Holiday Gifts for Employees

Welcome to December. It’s that time of year again.

Employee Gift 1: Cash Bonuses

Who doesn’t love a little extra cash in their pocket to help with the added expenses during the holidays? Cash employee gifts make it easy for them to spend it on something they’ll enjoy. You want to be careful with how this type of gift is perceived. If it is an unexpected bonus, cash makes for a great gift. However, many companies routinely give bonuses as part of an employee’s compensation package. In that cases, a holiday bonus is more likely to be seen as part of their salary rather than a true gift.
For companies who take this path for employee gifts many years in a row, an expectation of the annual “Christmas bonus” may begin, watering down the gift aspect. That being said cash is still king.

Employee Gift 2: Custom Gifts under $20

These take a little more planning but can really create that wow factor if executed well. Instead of everyone in the office getting the same exact thing, a little customization goes a long way. A handwritten note or card will help to further customize your gift.

1. Persona Coffee: Persona.Coffee makes a perfect gift for coffee lovers. When trying to find gifts for a large number of people, it’s worth finding crowd-pleasing options. As coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the US (water is #1), a personalized bag of high-quality freshly roasted coffee is both unique and will be appreciated by a large number of people.
   With Persona you can create personalized coffee blends complete with a customized label. Share an inside joke, annual accomplishment, or include the recipient’s name on the label to create a one-of-a-kind custom gift that will actually get used.
2. 2021 Calendar: This requires a bit of assembly and requires some printed photos. The plus side is this gift continues to give year-round. Highlight key team members and moments from the company’s past to help create. These gifts once prepared can even be repurposed into new hire gifts to help them learn about the company’s past history.
3. Personalized Coffee Mug: With this gift, you can add your own photo and text to a standard ceramic coffee mug. We’d recommend something less “corporate” branded and with more personality behind the company. For custom gifts for employees, you want a holiday gift that is unique to the recipient and not something that the marketing department designed.

Employee Gift 3: Extra Vacation Days

Extra vacation days provide employees a valued benefit that they will appreciate. These extra vactions days can be especially valuable to employees with dependents or those who love to travel and want the flexibility to travel around non-holiday periods. As employees are valuing flexibility more, this type of employee gift can be a win-win for both employees and employers.

Employee Gift 4: Better Tools

Studies have shown not having the tools to do their jobs effectively ranks high on employees’ biggest frustrations. While employers often need to balance resources, the holidays are a great time to upgrade equipment for employees. Whether it’s a new MacBook Air on sale, better work from home set-up,, or better software, or even vacuums that clean the office, employees appreciate their tools being upgraded.
For office managers, compiling a list of requests and upgrades throughout the year can help make gift-giving time easier. The surprise gift that meets their needs will delight their fellow co-workers.