7 Piano Teacher Hacks to Save TIME & MONEY this Holiday Season

It's no joke that the holiday season can easily become one of the busiest times of year for piano teachers. Filled with Christmas performances, student gifts, festive lesson activities--in addition to the hustle and bustle preparing Christmas for our own families--it's essential that we have a few teacher hacks up our sleeve to be TIME & MONEY smart this season!

My Favorite Budgeting Hacks

Christmas season already gets so expensive with gift-planning, holiday parties, and traveling to see friends or family. We do NOT need to add to the financial stress with our piano studio!

Here are my FAVORITE BUDGETING HACKS that I've learned over 15+ years:

1. Draft a recital budget (and stick with it)! Thanks to some wonderful business advice from Sara at Savvy Music Studio, I now charge an annual registration fee to cover supplies, instrument maintenance, and special events such as recitals. Instead of worrying about how much I'm "allowed" to spend on my recital, it is a predetermined amount so that I don't have to worry about it!

2. Convert to a flat tuition rate. I am SO late to the game on this, but I finally bit the bullet and converted my tuition model in 2023. In the past, it was stressful knowing my income was cut due to Christmas break for my students...but now my December income is doubled and unchanging--making it easier to budget for both me and my student families!

3. Use the reports & analytics in My Music Staff. If you haven't kept a record of your income, now is the time to start! In order to know how much you can spend on important expenses such as supplies, instrument maintenance, and special events, you HAVE to know how much you are bringing in and create a budget from that information. ***If you sign up using this link, you can get a FREE 60-day trial with MMS!***
   ((Disclaimer: I take NO commissions off of this link! This is an exclusive offer created by My Music Staff for my audience to help piano teachers like you simplify your admin and make your studio basically run on its own!))

My Favorite Student Gift Hacks

We love our students and we especially love to show them that love through personalized student gifts during this time of year. There are so many beautiful personalized music gifts, but buying personalized gifts gets expensive and takes a while to be shipped out and arrive. So unless you're planning EARLY in the season, you most likely won't get them in time for Christmas!

Because of this, I've opted for non-personalized bulk music gifts on Amazon. Who can beat affordable gifts and 2-day shipping?!

Here is what I used this year and will be purchasing from them again in the future:

1. 187 Pieces Music Part Favors with Silicone Bracelets, Keychains, Round Label Stickers, Thank You Tags, and Sheer Organization Bags

2. Gerrii 36 Pcs Christmas Music Note Ornament Music Symbol Wood

((Disclaimer: These are affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I ONLY recommended resources that I personally use - and LOVE - in my studio!))

My Favorite Christmas Piano Game Hacks

Of course...the Christmas games!!! I LIVE (err...my students LIVE) for Christmas game week after our Christmas recital is over! We spend our entire lessons that week playing Christmas piano games and I'm. Here. For. It! I've seen some incredible Christmas game ideas this year that are EASY-TO-NO PREP (which let's be honest, game prep can take a lot of our time), so I thought I would include two of my favorites that I've seen by other creators below--but read until the end! I give you a sneak peak into one of my NO PRINTOUT PLAYBOOK: HOLIDAY EDITION games at the bottom of this post :)

My 2 favorite Christmas games from other creators:

1. Busy Little Turtle's "For Christmas I Would Like..." - an easy piano game that incorporates memory skills, pattern recognition, and improvisation techniques! Supplies needed? A piano and a good memory (OK, maybe a decent memory in my case...mom brain). Join her email list for more wonderful game ideas!

2. Stephanie at Toucan Piano released in 2023 what I thought was one of the most brilliant games called "Don't Pass the Fruitcake!" Click the link to learn how to play this keyboard/note-reading identification game with a piano and some flashcards.

Sneak Peak into NPP: Holiday Edition: LET IT SNOW!

Inside my No Printout Playbook: easy piano games HOLIDAY edition, there are 4 OTHER CHRISTMAS PIANO GAMES + Thanksgiving games for next year that will be sure to bring life back into your lessons and give students an experience worth bragging about to their friends and family!

The best part? EASY PREP & SUPPLIES.

All for less than $1 per game…

...The same price as your Christmas candle you have lit 24-7. Or that cozy pair of slippers you just bought to keep your feet warm on those hardwood floors. (Just saying)

Enjoy!

Want to cut your holiday teaching schedule by 50% AND an easy way to market to new students?

Here’s the truth—whether we like to admit it or not—student practice takes a huge nosedive over holiday weeks. I used to teach regular lessons all the way up until school let out, assigning repertoire like it was any other week…Spoiler alert: it’s not and it’s just the truth.

Their piano collects dust. And post-break lessons? They’re basically a repeat of the one before the holiday 😵‍💫

So now the week leading into a holiday break, I run group piano parties for ALL students and it is the PERFECT solution to:

✨ Lower my teaching hours that week by 50%, without lowering my pay.

✨ Market effortlessly to new students, so that I always have a waitlist ready to fill lesson openings if needed.

But the BEST part? Planning these parties takes maybe 10-15 minutes–no joke, because that’s all the time I have as a young mom anyway.

At these parties, we:

✅ Play 2 fun, easy-prep group piano games.

✅ Tackle holiday-themed theory worksheets.

✅ Learn basic improv in a relaxed, fun setting.

PLUS, these party weeks serve as our “Bring-A-Friend” week, which is one of the easiest ways to get new faces through your door!

This small change has been a game-changer for me…no more reteaching lessons post-break, and we (myself included) have so much more fun 💛

I’ve put my full Thanksgiving group party plan into a free PDF for piano teachers who, like me, want to work smarter, not harder, during the holidays. Grab it HERE!