Who doesn’t…right?  We all love to be acknowledged and celebrated for things.  Prizes are just one way of doing that for your students.   Keep in mind that prizes don’t have to be extravagant or expensive.  There are so many ways to have small, fun prizes available to your students.

Most of us attend various hair shows each year and come home with our bags full of goodies.  Rather than keeping all of that loot to yourself, bring some of it back and use it as prizes.  Create a box in the school where you can store prizes that all educators can dip into for a fun giveaway.  Encourage everyone to add to it periodically and before you know it, you have a treasure chest of prizes. Also, when reps from various distributors come in, ask them if they have any small items they would like to donate to your prize box.  Many product manufactures are more than happy to donate sample products to you for use as a giveaway.  Students love simple items like clips, capes, and combs, especially because those things always seem to disappear.   Additionally, make an occasional trip to a local dollar store and stock up on prizes like notepads, pens, highlighters, calculators, and so on.

If your school does have a budget for larger prizes, consider gift cards for things such as gas, coffee, lunch, or bus fare. You might even look at educational resources to reward them for their success.  Here are a few inexpensive Milady tools that would be a wonderful gift:

• Milady Online Haircutting Simulation
• Milady Standard Razor Cutting by Nick Arrojo
• Milady Beauty and Wellness Dictionary
• Milady Making It Count: Math for the Beauty and Wellness Industry
• Milady Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary

Prizes that invest in the success of a student would be a great way to celebrate a Student of the Month winner or a graduating student with a 100% attendance rate.  Just remember to keep it consistent.  You can’t give a great prize out for 2 months to the student of the month and then stop.  You need to keep it going.

What type of prizes do you find that students enjoy most?