We are almost at the “Back to School” time of year! Here is a round up of back to school gifts for kids that is a great way to start their year off right.
Whether you are a teacher looking for ideas for student gifts, a parent looking for a clever surprise for your little one, or in search of a craft you can make with your little ones to share with their new friends on the first day, these back to school gift ideas are sure to make any kid smile!
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The Ultimate Roundup of Back to School Gifts for Kids
Here are some really clever ideas that are simple enough to put together and that will help children feel a little more at ease and excited about beginning a new year of school.
A fun little gift is a great way to start the school year and to ease their way in to a new classroom setting.
It’s a great way to celebrate the beginning of the school year. Kids love to get a little surprise like this as it seems to ease their nerves and take their mind off them. It also helps your child’s teacher to make the first day got a lot smoother!
You can create a little basket of items for your kids or just little goodie bags to hand out to their classmates!
Gift ideas for back to school
Here are some inexpensive and easy ideas to gift to your kids! These are ideas that you can buy from the school supply section but these go beyond the ordinary supplies that you may find!
- Scented Glue Sticks – not your regular glue sticks, these smell like apple pie and mango pineapple!
- Reward Pencils with Erasers – comes in a pack of 22 so makes the perfect gift for a classroom or even for a birthday party favor!
- Cute Animal Pencil Case – pencil cases are always a hit at our house and it doubles as a toy organizer too!
- Squishmallows Pencil Pouch – it’s soft and squishy and holds all your pens and pencils!
- Reward Erasers – 25 of the cutest sea creature erasers you will find!
- Stamp Markers – They can color and have fun stamping with these!
- Paint Sticks – these make painting so easy and it’s great for toddlers to older kids! You get all different colors so your kids can be as creative as they want to be!
Where to buy back to school gifts
I find my back to school gifts everywhere but these are my favorite places to shop for a special gift to celebrate the start of a new school year.
- Walmart – One of the best places to get affordable school supplies. I bought so many of the items you see on this post at Walmart for less than $5!
- Etsy – The best place to find custom and personalized gifts for your kids and teachers too!
- Amazon – My favorite spot if you want items in larger quantity. If you are needing classroom gifts, you can find great finds and great prices on Amazon!
- Target – They have some of the cutest accessories and toys for back to school!
- Zulily – I recommend signing up for a Zulily account so you never miss a sale! Their sales only last a few days but they have some of the best deals around!
- Minted – if you are looking for personalized lunch box, pencil pouches and even name labels in modern designs, Minted is the place to go. You can even get personalized stationary for your kids!
More Back to school gifts for kids
Beyond the typical back to school gifts you could also get your kids these items, especially for the first day of school!
I love to stock up on these kinds of gifts for all sorts of occasions and they work for little kids to high school and big kids.
Light up Sneakers – These are so popular with kids and they get so excited to wear them!
Mini Magnetic Drawing Board – Something to keep them busy on their bus ride or even at recess! The small size is perfect to keep on their school backpacks!
Personalized Water Bottles – Our school requires all kids to have their own water bottles so this ensures that your kids don’t get their water bottle mixed up with someone else’s!
“First Day” tee shirts – so fun for your kids but you can also give one as a back to school teacher gift too!
I bought one for my daughter for 1st grade and she was so excited to wear it!
Squishmallows school supplies
If your kid is a fan of Squishmallows, I had to share these cute pencil cases!
Both my daughters are obsessed with Squishmallows (and I am too!) and these pencil cases are so well made and just as soft as the Squishmallows toys!
Personalized pouch for back to school
Pencil cases are great, but my daughter often has so many more things that she wants to take to school so I got these reusable zipper pouches, added the smiley face and name with the Cricut Explore 3 and voila! An inexpensive personalized pouch that she can carry all her school supplies and more.
Back to School Gift Baskets
I like to have a little surprise set out for my girls with their breakfast on their first day of school, and a fun back to school gift basket is a great idea!
