Class “Movie”

Even a “movie” presentation of videos and pictures from throughout the school year could be special and meaningful. You can even send it virtually home so kids can watch it over and share with their family! Bonus popcorn is relatively inexpensive and will make it extra special!

Memory Keepsakes

There are so many meaningful end of the year gifts you can make that your students will cherish for a long time! 

Here are some sentimental end of year student gift ideas:

Personalized Letters

Handwritten letters are always a great idea, especially since they are sentimental and can be personalized for each of your students. 

It is your chance to tell your students how proud of each and every one of them you are of their hard work, as well as to tell them what you will remember the most about them.

Getting a handwritten note that they can cherish forever (as long as they don’t lose it) is a great way to end the school year! 

My favorite is when students keep their notes and when they get to middle school they put it up in their locker – PRICELESS!

Customized T-Shirts

Customized T-Shirts are another adorable gift option! You can create them as a class with fabric markers or paint and a shirt that your students bring from home.

There are so many thing you can do to customize the shirts, but here are some ideas:

• have everyone sign each shirt
• have everyone put their handprint on the each shirt and sign their name next to it
• you write each students’ name on their own shirt and have the shirts laid out on tables or desks so that everyone can walk around and write a positive word that describes each student

No matter what you do with the shirts, as long as you complete them as a class you’ll have a great time together and make another memory before the end of the school year! The shirts can even be worn on the last day of school!

Teacher Selfie

Another great personalized gift would be to take a selfie with each student that you can print out and put on a piece of colored cardstock (bonus points if you glue them on a piece of paper that is their favorite color!). On the cardstock, you can write a personal note, an inspirational quote, a favorite memory, or just sign your name! 

You can even make them into bookmarks to help continue your students’ love of reading!

Whatever you do, this is a great gift that your students will enjoy looking back on once you become their former teacher!  

Comparison Photos

This one requires a bit of prep right at the beginning of the school year, so save it for next year!

Take a picture of each student on the first day of school and save them to a folder on your phone, computer or Google Drive.

Then, take another picture during the last week of the school year. Print both pictures out and add them to cardstock to gift to each student then add personalized note to each of them with your favorite memories. 

This is a great way to show your students how much they have grown throughout the year! 

Friendship bracelets

Friendship bracelets would make easy end of year gifts! 

Whether you make them for your students or have them make them to share with one another your students will love the keepsake!  You would just need to supply the string, and beads if you choose to use them (you can find these items are Dollar Tree).

Memory Books

Students can write about a favorite memory, or two, that they had from the school year on a piece of paper – they can even decorate the paper. 

Then, once each student is done, you can copy the pages and put them together like a book for each student to take home with them and look back on all the memories from the school year!

Treats with a Personal Touch

Who doesn’t love getting edible gifts? Seriously!

Here are some ideas for gifts students can eat!

Freeze Pops

Grab some ice pops or freeze pops (you know, the ones in the plastic tubes?) and add a little note to them! 

You don’t even have to have them frozen, you can give them to your students in liquid form for them to enjoy during the summer!

Some note ideas:

• “Thank you for a COOL school year!” 
• “Have a COOL summer!”
• “It was COOL being your teacher!”

Blow Pops

Another edible gift idea would be blow pops!

Make a cute gift tag that says “This school year has BLOWN by so fast, have a POPPIN’ summer break!” or “You BLEW me away this school year!” to attach to each blow pop and you are all set!

S’Mores Kit

A s’mores kit with graham crackers, mini Hershey’s bars, and marshmallows in a ziplock bag makes for a fun treat. Attach a note that says, “The world needs S’MORE kids like you!” and you’ve got a thoughtful and delicious gift.

No matter how you choose to celebrate the end of the school year—whether through a gift or by making memories—the important thing is the bond you’ve built with your students. From personalized letters to class picnics, pun-filled gifts to heartfelt letters, it’s all about creating a lasting impact. 

The end of the year is a time to reflect on the growth and fun you’ve shared, and your students will undoubtedly remember the special moments you’ve created together. So whether you’re handing out a gift or spending time on meaningful activities, your students will carry those memories with them long after they leave your classroom.