Celebrating a long, well-spent teaching career calls for something special. These teachers’ retirement gifts recognize their contributions and help them plan for the best years yet to come! There are options here to suit any budget and interest, so you’ll find something for any teacher in the back of the classroom.
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1. World Globe
Over the years, they have come up with a world of kids. Now you can pay for them yourself! Engrave their names and retirement dates for personal touch.
Buy it: Replogle 12 ″ Hastings Globe
2. Autograph Quilt
Next year, when they will be sitting quietly under their quilts while everyone else is going to school on a cold snowy morning, they will be able to see all these good wishes and feel warm inside and out!
Buy it: Autograph Quilt / ETC.
3. Teacher’s retirement sign
Really want something simple that adds to their accomplishments? Personalize this sign for your retired teacher, then print it out and present it in a nice frame.
Buy it: Printable Teacher Retirement Sign / Etsy
4. Plant a tree
If you have space on your school grounds, consider creating a Retired-Teachers Grove, where you will plant a tree for each teacher whose work has been completed. No room at school? TreeGivers will plant a tree in their honor on government land in the state of your choice.
Buy this: TreeGivers
5. Celestron Telescope
Retired teachers may finally be late enough to do some stargazing! Celestron makes incredible telescopes, and this model is great for beginners. Looking to give them a more advanced model? The NexStar 8SE is well suited for advanced home astronomers.
Buy it: Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope
6. Bucket list inspiration
Every retiree looks forward to the days when they can do as much or as little as their heart desires. Help them make some fun plans for the future with these popular books that are ideal for making bucket lists
7. Travel Guide
If you already know that they plan to hit the road, travel guides give teachers great gifts for leisure! Here are some of our favorites.
8. Carry-on closet
Now that they’re ready to retire their teacher’s bag, your retiree deserves a great travel bag to take his place. The carry-on of the soulguard is a top choice. It’s small enough to fit in an overhead bin, but spacious and easy to keep organized on the street.
Buy it: Soulguard Carry-On Closet Plus
9. Push Pin Travel Map
A personalized map lets retired teachers track their travels around the world. These maps are mounted on corkboard and come with pushpins to mark their travels.
Buy it: Push Pin Travel Map
10. Scratch-off bucket list poster
Cool teacher leisure gift like scratch off poster! As they complete each item, they scratch it, revealing a colorful image below. They are available for lots of bucket list topics. Here are some great things teachers will really appreciate:
11. School Portrait Art
If your honorary teachers have spent most or all of their careers in a single school, consider having a special portrait of the building. Minted takes a picture of any building and turns it into something truly unique.
Buy it: Custom House Portrait / Minted
12. Tribute video montage
No teacher leisure party would be complete without a video montage of their year job! You can combine your own or use a service like Tribute. Their easy-to-use tools let you assemble the montage yourself, or you can pay a little more and have a professional assemble something spectacular.
Buy it: Shraddha Video Montage
13. Personalized picture book
Photo book classic teacher leisure gift. Rub archives to save photos, documents, and more Then combine them into one high quality book that they can keep forever. We like the guest book option, which has space on each page for handwritten messages (just like the school’s annual book!)
Buy this: Artifact Rebellion Photo Guest Book
14. LovePop Retirement Card
Need a unique card that makes a great kipsack? This is it! A pull-out insert provides a space for a long message or personalized tribute.
Buy it: LovePop Goodbye and Good Luck Card
15. Audible membership
Give a light-loving teacher plenty of audiobooks to enjoy the much-needed downtime they deserve. Audible gift subscriptions are available from one month to one year, so there are options for all price ranges.
Buy it: Sweetheart Gift Subscription
16. Kindle Paperwhite or Fire
Amazon’s e-readers and tablets offer great value for money. If you already have a retired teacher, consider a Kindle Unlimited membership.
Buy it: Kindle Paperwhite and Fire HD8 tablets
17. Birding gear
Leisure is the time to explore new hobbies or spend a lot of time on old ones. Bird-loving teachers will appreciate a field diary and a set of quality binoculars for continuing their adventure.
Buy it: Sibyl Border Life List and Field Diary And Celestron Nature DX 8 × 42 binoculars
18. Garden supplies
Does your retired teacher have (or want to have) a green thumb? Give them a set of quality gardening tools and a log book to plan for the future and create notes on their successes and challenges.
Buy it: Gardener’s log book And AM Leonard 5-Tool Gardening Set
19. Fishing tackle
For teachers who spend their classroom days dreaming of staying on the water, the gift of fishing is the way to go! Get them a rod rack to display and store their gear, or a box of hand-tied flies for a few days in the river.
Buy it: Rush Creek Creations Rod Rack & Venture Fly Co. Hand-tied flies
20. Foody subscription box
Eat to live, or live to eat? No need to make decisions with these subscription boxes, which give great teacher leisure gifts. There are hundreds of boxes to choose from. Here are some of our top picks for these high rated options: