dollar store teacher gift - cake in a mug: cost, about $1.50 each

‘Tis the season to gift your teachers! That’s right, back to school! It’s a great time to bless your children’s teachers with a tiny token of your appreciation. I have a very simple dollar store teacher gift idea for you: A dollar store cake in a mug. You just need a few supplies, so let’s get going and I’ll show you how to make it. Last year, the parent-teacher group made 100+ of these for all the teachers in our school.

Of course, this gift is great for anyone! Give them to your neighbors, friends, mail carrier, etc. They are great hostess gifts for parties, so keep this idea in mind for showers, weddings (a pretty tea cup would be very cool!), holiday gifts, etc.

Project Materials:

  • A mug, $1 each (per teacher)
  • Clear cello treat bags, $1 for 20
  • Ribbon*, on hand or $1
  • Card stock for tag/instructions, on hand or $1
  • Your computer and printer (or you can hand write), on hand
  • 1 box cake mix, any flavor, $1
  • 1 box Angel Food Cake mix, $1 and up
  • A Tablespoon for measuring, on hand

Total: $4 and up (add $1 per mug)

*We used this pretty black and white ribbon from May Arts, but you can use any ribbon, twine or yarn you want.

Note: Mix will make approximately 40 individual servings, so you can bag up several servings and put more than one in each mug. For 20 mugs (with 2 servings each), the total project cost would be $25, so just $1.25 per gift.

How to Make a Dollar Store Teacher’s Gift – Cake in a Mug

Dollar Store Teacher's Gift: Cake in a Mug - just $1.25 per gift!

1. The cake mix: 3-2-1 Cake — mix 1 box of any flavor of cake mix with one box of angel food cake mix. This recipe is the 3-2-1 Microwave cake by Duncan Hines.

2. Spoon 3 Tablespoons of cake mixture into a cello bag, and secure with a twist tie or a piece of ribbon. Insert bag into mug.

3. Print instructions on a piece of paper or scrapbook paper (make sure the paper’s pattern allows the words to be legible! or print on the plain side of the scrapbooking paper.) Cut instructions into a tag size, punch with a hole punch, and tie onto mug with a piece of ribbon.

Instructions below:

CAKE IN A MUG

INSTRUCTIONS: To make the cake, Mix this with 2 tablespoons water; Mix together and microwave for 1 minute. Let this rest for 15 minutes and serve with toppings.

It’s as simple as that!