The best gifts for teachers

If you’re at a loss over what to get your favorite teacher to show your appreciation, an Amazon gift card is a good catch-all solution. Whether it’s school supplies, household essentials for their family or just something they’ve had on their wish list for themselves, most teachers will find a way to spend a few extra dollars at Amazon (or Walmart, Target or another retailer they prefer). — V.P.

The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 is a dependable and adorably compact Bluetooth speaker for audio-related lessons or just enjoying some music while out and about. Its tiny barrel-shaped frame is rugged, small enough to tuck in a bag and waterproof with an IP67 rating. At the same time, it sounds surprisingly clear and spacious for something that’s only about four inches tall (though you still shouldn’t expect tons of deep bass). Battery life checks in at more than 10 hours per charge, and the whole thing comes in a handful of lively colors. Best of all, it’s not super expensive. — J.D.

Many of us rely on caffeine to get through long days and teachers are no different. But dealing with students, lesson plans, lectures and other classroom activities may mean their beverage of choice grows cold before they can drink it all. The second generation of Ember’s smart mug, the Mug 2, doesn’t just keep tea or coffee hot — it keeps it at a steady temperature for a long time. The app integration lets you set the temp of the mug, while interior sensors shut the heat off when the mug’s empty or hasn’t been touched in two hours. The 10-ounce size has a battery life of up to an hour and a half and the 14-ounce capacity adds another 20 minutes. They can also stick the mug on the included charging coaster to keep their cup of coffee warm all school day long. – Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter

Chances are, if they like teaching, they like learning, too. We found MasterClass to be a cross between an online learning app and a tightly curated streaming platform, starring some of the most talented people across a slew of different industries. Sure, one can approach it with a specific goal — learning how to make kimchi, shoot portraits or survive in the wilderness — but the classes can also be viewed in a more passive manner for pure, curiosity-satisfying entertainment. The gift works as a one-year subscription that goes for $120 for the standard tier. It grants access to all MasterClass content on one device at a time but doesn’t allow for offline viewing. Higher tiers allow for multiple devices at once and downloads to watch while disconnected. — A.S.

If your child's teacher is a sentimental type, a digital photo frame like the Aura Mason can let them easily add and look back on their favorite snapshots. The Mason itself has a crisp, nine-inch, 1,600 x 1,200 resolution display and a minimalist design that should look normal on a work desk or a side table back home. This thoughtful gift can display photos in portrait or landscape mode, and uploading photos (or videos) through the Aura app is uncomplicated. Just note that it can sometimes add black boxes around photos that don’t match its 4:3 aspect ratio.

If you want to save $50, the Aura Carver is a larger 10.1-inch frame with similar benefits, though it has a lower resolution (1,280 x 800) and only works in landscape. You could also gift a multi-function smart display like the Google Nest Hub, but those usually have lower-quality screens and aren’t as simple to mount on a wall. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter

Your favorite teacher or professor probably looks at a screen for just as long as you do every day. Blue light blocking glasses can be a great gift since they’ll make it easier for them to get work done while (hopefully) reducing eye strain, headaches and other ailments. These are probably best bought for educators who don’t wear prescription glasses already, since you don’t want to impede their actual eyesight with non-prescription lenses. Plenty of eyewear companies make stylish blue light glasses, but you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on a pair. Privé Revaux has a ton of options priced as low as $30 each, or if you have a feeling your teacher would like to swap styles more often, Amazon has a number of multi-packs to choose from. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor

Maybe you don’t have a ton of cash but still want to show your favorite educator a bit of appreciation — this Anker Nano 30W charger isn’t a conventional gift, but it will be one that they use on the regular. It delivers 30W of power to the device it’s powering up, which means it’s strong enough to fast-charge the latest iPhones, and it can handle other smartphones and some tablets, too. It’s 70 percent smaller than other similar chargers, so it’ll be a great spare adapter for your teacher to keep with them wherever they go. It also comes in a few attractive pastel colors to choose from, including white and black if you think your teacher would prefer something more muted. — V.P.