You can fill it with all kinds of goodies like paint sets, a fun water bottle and a sketch pad. This would be a perfect way to get a little one excited who is feeling nervous about starting school.
Personalize your back to school gifts with gift tags!
Here’s a fun way to gift classroom supplies for little to no money, print out these cute printables or gift tags!
A lot of these ideas include FREE printable downloads so be sure to keep your eye out for those links below!
You don’t have to spend a lot of money, most of these gift ideas can be found at the dollar store or Amazon, like simple plastic gift bags, and are very inexpensive!
These gifts do not need to break the bank but will make a big impact and are so much fun!
Printable Treat Tag for Back to School Gifts
These editable gift tags are great attached to a sweet treat! You can attach it to candy, a donut printed notebook or treat erasers instead. Get the printable here to create your own sweet back to school gift.
You Will Glow New Student Gift
What kid doesn’t love glow sticks? I thought this “You Will Glow” gift was so clever and fun for new students. This would be a great gift to give at the start of a new year and works for younger kids as well as older kids.
These student gift tags would be be a great gift to give the night before to your kids at home as well to use at night if they are feeling nervous at all the night before the first day.
These fun glow bracelets would be another great option as well!
Have a Bright School Year Marker Gift Tags
“Have a Bright School Year” gift is so encouraging and fun! I love that it is a simple gift paired with fun colored markers.
This could be easily handed out to students on the first day of school, or as a surprise from mom and dad left in their backpack. These cute printable gift tags are free and are the perfect way to encourage a great year ahead.
Lego Back to School Gift
My girls LOVE legos so I know they would be thrilled with this fun Lego themed back to school gift! This is such a sweet gift for teachers to give out to welcome students.
The small printable tags are free here! Just print them out and attach to a baggy filled with various blocks. This is a great item for kids to have during free time at school as they help with fine motor skills and igniting creativity.
Back to School Bubble Gift Tag
Another popular item for little ones…bubbles! These “Bubbles of Fun!” tags are so cute and a great addition to some mini bubble wands for kids to enjoy during recess.
Bubbles are sure to put a smile on littles ones faces and take away the first day jitters.
Back to School – You Will Be a Star Gift
Encourage your little ones with a sweet message and sweet treat all in one! I love this play on words with the “You Will Be a Star” gift tags and the starbursts candy.
This would work great as a gift from teachers or as a gift to include in your kiddos lunchbox for a mid-day surprise! If you’d like to avoid giving candy as a gift, you could always use the printable tag on something like these star shaped stress balls that will keep little hands busy and are great for fine motor skills!
We’re Going to Have A Ball Back to School Gift
This bouncy ball gift is sure to be a hit with all of the younger kids! Get the full tutorial here on how to create this adorable back to school gift.
The site offers free printables specific from first grade through 3rd grade as well as generic “this year” versions as well so if you were in need of another grade they would work great.
These bouncy balls come in assorted colors and patterns and are very inexpensive for a bulk pack.
Back to School Notepad Gift
I thought this back to school notepad gift would be a great one for older kids to enjoy.
The printable gift tag is free for you to include with any type of notepad to gift to your kiddos. I like that this encourages writing and shares a sweet message all in one.
This would be great paired with some new pencils that have a fun rainbow design, and the cute printable tag is the perfect topper to it all.
Back to School Kids Gift Tag
This is another printable gift tag that works at the perfect topper to a bag full of school supply goodies.
Gather up some fun pencils, erasers, pens and markers to create a mini back to school kit. Here’s a fun way to include these cute pencils with erasers and scented erasers that all kids love!
You can easily make your own fun gift mix of little items, just add them to a plastic bag and top with the cute gift tag for a perfect back to school gift for kids of all ages.
Do you like to surprise your kids with a back to school gift? What has been their most favorite one? I would love to know in the comments!
Head here for more back to school ideas!
Back to School Free Coloring Pages for Preschoolers
