The Plucky Violin Teacher Christmas Gift Guide 2015: Affordable Gifts for Your Students

This post was originally published by McKenzie Clawson on the Plucky Violin Teacher Blog on December 9, 2015 so links and resources may not be current.

How To Bribe Your Students To Come Back in 2016…Just kidding! I would never bribe my students.
(Wink.)

This gift guide (all under $10) ranges from ideas that are cheap enough to buy for your whole studio to distinctive enough to use as a reward for a book graduation or another exciting accomplishment. (Don’t you think someone who conquers a nice vibrato should have a standing ovation?)

Christmas Gift Guide for Your Music Students

Mozart Statuette

My mom used to buy me these for book graduations. I would line them up on my dresser, and they always made me feel very proud. This link is for Mozart, but I like to get the composer of the piece they have loved the most in the past year.

Manuscript Paper

I have a thing about empty notebooks. I love them. They always make me imagine all the amazing things that I could write inside them. And then they fill up with more grocery lists than poetry, but the possibility is there. A notebook of manuscript could be used to hold the incredible ideas of the budding composers in your studio.

Music Diary

A smaller, prettier notebook perfect for tucking in a purse.

I Love My Violin

It probably says a lot about my maturity level that I think these are so fun. I can just picture my students lined up in a row with these pinned to their shirts, beaming with pride in their music. Is that wishful thinking? Maybe.

Luggage Tags

Why is it that all violin cases look exactly the same? These colorful luggage tags will help your students find their case quickly at a group lesson or huge play-in.

Book Labels

Speaking of things that look the same… So often I find a Suzuki Book 1 left in my studio with no name in it. All of my students own that book, how do I know whose it is? Perhaps this whimsical book labels would encourage them to put their names in their books.

Eighth Note Cookie Cutter

Perfectly timely for all those Christmas cookies headed my way, these would be fun for a student that likes baking.

Music Pencils

I love these shiny pencils, perfect for taking notes on your lesson. Hint, hint.

Mini note erasers

These mini erasers are perfect for balancing on a scroll, bow hand, or head for a fun practice game. Really, the game ideas are endless.

Beginning Note Reader Flashcards

Okay, I would probably get much more excited about these than my students would. Flashcards are a great way to get some practice time done in the car, which might excite a student or two.
Do you give your students a Christmas gift? What has been a popular gift in the past?