Small Gift and Prize Ideas for Pupils Throughout the School Year

Teachers seem to have an endless number of little occasions to mark during the school year.

There are end-of-year gifts, Christmas treats, class prizes, reading achievements, good behaviour awards, sports days, competitions, birthdays, graduation and all sorts of smaller accomplishments in between.

None of these necessarily calls for an expensive present.

Quite often, it is simply the fact that a teacher has noticed an achievement and made a little effort to mark it that matters.

Over the years I have had quite a few teachers and schools buy organza bags, ribbon and bows from me, often in combinations I would never have thought of myself.

That got me thinking about some of the simple ways these supplies can be used for school gifts and prizes throughout the year.

Colourful organza bags filled with small gifts and stationery for pupil prizes and school gifts

Image assisted by AI.

End-of-Year Gifts for Pupils

End-of-year gifts are probably the most obvious example.

Teachers may be buying for twenty, twenty-five or thirty pupils, so even a small difference in cost quickly adds up.

The gift itself does not have to be elaborate.

Small items such as:

pencils
pens
erasers
little notebooks
bookmarks
keyrings
sweets or chocolates where suitable
hair accessories
bracelets
small keepsakes

can all feel much more like a proper present once they are packaged nicely.

A simple organza bag is particularly useful because the gift can be seen through it, there is no wrapping involved and the drawstring closes the whole thing in seconds.

When you have thirty of them to prepare, that last point becomes fairly important.

Little Prizes for Achievements

Not every reward has to wait until the end of the school year.

Small prizes can be used to recognise all sorts of accomplishments.

That might be completing a reading challenge, making a big improvement in handwriting, doing particularly well in a project, helping another pupil, reaching a maths target or simply making a noticeable effort.

The prize itself can remain inexpensive.

Presentation does much of the work.

Putting a small item into an organza bag or tying it with a little ribbon makes it feel different from simply handing something across the desk.

For younger pupils in particular, that sense of occasion can be part of the reward.

Reading Rewards

Reading challenges lend themselves particularly well to small rewards.

A bookmark is the obvious choice and can be accompanied by a small note or certificate.

You could place both inside an organza bag, perhaps with a pencil, sticker sheet or other inexpensive item.

For a larger reading achievement, a small bow or ribbon in the school's colours could make the prize feel a little more special.

It does not need to become a major production.

Sometimes a tiny bit of presentation is enough.

Good Work and Effort Awards

Schools quite rightly recognise achievement, but effort can be just as important.

A pupil who has struggled with something and finally mastered it may appreciate a small reward far more than somebody who found it easy from the beginning.

Small prize bags can be prepared in advance and kept in a drawer so the teacher has something ready when an occasion arises.

You could even make several slightly different versions so that every prize does not feel exactly the same.

A few different organza colours, ribbon colours or small gifts can create quite a bit of variety without creating much extra work.

Christmas Gifts for Pupils

Christmas is another time when teachers often want to give their class something small.

Again, the difficulty is numbers.

Buying one nice little gift is easy.

Buying thirty of them without spending a fortune is quite another matter.

Small Christmas pencils, novelty erasers, bracelets, sweets, hair accessories or little decorations can all work.

Red, green, gold or white organza bags and festive ribbon can then make very ordinary little items look much more seasonal.

The same idea can work for Christmas classroom prizes or small treats rather than gifts for every pupil.

Small Birthday Gifts

Some teachers like to mark pupils' birthdays during the year.

These gifts are usually tiny, and that is perfectly fine.

A small bracelet, hair accessory, pencil, eraser or little bag of treats can be enough.

Having a small supply already prepared at the beginning of the term also means there is no last-minute scramble every time another birthday appears on the calendar.

Graduation and Leaving Primary School

Leaving sixth class is a much bigger occasion.

By that stage, pupils may have spent eight years in the same school and often have a strong attachment to their class, their teachers and their friends.

A small keepsake can therefore mean more than its actual value suggests.

A bookmark, bracelet, small piece of jewellery, keyring or handwritten message can all work well.

These can be placed in an organza bag and finished with ribbon in school colours.

The same idea can apply to students leaving secondary school, although the type of gift will naturally be different depending on their age.

Competition and Event Prizes

Schools run an extraordinary number of competitions during a year.

Art competitions, handwriting, quizzes, sports events, costume competitions, Christmas activities and school projects are just some examples.

Small prizes do not always need traditional wrapping.

An organza bag with a bow or piece of ribbon can turn even a very inexpensive prize into something that looks as though a little thought went into it.

For several winners, different colours can even be used for first, second and third place.

Using School Colours

One nice idea is to use the school's own colours.

If the school has two recognisable colours, they can be repeated across ribbon, bows or gift bags.

That works particularly well for graduation, end-of-year prizes and school events.

It is a very simple detail, but it immediately makes the gift feel connected to the school rather than something that was simply picked up in a shop.

Ribbon is one of those craft supplies that can end up being used in completely different ways depending on who is buying it.

The same satin ribbon used for school prizes and gifts is also regularly used for bouquets, weddings and floral displays, which I cover separately in Ribbon and Craft Supplies for Florists and DIY Flower Arranging in Ireland.

Preparing Gifts in Batches

Teachers are busy enough without turning gift wrapping into another evening's work.

Anything that can be prepared in batches is useful.

Lay out thirty organza bags, put the same basic item into each one, add any individual note or name and close them.

Ribbon and bows can then be added only where you want a little extra decoration.

There is nothing wrong with keeping things simple.

The children are unlikely to be judging the quality of the wrapping.

They are much more likely to remember that their teacher thought enough of them to give them something at all.

An Irish Source for Organza Bags, Ribbon and Bows

The reason this subject occurred to me in the first place is that teachers are already among the people who regularly buy craft supplies from my own business.

Some order organza bags.

Others buy satin ribbon, grosgrain ribbon, bows or Christmas ribbon.

Quite often the order only makes sense to me afterwards when I realise what they are probably preparing.

I stock these supplies here in Ireland, so schools and individual teachers have an Irish-based option when they need relatively small quantities rather than enormous wholesale packs.

I think that is also why simple supplies such as organza bags have proved useful.

They are inexpensive, they take very little preparation and they can make something very small feel considerably more special.

And when you are preparing thirty gifts at the end of a long school year, simple is not necessarily a bad thing.

If you are looking for other ideas or want to see the wider range of guides I have put together, Craft Supplies in Ireland – Ribbon, Bows, Stickers and Practical Buying Guides brings my main craft supply articles together in one place.

Thanks for Reading,

David

About the Author

I’m David Condon, a small business owner and blog writer based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. Running my own woodcraft business means I’ve seen first-hand how much confusion there can be around shipping times, delivery dates, and what “business days” actually mean. That’s why I wrote this post — to share a bit of what I’ve learned and hopefully save you some frustration.

Every so often I step outside the workshop to write about wider business topics like this one. If you’d like to know more, you can follow the link in the Note from the Author section below or visit my About Me page to learn more.

💬 Note from the Author
This post was written specially for David Condon Finds. If you enjoyed it, you might also like my other projects:

Phoenix DVD Blog – where I write about DVDs, Blu-rays, and life as a collector
David Condon Woodcraft – my main site focused on woodturning and handmade Irish pieces

If you’d like to support my writing, you can do so through the Buy Me a Coffee button below. It helps keep these side projects going — thank you!

Like what you're reading? You can buy me a coffee — sure it’s cheaper than a pint!

Search This Blog

David Condon Finds