first day of school gifts for kids

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Inside: The first day of school can bring a lot of strong emotions for kids. Here are 3 lovely and meaningful first day of school gifts that will make them feel loved and calm their fears and worries!

Every big milestone in my son’s life comes with a lot of emotions.

Watching my child grow is both exciting and heart touching! On one side, I wish he could remain my little boy for a bit longer.

On the other side, I’m so proud to see him start new adventures and excited to watch him become more independent!

This is exactly how I feel about his first day of kindergarten!

I can’t believe he is already big enough to go to school, but I’m also looking forward to watching him go through all the new experiences school will bring in his life!

For him, the start of kindergarten comes with both excitement and a little bit of fear. He loves the idea of going to school and making new friends, but he is also has a few worries and concerns about this big change in his life.

I remember him having the same feelings one year ago when he started Pre-K at a new preschool. I did my best to help with first day of school jitters, but I knew that he felt overwhelmed when he entered the classroom.

This year I wanted to do a little more to help him, so I looked for some nice ideas to make him feel more confident on his first day of school. 

What really helps him overcome anxiety when facing a new experience is making him feel loved and reassuring him that he has our full support no matter what.

One idea we loved during his preschool years was the one we discovered in the book “A kissing hand“.

The book tells the story of a raccoon who is nervous about going to school because he knows that he will miss his mom. To make the separation easier, the raccoon mom offers him a kiss on his hand to accompany him while he is at school.

The book includes a set of heart stickers for parents to use with their kids, and they were perfect for us every time my son went to a new preschool.

Now that he is older, I decided to look for a different idea with a similar meaning to make his first day of school more special.

This is how I discovered 3 heartwarming gift ideas that are perfect for making kids feel loved (and more confident) on their first day of school.

And I’m very glad to share them with you because I’m sure they can bring joy and comfort to other kids as well.

first day of school gifts for kids

Wonderful first day of school gifts for kids: A heartwarming mommy and me bracelet

Many kids deal with separation anxiety on their first day of school, and this gift is great for making the separation easier.

The gift includes a bracelet for mom and a smaller bracelet for the child, plus a nice poem about the meaning of the bracelets. I loved this idea ever since I first discovered it a year ago, but it seemed more appropriate for girls than boys.

Luckily, I discovered a set of bracelets that are suitable for boys as well. Because I wanted his dad to be part of this gift too, I ordered two different sets of bracelets: one color for me and him, and one color for his dad and him.

first day of school gifts

This is the set that I ordered for my son. The bracelets are very simple and made of paracord, but I love their meaning, and I’m sure my son will enjoy wearing them!

first day of school gifts

(There are also sets of 3 bracelets available, but when I placed the order, they were sold out, so I decided to buy two separate sets.)

If you like this idea, you can order a set similar to ours from here. Also, here are some other bracelet sets that look lovely:

1 – First day of school comfort bracelets with matching lava beads 

2 – First day of school comfort bracelets (available in many different colors)

first day of school gifts

photo credit: LateNightLuna shop on Etsy

3 – First day of school bracelet (tiny heart design)

4 – Back to school bracelet (infinity design)

first day of school gifts

photo credit:MakeaWishXO shop on Etsy

Update (one year later): My son loved the bracelets, especially when he saw his dad wear one as well. We all wore them for the first 2 weeks of school.

2. Wonderful first day of school gifts for kids: A set of pocket hearts

I discovered this idea on paper-and-glue.com, and I loved it!

The pocket hearts are the perfect gift for kids who have a hard time being away from their parents!

They are wonderful ways to remind kids how loved they are and calm their separation anxiety!

You can find the tutorial for creating the felt pocket hearts here: Pocket Hearts – Back to School Keepsake.

I decided to adapt the idea and create a little pocket heart basket for my son. I’m not a very crafty person, so instead of following the tutorial, I ordered the felt hearts from here.

first day of school gifts

As soon as I received the set of hearts, I put them in a very small basket (one that is usually used for paper clips), and I plan to offer it to my son the day before school starts.

Every day before going to school, I will let him pick a heart from the jar and place it in his pocket.

first day of school gifts

This way, he will have something to remind him of me while he is in school while he adapts to this big change in his life!

Update (one year later): These hearts were such a wonderful opportunity to connect with my son every morning, before school. The teacher even told me that he always put the heart on the table during the lunch break to have it next to him.

3. Wonderful first day of school gifts for kids: A heartfelt video with encouragements

Some time ago, I read an article talking about how parents can make kids feel special on their first day of school by inviting some close family members or friends to cheer them up in the morning.

When I finished reading I felt sad, because we live far away from our family and I knew that our loved ones won’t be able to join my son on this special day.

first day of school gifts for kids

This is how I came up with an idea to help him feel special even if our family is so many miles away! I decided to create a video collage with short messages from our close family members and friends.

My plan is to include in the video a few words of encouragement for both me and my husband, my son’s grandparents, his grand-grandfather, his godparents, my best friend and her kids (who also live far away from us), and any other loved one who wants to join this project.

I will invite each of them to record a very short video on their phone with a message for my son on his first day of school, and then I’ll create a video collage including all of them.

I’m pretty sure that the video will be an awesome surprise for him, and that it will become a cherished memory for all of us!

Update (one year later): The video was the best surprise for my son! He watched it over and over again, and he was very happy to see how many loved ones sent him wishes on his first day of school.


If you liked any of these first day of school gifts, I hope that you’ll try them with your kids! Making them feel loved and special on their first day of school is easy, and it can mean a lot to them!

>> Want to remember this? Save these ideas to your favorite Pinterest board!

The first day of school can bring a lot of strong emotions for kids. Here are 3 lovely and meaningful first day of school gifts that will make them feel loved and calm their fears and worries!

photos from depositphotos.com & my personal archive (the ones including the URL) – except the ones with source mentioned below the pictures

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