Teacher Appreciation Week and National Nurse’s Week are only a few short weeks away when many organizations  will celebrate the contributions of these hard working professionals. It can be difficult to come up with great ideas for appreciation holidays, so we’ve put together a list of five popular ways to express appreciation this May.

Do you have a great Teacher Appreciation Week idea or National Nurses Week story? We want to hear it! Share your story on Facebook or via email, and we’ll post it on our blog to inspire others!

Recognize teachers and nurses with our most popular appreciation themes.

1. A handwritten note.  The best way to express appreciation for someone is to put it in writing! Write a handwritten thank you note to the teacher or nurse who has impacted your life and personally deliver it. The personal and thoughtful gesture will be a cherished act of appreciation.

2. Provide lunch. Providing a meal is a great way to say “we truly appreciate you.” The recipients will enjoy the great food and company as they share lunch together. You can provide a meal without breaking the bank, too! Ask for volunteers to put on a potluck. The homemade dishes will be a huge hit!

3. Give a gift. Appreciation is more memorable when it’s accompanied by a gift. To select the best gift for teachers or nurses within your budget, use our Gift Finder. We’ve put all our favorite appreciation gifts in one place for you!

4. Use a theme. Make your appreciation event more memorable and impactful by incorporating a recognition theme in your planning. Get ideas from a Baudville customer who used the Essential Piece theme for her appreciation event.

5. Present awards. Teacher Appreciation Week and National Nurses Week are opportune times to present awards at your organization. Your awards can be formal, like a Teacher of the Year award, or fun and include everyone, like a peer-to-peer traveling trophy award.

Quick Tips
Looking for unique, memorable and low-cost appreciation ideas? Then these quick tips are for you!

• Decorate the break room. Let your appreciation fill the entire building! Decorate the teacher’s lounge or nurse’s break room with signs, posters and thank you notes.
• Brighten their day. Give a fresh cut flower to each of your recipients, or for a longer lasting gift, plant a tree in their honor on your organization’s grounds. 
• Shout it from the mountain top! Create posters that announce the dates of Teacher Appreciation Week or National Nurses Week and encourage everyone to take part in the celebration!

Best Practices
Virginia shares how she gets students involved in a unique Teacher Appreciation Week event! You can do something similar in your organization, too!

“In February, our freshmen write about someone who made a difference in their lives in grammar school.  We contact those people and invite them to a "You Make the Difference" Day at Kearney High School in the spring. They reunite with their students and receive gifts from Baudville’s “You Make the Difference” theme . One of the honorees told me that she had been a teacher for 32 years and had never been thanked. Your products went a long way that afternoon!”

Articles
Recognition Themes Express Appreciation

Teacher Appreciation Ideas

Nurse Appreciation Ideas

Get great ideas from our Employee Appreciation Day Ideas webinar recording!