50+ Design ideas for back-to-school gifts to boost Amazon and Etsy sales

Are you looking for unique and creative back-to-school gifts to add to your LHS product line?

This blog post offers a list of over 50 design ideas to help you create personalized and memorable items for students, teachers, and parents alike.

I’ve organized the ideas into five distinct product categories:

1. Printable art and digital downloads
2. Drinkware (coffee mugs, travel mugs, shot glasses, and wine glasses)
3. Cozy items (blankets and pillowcases)
4. Home decor (candles and coasters)
5. Apparel and jewelry (tees, hoodies, socks, tote bags, and jewelry)

That way, you can easily find inspiration and enhance your inventory for the upcoming school season.

Let’s take a look…

Design ideas for back-to-school gifts for art and digital downloads

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If you’d like to learn more about Printables btw, sign up for our course HERE. :)

Customizable Planner Templates

Create printable planners with sections for homework, extracurricular activities, and personal goals.

Homework Tracker Sheets

Make printable sheets that help students keep track of their homework assignments and deadlines.

Coloring Book Pages

Design intricate and fun coloring pages that can help students relax and unwind.

Class Schedule Templates

Provide customizable digital templates for students to organize their class schedules.

Study Planner Printables

Design sheets that help students plan their study sessions, set goals, and track progress.

Subject-Specific Flashcards

Create printable flashcards for different subjects like math, science, and language arts to help with studying.

Printable Reward Charts

Design charts for younger students to track their achievements and earn rewards.

Printable Bookmarks

Design creative and fun bookmarks that students can print and use.

Daily Affirmation Cards

Create a set of printable cards with positive affirmations to start the school day on a positive note.

Classroom Posters

Design educational and decorative posters for teachers to use in the classroom.

Printable Lunchbox Notes

Create a set of fun and encouraging notes that parents can print and include in their children’s lunchboxes.

Back-to-School Greeting Cards

Design digital cards for students to send to friends and teachers.

Study Tips and Tricks Guides

Design downloadable guides with effective study tips and tricks.

Printable Art Prints

Create art prints that students can use to decorate their rooms or lockers.

If you’d like to learn more about Printables, sign up for our course HERE. :)

Design ideas for back-to-school drinkware (coffee mugs, travel mugs, shot glasses, and wine glasses) 

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Subject Theme Coffee Mug

Make coffee mug designs decorated with graphics and quotes related to specific subjects like math, science, English, history, and art.

Teacher Appreciation Shot Glass

Design shot glasses with messages like “Best Teacher Ever” or “Teaching Is My Superpower.”

Student Goals Travel Mug

Come up with designs for travel mugs with space for students to write their academic goals for the year.

Graduation Year Shot Glass

Make designs for shot glasses highlighting the graduation year, like “College Graduating Class of 2024.”

Study Quotes Coffee Mug

Create designs for coffee mugs with quotes about the importance of studying and education.

Back-to-School Survival Kit Coffee Mug

Make a coffee mug designed as a “survival kit” for back-to-school, including funny or essential items listed on the mug.

School Supplies Travel Mug

Create a design for a travel mug featuring graphics of pencils, notebooks, rulers, and other school supplies.

Grade Level Coffee Mug

Make designs for coffee mugs highlighting specific grade levels, such as “I Love Teaching Third Grade” or “Senior Year King.”

Funny Quotes Wine Glass 

Come up with funny wine glass designs making light of life as a teacher, such as “Wine: Because Teaching is Hard” or “Teacher Fuel.”

Educational Graphics Travel Mug

Create designs for travel mugs featuring educational graphics like the periodic table, world maps, or historical timelines.

Design ideas for back-to-school gifts for cozy items (blankets and pillowcases) 

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Science Experiments Blanket

Make designs with fun and colorful science experiment graphics and instructions.

Math Formulas Pillowcase

Come up with designs for pillowcases including essential math formulas and equations, such as the Pythagorean theorem.

Art and Creativity Pillowcase

Make designs for pillowcases featuring artist brushes, palettes, markers, crayons, and creativity quotes.

Music Notes Blanket

Make blanket designs decorated with musical notes, instruments, and quotes about music.

Geography Maps Pillowcase

Come up with pillowcase designs featuring detailed maps of countries, continents, or the world.

History Timeline Blanket

Make designs with historical timelines and significant events, such as the Renaissance and ancient civilizations.

Language Learning Pillowcase

Make pillowcase designs with basic phrases, such as “Hello” and “Thank You,” in different languages, like French, Italian, German, or Spanish.

Astronomy Stars Blanket

Create blanket designs featuring constellations, planets, and astronomy-related graphics.

Famous Inventors Pillowcase

Design pillowcases featuring famous inventors and their inventions, such as Thomas Edison, Marie Curie, or Hedy Lamar.

Bookworm Pillowcase

Create pillowcase designs for avid readers, featuring stacks of books and reading quotes.

Inspirational Women Pillowcase

Create designs for pillowcases featuring inspirational quotes and images of notable women in history.

