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Although teaching can be one of the most rewarding professions out there, it’s undeniably a tough job. Giving the educator in your life a thoughtful gift can be a great way to show you appreciate them, especially after long work hours and an endless amount of patience.

And the thought behind those presents doesn’t go unnoticed: When I taught middle schoolers a few years back, gifts from my students and their families were always a pleasant surprise, no matter how big or small these tokens of appreciation were. These included everything from a classic box of chocolates to self care tools for unwinding after long hours and stressful days.

Whether you’re hoping to shop for gifts for your own teacher, your child’s educator or a loved one in the field, we think these highly rated products — which we compiled after combing through our past coverage with an eye toward Select reader favorites — are worth considering.

To help you determine the best gift for the teacher in your life, we’ve compiled highly rated products based on previous expert recommendations, reader favorites and Select staff picks.

One of our favorite reusable water bottles, these S’well bottles are made of durable stainless steel and are offered in several fun colors and patterns. The bottles come in three sizes (9 ounces, 17 ounces and 25 ounces) and can keep beverages cold for up to 24 hours, according to the brand. If you’re looking for a more affordable water bottle by the brand, S’ip by S’well offers 15-ounce options.

This 11-ounce White Vetiver candle is a soy-wax blend with a cotton wick and has a burn time of up to 70 hours, according to the brand. It combines several scents, including eucalyptus, lilac, sandalwood and vetiver. Select writer Hanna Horvath described the scent as “light and airy” and said she typically lights the candle during her workday because it “isn’t too overpowering.”

If your favorite teacher is a coffee or tea lover, they would likely enjoy this personalized 18-ounce tumbler. You can add their name in a bold cursive, choose from four bright color combinations and add teacher-friendly designs like a pencil, apple or paint palette.

Amazon’s latest version of the Kindle Paperwhite has a larger screen (6.8 square inches, compared to 6 square inches for the previous version), a dark mode and IPX8 water resistance, according to the brand. It also features 20-percent-faster page turns and is 10 percent brighter at the highest setting, Amazon says. Tech expert Whitson Gordon previously wrote that the device is a “digital must-have” for bibliophiles.

Jean Berg, general manager of Philips Interior Plants & Displays, recommended the Pothos in our guide to low-maintenance indoor plants. With quick-growing vines that can reach over 10 feet, these plants prefer medium to bright indirect light and can thrive in almost any type of indoor space — including a classroom with windows. The Sill’s Marble Queen Pothos comes in two sizes — Small and Medium — and ships with a pot available in five colors, including Terracotta, Blush and Mint. You can also purchase a Pothos plant from Amazon and other major retailers.

It can be easy for a teacher’s desk to pile up with papers, stationery and supplies, so organizational tools like these storage racks from Jerry & Maggie can help reduce the clutter. They can be stacked, adjusted and rotated to be customized to your workspace, according to the brand. Made from natural wood, the two included racks feature five separate units and have flat surfaces to store everything from books and mail to pencil holders and Post-it Notes.

With a high-stress job like teaching, a self-care gift set like this one from Lush can help an educator relax and unwind. This box features products infused with lavender — which studies have shown can boost mental health — like the brand’s Sleepy shower gel and A French Kiss bubble bar. It also includes a lavender-oil-based bath bomb and the Dream Cream body lotion, which features soothing chamomile.

A top-rated planner for productivity, this one from Bullet Keeper can be great for teachers hoping to effectively manage their busy schedules. It comes undated, which means an educator can tailor the 12 monthly spreads to their school’s academic year. There are five weekly pages between each monthly calendar, and the end of the notebook has 68 blank pages for jotting down notes, reminders and more.

Whether it was a holiday, birthday or Teacher Appreciation Week, I could always excitedly expect a box of chocolates from my students. This Vintage Candy Co. gift basket, on our list of the best gifts for chocolate lovers, features 21 classic candy bars, including Reese’s, Kit Kats, Snickers and more. Popular brands like Godiva, Ghirardelli and Ferrero Rocher also offer assorted boxes to brighten your teacher’s day.

