gift ideas for para appreciation day
APRIL 2, 2025
Para appreciation day is typically during the first week of April and it’s a great time to show a little extra appreciation for your staff. I don’t know about you, but I literally would not be able to do my job without our paras.
Check out some ideas below and REMEMBER-gifts for your staff don’t have to be expensive. Do your best to think of something useful, thoughtful, or something they’ll enjoy!
something personal
At the beginning of each school year, we have our paras fill out this favorite things survey. It makes it easy to surprise them with a small gift card throughout the year or plan for special gifts this time of year. These snackle boxes would be a fun way to gift some of their favorite candies, snacks, and small gift card to their favorite spot. You can put a little something in each section!
These bracelets are another favorite to gift and can be personalized to each staff member. You can custom make your own, like the ones I made for our team below, or find one with a word to describe or inspire each of your paras.
Here’s another cute bracelet option with a thoughtful message and fast shipping
t-shirts
I don’t know about you, but our team loves a good t-shirt. I have personally purchased this one from Moonlight Designs on Etsy and have been impressed by the quality. We got one for the paras and ourselves to show our appreciation.
another cute “paras make it possible” option here
If your paras work with students who use AAC, this is a great one!
student-made gifts
Another idea that is thoughtful and always appreciated is something made by your students! You can never go wrong with a student-made gift. You can have your students decorate a picture frame and include a picture of the para and student or have students make an ornament!
Another idea is to grab these planters from Michaels (don’t forget to use your teacher discount!). Have your students paint them and add some flowers from Trader Joe’s or a small plant from Home Depot.
support a small-business
Don’t forget about small businesses! There are so many small businesses ran by autistic individuals. Two of my personal favorites are Jordan’s Summer Shirt Project and Jacob’s Ladder.
something practical
If you’re like me, I want to gt my paras something they will enjoy or actually use. Here are some practical gifts I’ve given our paras in the past that they still use to this day:
the most comfortable socks ever if you’re on your feet as much as we are (split the pack)
quality time
Spending time with your team outside of work can be so good for the soul. During the school day, it is always about student needs first (as it should be), but it’s important to spend time with your people. Have fun and set aside the work talk for a change 🙂
One of our favorite quality time gifts is our team breakfast before the school day starts. The teachers and therapists in our program bring in a variety of breakfast items and we spend a little time eating and chatting before the kids arrive.
If you know me, you know I can’t resist a good theme with a message of thanks. I love finding some fun tableware at My Minds Eye or Ellie and Piper.
Another way to incorporate quality time is to
Check out more ideas in my Amazon store front.
I hope these ideas inspire you to show your paras how much you appreciate the work they do every day! The more paras you work with, the more expensive days like this can become and we all know the challenge that can bring on a #teacherbudget. Remember-a little thought goes a long way. Small gestures throughout the year will always mean more than one day!
kelsey
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