Physics Concepts Pillowcase

Come up with pillowcase designs with fundamental physics concepts and diagrams.

Career Aspirations Blanket

Come up with designs featuring inspiring career goals with professions and related icons.

STEM Focus Pillowcase

Make pillowcase designs celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) themes.

Design ideas for back-to-school home decor (candles and coasters)

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First Day of School Candle

Make candle designs celebrating the excitement of the first day back, with designs like “New Year, New Adventures.”

Academic Achievement Candle

Come up with designs celebrating academic milestones like “Honor Roll Achiever” or “Top of the Class.”

New School Year Coaster

Make coasters celebrating the start of a new school year with phrases like “Welcome Back, Ready to Learn!”

Teacher Appreciation Coaster

Come up with designs for coasters with messages of gratitude for teachers, like “Thank You for Your Dedication.”

Educational Milestones Candle

Make celebratory candle designs for achievements like “Graduation Day” or “Perfect Attendance.”

Reading Corner Candle

Make candles designed for cozy reading corners with phrases like “Read, Relax, Repeat.”

Personalized Teacher Candle

Come up with designs for candles customizable with a teacher’s name and message like “Thank You for Making a Difference.”

Creative Learning Candle

Make candles with designs that encourage creativity, such as “Let Your Imagination Soar.”

Reading Goals Coaster

Create coasters designed for book lovers with messages like “Read More, Dream Big.”

Study Motivation Coaster

Come up with coasters with designs to motivate students during study sessions, like “Focus and Achieve.”

Teacher’s Desk Coaster

Create coasters for teachers’ desks with sayings like “Teaching Is a Work of Heart.”

Homework Helper Coaster

Make coasters with helpful homework tips or motivational phrases like “Homework: Your Path to Success.”

Design ideas for back-to-school apparel and jewelry (t-shirts, hoodies, socks, tote bags, and earrings)

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Study Hard T-Shirt

Make a design for a t-shirt that says “Study Hard, Play Hard” with a graphic split between books and sports equipment.

Teacher’s Favorite T-Shirt

Create a t-shirt design for a teacher’s “Favorite Student” with a graphic of a gold star.

First Day of School T-Shirt

Make a t-shirt design for the first day of school that says “Ready to Learn” featuring a graphic of a backpack and school supplies.

Encouragement Hoodie

Design a hoodie that says “You Are Unstoppable” with a graphic of a rocket taking off.

Homework Hoodie

Create a design for a hoodie that says “Homework & Hot Cocoa” featuring a cozy graphic of a mug and books.

Teacher Appreciation Tote Bag

Make a design for a tote bag that says “Teaching is a Gift” including a wrapped gift box graphic.

Student Ambition Tote Bag

Come up with a tote bag design saying “Goals in Progress” with a progress bar graphic.

History Buff Socks

Make a sock design featuring historical figures or events with a pattern of famous landmarks.

Teacher Appreciation Socks

Come up with a teacher appreciation sock design that says “Teaching is Love” with cute heart and apple graphics.

Science Socks

Create “Science is Fun” socks including graphics of planets, atoms, and microscopes.

Math Earrings

Come up with a design for earrings featuring small charms of mathematical symbols like plus and equals signs.

Art Lover Earrings

Create an earring design including mini paint palettes and brushes for art teachers and students.

Use keywords and AI as inspiration for your back-to-school gifts

Search for popular keywords on Etsy and Amazon for fresh design ideas for custom back-to-school gifts. Simply type “back-to-school” into their search bars to discover the top-searched terms.

Etsy 

Amazon

You can also use ChatGPT to brainstorm a list of words and phrases related to back-to-school. Type in a prompt like “Write a list of 50 back-to-school-inspired words and phrases” and see what the AI tool comes up with…

50 AI-generated back-to-school words and phrases: 

• Fresh Start
• School Days
• New Beginnings
• Academic Year
• Learning Goals
• Classroom Dreams
• Study Mode
• Success Path
• Knowledge Quest
• Bright Ideas
• Classroom Crew
• Back to Learning
• Mindset Matters
• Homework Hero
• Student Power
• Scholarship Dreams
• Education Journey
• Motivation Nation
• Goal Setting
• Classroom Cheer
• Future Focus
• Bright Horizons
• Learning Adventure
• Achievement Unlocked
• Dream Chaser
• Study Smart
• Knowledge is Power
• Success Starts Here
• Growth Mindset
• Academic Achievement
• Inspire Greatness
• Creative Learning
• Classroom Excellence
• Dream Big, Study Hard
• Education First
• Learning Lab
• Class Act
• Ready for Success
• Bright Future
• Student Success
• Innovative Minds
• Classroom Pride
• Study Goals
• Achieve Excellence
• Learning Journey
• School Spirit
• Educational Fun
• Growth Goals
• Classroom Magic
• Achievement Ahead

With these 50+ simple back-to-school design ideas, you can add loads of fantastic new inventory to your shops to celebrate the season and engage with customers.

I hope you find this post useful! If you’d like to share any other design ideas for custom back-to-school gifts, leave a comment below. And if you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and followers.