Celebrating a long, well-spent teaching career calls for something special. These teacher retirement gifts recognize teachers’ contributions and help them plan for the best years yet to come! There are options here to fit any budget and interest, so you’ll find something for any teacher who’s leaving the classroom behind.
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1. World Globe
For years, they’ve been giving kids the world. Now you can give them their own in return! Have their name and retirement date engraved on the base for a personalized touch.
Buy it: Replogle 12-inch Hastings Globe at Amazon
2. Autograph Quilt
Next year when retired teachers are snuggling under their quilt while everyone else is trudging off to school on a cold snowy morning, they can look at all these well-wishes and feel warm inside and out!
Buy it: Autograph Quilt at Etsy
3. Teacher Retirement Sign
Want something simple that really sums up their accomplishments? Have this sign personalized for your retiring teacher, then print it and present it in a beautiful frame.
Buy it: Printable Teacher Retirement Sign at Etsy
4. Plant a Tree
If your school grounds have space, consider creating a Retired Teachers Grove, where you plant a tree for each educator whose work is done. No room at school? TreeGivers will plant a tree in their honor on public lands in the state of your choice.
Buy it: TreeGivers
5. Celestron Telescope
Retired teachers can finally stay up late enough to do some stargazing! Celestron makes incredible telescopes, and this model is terrific for beginners. Looking to give them a more advanced model? The NexStar 8SE is perfect for advanced home astronomers.
Buy it: Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope at Amazon
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 at Amazon, ideal for creating bucket lists.
7. Travel Guides
If you already know they plan to hit the road, travel guides make terrific teacher retirement gifts. Here are a few of our favorites at Amazon.
8. Carry-On Closet
Now that they’re ready to retire their teacher bag, your retiree deserves a terrific travel bag to take its place. Solgaard’s carry-on is a top-notch choice. It’s small enough to fit in an overhead bin, but roomy and easy to keep organized on the road.
Buy it: Carry-On Closet Plus at Solgaard
9. Push Pin Travel Map
A personalized map lets retired teachers track their travels across the globe. These maps are mounted on corkboard and come with pushpins to mark their trips.
Buy it: Push Pin Travel Maps
10. Scratch-Off Bucket List Posters
Scratch-off posters are such cool teacher retirement gifts. As they complete each item, they scratch it off, revealing a colorful image beneath. They’re available for lots of bucket list topics. Here are a few cool ones at Amazon that teachers will really appreciate:
11. School Portrait Art
If your teacher honoree has spent most or all of their career at a single school, consider having a special portrait made of the building. Minted takes a photograph of any building and turns it into something truly unique.
Buy it: Custom House Portrait at Minted
12. Tribute Video Montage
No teacher retirement party would be complete without a video montage of their years of service. You can assemble your own or use a service like Tribute. Their easy-to-use tools allow you to assemble the montage yourself, or you can pay a little more and have a professional put together something spectacular.
Buy it: Video Montage at Tribute
13. Personalized Photo Book
Photo books are classic teacher retirement gifts. Scour the archives for photos, documents, and more worth preserving. Then assemble them in a high-quality book they can keep forever. We like the guest book option, which leaves room on every page for handwritten messages (just like a school yearbook!).
Buy it: Photo Guest Book at Artifact Uprising
14. Lovepop Retirement Card
Need a unique card that makes an awesome keepsake? This is it! A pull-out insert provides a place for a longer message or personalized tribute.
Buy it: Goodbye & Good Luck Card at Lovepop
15. Audible Membership
Give a lit-loving teacher plenty of audiobooks to enjoy during their much-deserved downtime. Audible gift memberships are available from one month to a year, so there are options in all price ranges.
Buy it: Audible Gift Membership at Amazon
16. Kindle Paperwhite or Fire
Amazon’s e-readers and tablets offer great value for the money. If your retiring teacher already has one, consider a Kindle Unlimited membership.
Buy it: Kindle Paperwhite and Fire HD 8 Tablet at Amazon
17. Birding Gear
Retirement is the time to explore new hobbies or spend plenty of time on old ones. Bird-loving teachers will appreciate a field diary and quality set of binoculars to carry on their adventures.
Buy it: The Sibley Birder’s Life List & Field Diary and Celestron Nature DX 8×42 Binoculars at Amazon
18. Gardening Supplies
Does your retiring 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 make notes of their successes and challenges.
Buy it: Gardener’s Log Book and A.M. Leonard 5-Tool Gardening Set at Amazon
19. Fishing Tackle
For teachers who spend their classroom days dreaming of being on the water, fishing gifts are the way to go! Get them a rod rack to display and store their gear or a box of hand-tied flies for days on the river.
Buy it: Rush Creek Creations Rod Rack and Ventures Fly Co. Hand-Tied Flies at Amazon
20. Foodie Subscription Boxes
Eat to live, or live to eat? No need to decide with these subscription boxes, which make awesome teacher retirement gifts. Cratejoy has hundreds of boxes to choose from. These highly rated options are some of our top picks:
