【Music Archives】

There is Music Archivesreally no way to thank teachers, who are vital and woefully underpaid, for everything they do. But you can start by giving them end-of-year gifts that don't suck.

This means stepping away from the corny mugs (sorry) and looking for gifts teachers might actually want -- whether to give their classrooms a boost or allow themselves some much-needed relaxation.

SEE ALSO: Gifts for your snobby friends that you can actually afford

Here are 15 gift ideas for the phenomenal teacher in your life.

1. Some nice coffee

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Coffee is the unofficial official beverage of teachers, and there's a good chance they'll appreciate more of it. (Be sure to verify that they actually drink coffee, though, lest you commit a beverage faux pas.)

Price:$9.49 at Target

2. A trendy new water bottle

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It's easy to get dehydrated while teaching a roomful of teens about the Louisiana Purchase.

Price: $44.95 at Hydro Flask

3. The opposite of coffee

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If you want to go the end-of-day hot beverage route, try an aesthetically pleasing tin of tea.

Price:$7.48 on Jet

4. Desk honey

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Mike's Hot Honey, which is infused with chilies, is especially good on pizza.

Price:$20 for two bottles on Food52

5. Desk hot sauce

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There's no such thing as too much hot sauce. This one, from Secret Aardvark, is a bold and vinegary option perfect for fans of habanero. (Like Mike's Hot Honey, it is also extremely good on pizza.)

Price:$24.95 for 3 bottles on Amazon

6. Books for the classroom

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It might be worth asking the teacher which classroom books he or she needs. Sure, it won't be a surprise, but it will address a need directly, which is even better.

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Price: $23.80 on Amazon

7. The unofficial currency of classrooms

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Anyone who's tried to use a dried-out Expo marker knows that in busy classrooms, new ones are essentially made of gold.

Price:$14.38 for 16 on Amazon

8. Flowers

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Just be sure they have enough time to enjoy them at their desk before the end of the semester.

Price: $49 at Farmgirl Flowers

9. Fake flowers

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There is no shame in fake flowers. Plus, they'll never wilt -- a forever desk decoration!

Price:$9 at West Elm

10. Don't forget the vase

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It is against the rules of gift-giving to give a gift that necessitates more spending. Thus, if you give flowers meant for displaying you must give a vase. Them's the rules. And be sure to grab the right size for the amount of flowers you're giving.

Price:$14.99 on Amazon

11. A charging station

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They can fit alltheir devices on this bad boy.

Price:$39.99 on Amazon

12. A desk calendar for next year

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A (very small, admittedly) thing to get excited about when everyone trudges back in from the holiday break.

Price: $9.71 at Paper Source

13. A large box of pencils

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It's pretty much a guarantee that a classroom will use pencils. For a fun twist, these pencils come from "overruns and misprints" from other orders, which means they'll probably have some super weird stuff on them. A smorgasbord!

Price:$26.50 at U.S. School Supply

14. A sea salt bath soak

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You generally can't go wrong with a lavender-scented bath product. Just be sure the ingredient list is relatively short.

Price: $28 at Little Barn Apothecary

15. Honestly, a gift card

If you're stuck on a gift, a gift card -- perhaps to Amazon, Target, Starbucks, or a local business if you can swing it -- is the way to go. Especially during the money-gobbling holiday season, sometimes the best present is a little extra spending power inside a heartfelt note.

Please don't forget the note.

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