Thank you cards are a sweet and simple way to show a teacher you care. Popular retailers like Etsy, Hallmark and Shutterfly offer unique and customizable card options for every type of teacher. This one from Etsy, for example, lets you choose between a blank card or one with a personalized printed message on the inside. You can even add your teacher’s name for a unique touch.

These slippers from Select reader favorite brand L.L.Bean can offer relief to teachers who spend the majority of their day on their feet. Available in both women’s and men’s sizes and in multiple colors, the Wicked Good Moccasins are soft, durable and feature a warm, shearling lining that draws moisture away from the feet, according to the brand.

It’s the rare educator who doesn’t appreciate a little extra help to get started in the morning. In July 2021, Keurig released its first Wi-Fi connected brewer, which automatically detects K-Cup pods and adjusts brew settings like temperature and strength, according to the brand. The K-Supreme Plus Smart also lets coffee lovers personalize their coffee with five cup sizes, five strength settings and six temperature settings. When you settle on a personalized setting you like, you can also name and favorite it.

My mom, who teaches elementary school students, loves using this laminator to ensure her labels, papers and classroom and bulletin board decorations stay intact over the years. The laminator itself, which features a carry handle, can laminate items up to 9 inches wide, according to Scotch. The Scotch Thermal Laminator Combo Pack also comes with 20 letter-size laminating pouches.

Whether they’re inputting grades or creating lesson plans, teachers often spend late hours in front of a computer screen. Since the light from screens can hinder sleep, blue light lenses can help improve their sleep cycles, as we explained in our guide to blue light glasses. These glasses have orange-tinted lenses that the brand says block over 90 percent of blue light. They’re also polarized to eliminate glare and feature an anti-scratch coating, according to the brand.

A tea sampler set like this one from Tea Forté can be worth considering for teachers, especially since tea can help boost mental and physical health, according to experts. The assortment box includes 10 popular tea blends like Earl Grey, Chamomile Citron, Ginger Lemongrass and others with aromatic fruits, spices and herbs.

A highly rated option featured in our guide to air purifiers, the Levoit LV-H132 Air Purifier is portable enough to fit comfortably on a teacher’s desk and filters out dust and allergens in the classroom using its three-stage filtration system, according to the brand. Levoit says it circulates the air in the room over four times an hour and automatically reminds you when it’s time to replace your filter. It’s equipped with a HEPA filter, according to Levoit.

This backpack from Dagne Dover can help your favorite teacher carry around papers, stationery and other supplies. Dagne Dover says its Neoprene Backpack is water-resistant, shock-absorbent and can double as a useful travel backpack. It’s available in three sizes (Small, Medium and Large) and in several colors, including Onyx, Heather Grey and Dark Moss.

If your teacher has a robust library in her classroom, this customizable stamp can let them identify which books are theirs (and ensure they make their way back to the classroom). You can also choose from multiple other stamp options, including encouraging statements for students, sign and return stamps and more. You can customize these stamps with your teacher’s name and your choice of ink color. It’s also self-inking, so you don't have to worry about getting them a separate ink pad.

A great gift for those with long school days, this Mr. Coffee Mug Warmer will keep your teacher’s drink warm for hours, according to the brand. It has an on/off switch with an indicator light to let you know when it’s ready for use, and it features an extended cord for portability around the classroom. If you’re looking for a more high-tech option, the Ember Mug automatically heats up your drink to your desired temperature using the Ember app (and it’s one of my favorite coffee accessories).

After spending hours on their feet, your teacher probably deserves an easy at-home massage to ease some muscle tension. This massager from Wahl, one of our favorite budget-friendly massage guns, comes with four attachment heads and a 9-foot power cable to help them move around freely. It also has two speeds and two vibration settings, which experts told us can be powerful enough for smaller regions of the body like the calves and forearms.

If crafting is your teacher’s go-to hobby, a Cricut Joy can help them have fun with some new projects both in and out of the classroom. This smart cutting and writing machine can let them customize everyday products, from water bottles to personalized cards. The brand says the device can draw a variety of shapes and write in multiple fonts, all while being able to cut over 50 materials, including vinyl, paper and cardstock. They can also control the Cricut Joy from their phone using the Design Space app.

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Mili Godio is an associate reporter for Select on NBC News.

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