If you think mom would enjoy upgrading her morning cup of java, a Trade Coffee subscription can help. It offers a curated selection of more than 450 coffees from across the US and smartly personalizes which ones it recommends to each subscriber. Upon redeeming her gift, she’ll be prompted to take a brief quiz that asks about her flavor and brew preferences, information Trade will use to suggest a specific bag catered to her taste. Mom can then give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to any coffee she receives, which the company will use to hone its future recommendations. Managing her coffee queue online is easy enough, too. You can gift anywhere from two to 24 bags, and Trade says any gift subscriptions will not automatically renew so neither you nor mom will have any surprise charges to deal with down the line. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter

They say an organized desk is an organized mind. Whether that’s true or not, it can certainly be difficult to keep track of all the tech you need on a regular basis. Bellroy’s Desk Caddy has pockets, pouches and loops to keep cords, plugs, earbuds, and dongles in their place. The structured shape stands up when you load it, but is flexible enough to fit into a crowded backpack if you need to take it with you. We also like that it’s water resistant and made from recycled materials. – A.S.

If you know a teacher who’s still a champion of the printed word, they might appreciate a Book of the Month subscription. I like how BOTM does the hard work of figuring out what’s new and good in fiction so all I have to do is read. The club selects seven or so books each month for members to pick from, and the selection is diverse enough that most readers will find something to meet their tastes. And if nothing looks good, they can always pick something from the back catalog or skip the month altogether. At first I thought it would be too much pressure to contend with a new book every month, but the option to skip effectively just extends their subscription, so there’s no pressure. You can gift a three, six or twelve month membership for $60, $100 or $200, respectively. – A.S.

One of the things I remember most about being a new mom was staring at the willow tree outside my front window. For hours every day, I was pinned to a rocking chair, feeding a human or not moving because that human had finally fallen asleep. Scrolling through my phone was disorientingly unpleasant and I never had two hands free to turn the pages of a book.

E-readers existed at the time, I just didn’t have one. I wish someone had thought to give me the Kobo Clara Colour. It’s compact enough to turn pages with one hand and the adjustable screen is sharp and clear. Plus the addition of color makes book covers and graphic novels look extra appealing. I named it the top pick in our e-reader guide because it’s simply a delight to use (and ebooks cost the same on a Kobo as they do on a Kindle). Don’t get me wrong, that willow tree was beautiful, but I’d have welcomed a trip to the moon. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter

The Purist Mover is the closest thing to a “premium” water bottle that I’ve tried, with a clean, minimalist stainless steel aesthetic and a satisfying textured finish. Its biggest hook, though, is the ultra-thin layer of glass that lines its interior. Apart from insulating your drink all day, this is designed to keep fluids from gaining a metallic taste or unwanted odors as quickly as they might with other bottles. The whole thing will still need washing, but in my experience, this has actually worked.

The Mover is an 18oz bottle, but there are different size and lid options to choose from (the “Union” spout top is my preference, though it can be somewhat noisy, if that matters). Yes, the Purist is expensive for a water bottle, but it should make your teacher’s day-to-day hydration a little more convenient — and provide a nice little piece of design for their desk. — J.D.

If your teacher considers themselves a film buff, a Criterion Channel subscription might suit their tastes. This is the streaming service of The Criterion Collection, a video distribution company that restores and preserves a carefully curated selection of acclaimed films that span genres and languages. It doesn’t have the same deluge of content as a Netflix or Prime Video, but it also has a lot less trash.

The service bundles many films into helpful collections, from Afrofuturism to Foreign-Language Oscar Winners to Short Films by David Lynch. Various titles come with bonus features like cast interviews as well. Unfortunately, not every film in the Collection is available on the Channel at any given time. (There are gift cards that can go toward films that are only available in physical form.) Nevertheless, for movie-loving teachers who feel like they’ve watched everything on the usual suspects, the service should still provide hours of stimulating works. Gift subscriptions are available in one- to 12-month increments. — J.D.

A pick from our power bank buying guide, the plainly-named Anker Laptop Power Bank is a simple but effective way to ensure your teacher’s gear doesn’t die in the middle of class. Its stick-like frame comes with two USB-C cables built right in, plus single USB-C and USB-A ports. The USB-C connectors can each output a hefty 100W of power, which is enough to charge a laptop alongside a smartphone, while the battery as a whole can supply up to 165W with multiple devices connected. We found it could refill an iPhone 15 in about two hours and deliver four to five full charges in total. There’s also a built-in display, which makes it easier to see how much juice is left at any given time. — J.D.