20 Best Teacher Retirement Gifts To Celebrate an Incredible Career

Commemorate their years of service with something truly special.

Teacher appreciation gifts feature

Celebrating a long, well-spent teaching career calls for something special. These teacher retirement gifts recognize teachers’ contributions and help them plan for the best years yet to come! There are options here to fit any budget and interest, so you’ll find something for any teacher who’s leaving the classroom behind.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means we may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)

1. World Globe

Desktop globe in antique coloring

For years, they’ve been giving kids the world. Now you can give them their own in return! Have their name and retirement date engraved on the base for a personalized touch.

Buy it: Replogle 12-inch Hastings Globe at Amazon

2. Autograph Quilt

Gray-bordered quilt with autographs and messages on each square. Center square reads "My wish for you is..." (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

Next year when retired teachers are snuggling under their quilt while everyone else is trudging off to school on a cold snowy morning, they can look at all these well-wishes and feel warm inside and out!

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Buy it: Autograph Quilt at Etsy

3. Teacher Retirement Sign

Teacher retirement gift sign with personalized details

Want something simple that really sums up their accomplishments? Have this sign personalized for your retiring teacher, then print it and present it in a beautiful frame.

Buy it: Printable Teacher Retirement Sign at Etsy

4. Plant a Tree

Certificate indicating a tree has been planted in honor of a retirement (Teacher Appreciation Gifts)

If your school grounds have space, consider creating a Retired Teachers Grove, where you plant a tree for each educator whose work is done. No room at school? TreeGivers will plant a tree in their honor on public lands in the state of your choice.

Buy it: TreeGivers

5. Celestron Telescope

Celestron - PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope

Retired teachers can finally stay up late enough to do some stargazing! Celestron makes incredible telescopes, and this model is terrific for beginners. Looking to give them a more advanced model? The NexStar 8SE is perfect for advanced home astronomers.

Buy it: Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope at Amazon

6. Bucket List Inspiration

1.000 Places to See, Recordings to Hear, Foods to Eat Before You Die

Every retiree looks forward to the days when they can do as much or as little as their heart desires. Help them make some fun plans for the future with these popular books at Amazon, ideal for creating bucket lists.

7. Travel Guides

Collage of travel guide covers

If you already know they plan to hit the road, travel guides make terrific teacher retirement gifts. Here are a few of our favorites at Amazon.

8. Carry-On Closet

Solgaard Carry On Closet suitcase (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

Now that they’re ready to retire their teacher bag, your retiree deserves a terrific travel bag to take its place. Solgaard’s carry-on is a top-notch choice. It’s small enough to fit in an overhead bin, but roomy and easy to keep organized on the road.

Buy it: Carry-On Closet Plus at Solgaard

9. Push Pin Travel Map

Framed map of the world with push pins inserted in various locations (Best Teacher Retirement Gifts)

A personalized map lets retired teachers track their travels across the globe. These maps are mounted on corkboard and come with pushpins to mark their trips.

Buy it: Push Pin Travel Maps

10. Scratch-Off Bucket List Posters

Scratch off posters of top movies, ballparks, and books (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

Scratch-off posters are such cool teacher retirement gifts. As they complete each item, they scratch it off, revealing a colorful image beneath. They’re available for lots of bucket list topics. Here are a few cool ones at Amazon that teachers will really appreciate:

11. School Portrait Art

Sketched portrait of a building framed in white (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

If your teacher honoree has spent most or all of their career at a single school, consider having a special portrait made of the building. Minted takes a photograph of any building and turns it into something truly unique.

Buy it: Custom House Portrait at Minted

12. Tribute Video Montage

Instructions for making a Tribute video montage

No teacher retirement party would be complete without a video montage of their years of service. You can assemble your own or use a service like Tribute. Their easy-to-use tools allow you to assemble the montage yourself, or you can pay a little more and have a professional put together something spectacular.

Buy it: Video Montage at Tribute

13. Personalized Photo Book

Photo book showing an older couple surrounded by hand-written messages (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

Photo books are classic teacher retirement gifts. Scour the archives for photos, documents, and more worth preserving. Then assemble them in a high-quality book they can keep forever. We like the guest book option, which leaves room on every page for handwritten messages (just like a school yearbook!).

Buy it: Photo Guest Book at Artifact Uprising

14. Lovepop Retirement Card

Pop up retirement card saying To Your Next Adventure, Goodbye and Good Luck (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

Need a unique card that makes an awesome keepsake? This is it! A pull-out insert provides a place for a longer message or personalized tribute.

Buy it: Goodbye & Good Luck Card at Lovepop

15. Audible Membership

Collage of audiobooks with headline Give the gift of Audible (Teacher Appreciation Gifts)

Give a lit-loving teacher plenty of audiobooks to enjoy during their much-deserved downtime. Audible gift memberships are available from one month to a year, so there are options in all price ranges.

Buy it: Audible Gift Membership at Amazon

16. Kindle Paperwhite or Fire

Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire

Amazon’s e-readers and tablets offer great value for the money. If your retiring teacher already has one, consider a Kindle Unlimited membership.

Buy it: Kindle Paperwhite and Fire HD 8 Tablet at Amazon

17. Birding Gear

Sibley Birding Diary and Celestron Nature binoculars (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

Retirement is the time to explore new hobbies or spend plenty of time on old ones. Bird-loving teachers will appreciate a field diary and quality set of binoculars to carry on their adventures.

Buy it: The Sibley Birder’s Life List & Field Diary and Celestron Nature DX 8×42 Binoculars at Amazon

18. Gardening Supplies

Gardener's Diary and set of orange-handled gardening hand tools

Does your retiring teacher have (or want to have) a green thumb? Give them a set of quality gardening tools and a log book to plan for the future and make notes of their successes and challenges.

Buy it: Gardener’s Log Book and A.M. Leonard 5-Tool Gardening Set at Amazon

19. Fishing Tackle

Fishing rod holder and box of hand-tied flies (Teacher Retirement Gifts)

For teachers who spend their classroom days dreaming of being on the water, fishing gifts are the way to go! Get them a rod rack to display and store their gear or a box of hand-tied flies for days on the river.

Buy it: Rush Creek Creations Rod Rack and Ventures Fly Co. Hand-Tied Flies at Amazon

20. Foodie Subscription Boxes

Collage of food and drink subscription boxes

Eat to live, or live to eat? No need to decide with these subscription boxes, which make awesome teacher retirement gifts. Cratejoy has hundreds of boxes to choose from. These highly rated options are some of our top picks:

Know of other great teacher retirement gifts, or want to see what others have done? Drop by the WeAreTeachers Facebook group to exchange ideas and ask for advice.

Plus, check out Teacher Appreciation Ideas To Show Your Staff You Love Them.

The best teacher retirement gifts come from the heart and speak to their passions. Plant a tree, sign a quilt, or give them the world!