I’m a mum-of-two and make teacher gifts for a fiver with Home Bargains, Tesco & Temu buys – here’s what you need

THE school holidays are almost here and unless you’re organised in advance, that means scrambling to buy a last-minute gift for your child’s teacher.

But if you’re a parent who has left it right until the day before the teachers hang up their flashcards for summer, there’s still time to rustle something up.

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I managed to make these gift bags for my children’s teachers for less than a fiver each[/caption]

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I found some adorable buys on a budget including this little plant from Home Bargains for 99p[/caption]

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This glasses case, again from Home Bargains, is a great choice if you’re buying for a glasses-wearer[/caption]

Like me, the majority of parents want to show their appreciation to the teachers and assistants who look after their kids five days a week.

I take my hat off to the anyone who can get my two kids, aged ten and six, switched on to learning because they’re a handful at home.

But which teacher really wants another bottle of wine or scented bubble bath?

With a full summer of keeping the kids entertained ahead, I wanted to keep costs down so I snapped up budget buys from Home Bargains, Tesco, and Temu.

I turned them into cute gift sets for their two teachers, and two teaching assistants, costing under £5 each.

Home Bargains

When it comes to high street stores, Home Bargains has one of the best selections of teachers gifts I’ve seen this year.

And while there’s a fine line between “tatt” and “treasure”, there were some really cute options on offer.

For any bespectacled teachers, there’s a glasses case featuring the words ‘Spec-tacular teacher’ for just £1.99.

There’s also your bog standard mug, given a cute twist with the slogan “This teacher runs on coffee” for £1.99, as well as a “star teacher” mug and pen set for £2.99.

There were also “The World’s Greatest Teacher” keyrings for 99p, and a cute apple plush for £1.99.

My personal favourite was an adorable little faux plant, featuring the words “thank you for helping me grow” on the front, which were just 99p each.

I bought two of those, as well as one of the glasses cases and a “Thank You Teacher” candle for £1.99.

Temu

It doesn’t have the best reputation, but I’ve personally never run into any issues shopping on sites like Temu or Shein.

And I’m always blown away by just how much you can get for your money on these sites.

As with any store, you have to make your way through the cheap rubbish to find the hidden gems.

But I really think I found some.

It’s also my first year buying for a male teacher, as my children have both always had female teachers until now.

As my son and his teacher have a shared love of reading, I wanted to get something to reflect that, so opted for this “Thank you for being part of my story” bookmark for £1.49.

It felt like good quality when it arrived, too, and has a cute feather detail on the end of the bookmark tassel.

For my daughter’s main teacher, I got a cute make-up bag which says “teach them, love them, watch them grow” on the front, and that was just £1.28.

I also got two teacher appreciation cards for the two main teachers – one of which my daughter can customise by adding things like what her teacher has helped her with, and her favourite thing about her.

That one was 78p, while the card I bought for my son to give to his teacher was £1.07.

I also got a two pack of mini sunflower charms for the teaching assistants, which came with a little verse and cost just £1.34 for two.

I then bought a pack of 10 brown paper bags, for £1.98, and a thank you stamp for £3.14 – both of which I’ll be able to use for future gifts if not used this time around.

Using the stamp and an ink pad I already had, I was able to create a cute pattern of ‘thank you’s’ over the front of the brown bags.

I also got a pack of eight thank you cards for £1.53 – again which I’ll be able to use on future occasions – which came with their own envelopes and seal stickers.

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I thought this little make-up pouch was so cute, and it was only £1.48[/caption]

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I bought a pack of eight thank you cards for £1.53, and will easily find occasions to use the other four[/caption]

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These little sunflower tokens are perfect for TAs, and were £1.34 for the pair[/caption]

Tesco

I got the remainder of bits I needed for the bags from Tesco.

This is where I really took advantage of in-store offers and Clubcard prices, buying chocolate and sweets that were a reasonable price in the supermarket.

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I took advantage of in-store offers at Tesco to try and find the best price, and settled on some cookies for £1.25 a pack[/caption]

It’s also a good idea to think about other things that could make a welcome addition to the bag, such as some cookies – which are often a lot cheaper than boxes of chocolates or sweets.

I ended up settling on two packs of sultana and oat cookies from Tesco for £1.25 a pack.

As well as two packs of the spiced stem ginger cookies, also for £1.25 each.

I also bought a roll of silver gift ribbon from here, which I’ll use to make cute additions to the bags when they’re finished.

Finishing touches

The last item I wanted to add to the gift bags is something that I couldn’t buy.

I asked my children to do pictures for their teachers, and their teaching assistants, to include in the bags.

As I’m friends with several teachers, they’ve told me on many occasions that homemade gifts like this mean a lot more than some of the expensive things other parents splash out on.

And the kids love doing it too. So it’s a win win!

If you’re really strapped for cash, just get your kids to whip up a drawing, or a little clay model for their teachers.

Or, if you have a garden, why not send them out to pick some flowers which you can turn into a pretty home made bouquet.

They’ll enjoy picking them and the teachers will be just as pleased.

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For an extra personal touch, get your child to draw a picture for their teacher[/caption]