How to make Christmas gifts for teachers for £6, using bargains from Asda, B&M and Lidl – from a mum-of-two who did it

IT'S so difficult to know what to buy teachers for Christmas.

I always want to get them a gift to show my appreciation for all their hard work over the term, but don't want to stick to the 'norm' of giving them a mug - particularly as we now know how much they hate them.

But with the cost of living crisis leaving people around the country stressed about money this Christmas, I was also aware that I needed to stick to a strict budget.

Especially as I have two teachers and two teaching assistants to buy for!

So I decided to see if I could create a gift bundle for each of them myself - for just £6 each.

Bag it

The bag the present comes in is arguably the most important part, as it's what the receiver sees first.

As with most Christmassy things, if you shop for something specifically marketed as festive, the price is bound to shoot up.

So I decided to make my own Christmas gift bags.

I used some plain red gift bags, which cost £3 for five from , alongside a stamp - £5 from - and an ink pad I already had.

I then stamped 'Merry Christmas' all over the gift bag to give it a festive touch.

As another Christmas flourish, I used red, green and white ribbon to tie up the bag with flair.

This cost me just £5.99 on Amazon for reels of all different colours, and I'll definitely be able to use it again in the future.

Merry & bright

Another 'classic' Christmas present, but one that is almost universally loved, is a candle.

It's also something that can be given regardless of gender, as my 10-year-old son Lucas has a male teacher, while six-year-old Millie's teacher is female.

So I decided to hit my local Lidl to see what I could find, and emerged with one of the Deluxe candles, which retails for £3.99 but looks a lot more expensive.

I popped that in Lucas' teacher's bag, while I picked up a £2 gingerbread candle in a tin from Asda to go in one of the TA's bags.