Finding the Best Gifts for a Kids’ Classroom: Our Tips & Advice

Let’s talk gifts for kids!

If you are a parent in charge of filling party favor bags for a celebration or a teacher who needs prizes for a classroom contest, there are certain gifts that are crowd pleasers.

That’s what we learned when we surveyed our readers (both parents and teachers). We also asked kids for their favorites.

For our list of the best bets, we drew on both trendy gifts (pop fidget toys) and classic favorites (silly straws). And you can’t forget other clever gifts like multi-color pens that help spur creativity.

One piece of advice: go for a variety of colors. For example, if you want to do pop fidget toys, rainbow colors are a better bet than solid colors.

And a variety of animals (when it comes to erasers, for example) is better than sticking with one genre.

After trying out several options and gathering more feedback from kids, here are the best gifts for a kids classroom.

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!