Classroom

Classroom Christmas gift tags for students

The last week before winter break is a busy one to be cutting things by hand. A set of classroom gift tags lets you send every student home with the same small something — a candy cane, a pencil, a bag of pretzels, a bookmark — without making 25 different labels. Print, cut, write the name, and tie or tape it on.

The student gift tags set is made for that. It has 24 tags (2.5 inches square) with 12 sayings, including lines like “You Sleigh in Our Class,” “Snow Glad You’re in My Class,” and “Have a Cool Winter Break,” plus 12 Merry Christmas tags with To/From lines. There are also 15 candy-cane tags with two holes to slide a cane through, 14 pencil flags (“Have a WRITE Merry Christmas,” “Have a Sharp Winter Break”), and four fold-over treat-bag toppers. The colors are evergreen, cranberry, and cream. Print as many pages as your class list needs.

Pick the gift before you pick the tag

If you already know you are giving candy canes, use the cane tags and slide each cane through the holes. If you are giving pencils, the flags wrap and tape. Treat-bag toppers fold over a small bag and staple or tape closed. The square tags work on anything you can tie or tape. Write the student’s name; a tag with a name on it is the part they keep.

Think about allergies before you decide on food. If you are not sure about the class, a pencil, a bookmark, or a small notepad is safer than candy. If food is fine, keep it simple and the same for everyone, so no one is holding a different bag. A cookie tag is there if you are sending home a baked treat.

How long it actually takes

Printing and cutting a class set is an evening job, not a lunch-break job. Count the students, add a few extras for absences, late additions, or a torn tag, and print that many. Cut everything first, then write names from the roster, then attach the gifts. If you have a parent volunteer or an older student helper, cutting is the part to hand off. Attach the tags the day before you send them home, not the morning of.

Printing tips

Use white cardstock, 65 to 110 lb, especially for the candy-cane tags and the toppers, which take a little handling. Print at 100% / “Actual size” so the holes and fold lines land where they should. A standard hole punch works on the square tags; the candy-cane tags already have holes to cut or punch out. The file is in US Letter and A4.

Personal use includes your own classroom. Please do not resell the files or the designs. If you also want a small 12-day gift for a colleague or for yourself to give to a co-teacher, the 12 Days of Christmas gift tags guide covers that. There is a separate set of teacher gift tags for families who are thanking a teacher, not for students heading out the door.

More guides

• 12 days of Christmas gift tags
• Christmas party games for adults