42 gift ideas for every type of employee on your team

by Alison Green on December 9, 2024

If you’re the boss, finding the right gifts for your employees can be fraught with questions: How much do you spend? Should you spend the same amount of money on each person? And if you don’t know someone well, how do you make sure they like the gift while still keeping it professional?

For the record: managers don’t have to give their staff members gifts, but it’s a nice gesture if you want to do it, and in some offices it’s expected. (Although here is your obligatory reminder that because of the power dynamics involved, gifts at work should flow down, not up. Managers should never expect or encourage gifts from employees.)

A while back, New York Magazine asked me to put together a gift guide for bosses buying for employees, and I’ve updated it for 2024.

You can read it here.

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    1. Odd Times*

      Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing werewolf and similar games with friends, but please never ever ask me to play anything like that with coworkers!

      The mob justice dynamic in that game seems particularly ill-suited to workplace relationships. The last time I was in a group where someone wanted to play it, a friend who grew up in the south and hadn’t been introduced to it was there. Her response to being told the rules of the game was more or less an incredulous “What the hell, you want me to play a game about lynching people?” And then we picked something else to play, and most of us spent some time thinking about why we’d missed that perspective.

    1. Aspiring Chicken Lady*

      Yes — Had to follow the link to sort out how it attached. May need to figure out a DIY version.

    2. Resident Catholicville, U.S.A.*

      Me from two jobs ago would have *loved* this. Now that I’m in perimenopause, I’m running on lava hot 100% of the time, but I used to run very cold and I kept threatening to buy Snuggies for the office and have them monogrammed with our logo on them.

    3. Pretty as a Princess*

      I just bought one for my assistant who has a medical condition that keeps her ALWAYS cold. She’s always working a combination of a ceramic heat fan, etc, etc.

  3. new laptop who dis*

    Anyone have a gift suggestion for employees that are moving from a private office to a hot-desking situation? Usually I’d get something cute/fun for their desks that reflects their personalities, but now they won’t have a desk…

    1. Harper the Other One*

      Will they have lockers or other spaces for storing personal gear? If not and if it’s within budget, maybe a mini locker they can use?

      1. amoeba*

        Also, if they have a locker (and that happens to be metal), magnets for that are great! We have hot desking, but designated lockers, and the few things (pictures etc.) I used to keep on my desk/pinboard are now stuck to the locker with magnets. Some cute ones would be great to have.

    2. Aspiring Chicken Lady*

      A rolling suitcase/tote sort of arrangement that will fit wherever you get to keep your stuff? Add points if it’s adorable or customizable. Check online for “teacher totes” or “craft totes” and you’ll find sensibly sized, easily opened rolling cases with lots of pockets.

    3. Ellis Bell*

      Backpack or pencil case cup. The backpack must have multi pockets for the stuff that used to be housed in their desk. The pencil case cup can sit on the work holding pens for convenient access, but be securely zipped up and stashed in the backpack end of day. A good portfolio folder for papers is also a good idea. Smart/personalised and possibly one that can also be used as a diary maybe.

      1. Zanshin*

        I have amazing cute Japanese animal stand up zipper pencil cases that I bought online from Jet Pens.

        1. One Duck In A Row*

          I was going to suggest exactly this! And if you notice they like to use a certain brand/type of pen or notebook, some of that stuff, too. And/or a gift certificate for a place like Jet Pens – if they are the type of person who has particular supplies they carry around with them, they will surely appreciate it.

    2. ANinnyMouse*

      I remember listening to that book because of the suggestion here…right as I got in to the biotech/pharma industry. I remember being so mad because even as a newbie, I could tell that she (who must not be named) knew nothing about how the FDA would take to her “technology”. She is an example why this industry is so regulated.

      Still do the occasional listen to it. I might be due for another go, now that I think about it.

  5. Blarg*

    Just to brighten everyone’s day, Amaryllis Fox (whose book is recommended) was the 2024 presidential campaign manager for her father in law, RFK Jr. Also, her book has some … fantastical … elements in it.

  6. Les*

    I might be Grinchy for wanting nothing other than a gift card or bonus. I get the impulse – who doesn’t want to be seen as the caring boss overflowing with largesse? But the last thing I need is junk from someone with whom I’m paid to spend time and who knows little about me. If it isn’t cash or credit, I’m happiest with nothing.

    1. Aspiring Chicken Lady*

      I had a supervisor that gave a gift card to the good grocery store in town which I enjoyed using for my New Year’s treats. Simple, easy, and extremely useable. And can be easily handed off as a re-gift if you don’t shop there.

    2. KHB*

      Same here. I’ve never worked anywhere that had a culture of giving material gifts (beyond, like, token boxes of candy), but I think I’d find it creepy if my boss were paying so much attention to the personal lives of everyone on the team that he felt confident giving personalized gifts to everyone every year.

      I’d much rather he use those brain cycles to pay attention to my actual work, so he can express sincere appreciation for the things I’m doing well and sincere encouragement for the things I’m still working on. Fortunately, my current boss does this really well – and that’s all the “gift” that I need.

    3. Danielle*

      I agree. Unless it’s a particularly close-knit workplace, I doubt most bosses will know their employees well enough to choose something they would actually use *and* don’t already have. I get wanting to give a more thoughtful, personal gift, but cash is certainly the most likely to be used. I, personally, welcome sweets as a gift, but I there are plenty of people who wouldn’t eat them due to dietary restrictions or simply personal preference.

    4. Sunflower*

      I like gifts but if an employer give gift cards, please give generic Visa/MC, grocery, or Walmart/Target cards so they’re sure to find something to buy. The last thing I need is another starbucks or specialty card that I don’t have a use for, and I’m sure others feel the same.

      1. Chocolate Teapot*

        Part of my compensation package is a monthly quantity of luncheon vouchers. At a previous job, we received 50 euros in gift vouchers from the same luncheon voucher provider. I remember looking at the list of shops where the vouchers were accepted, and the list on the website hadn’t been updated (shops which had closed down) so the only places where I could use it, were the local spa resort and the big supermarkets!

        It paid for my Christmas grocery bill.

        1. KHB*

          Many people (including me) object to the increasing Amazon-monopolization of everything, and refuse to shop there unless we absolutely have to.

          1. Tradd*

            In that case, people are also going to have massive issues with Walmart and Target. Cash. Just give me cash.

            1. KHB*

              Certainly, any given company is going to have people who prefer not to shop there for whatever reason.

              If my employer (i.e., the company) wants to give me a cash bonus around the holidays, that would be welcome and appreciated. If my boss (i.e., the human being one level above me in the hierarchy) were to give me cash out of his pocket, that would feel weird to me.

            2. ubotie*

              And then people complain when the cash gift is taxed before it even hits their bank account (or if it’s not taxed when it’s handed out, they complain 6 months down the road at tax time and needs to be declared).

              It’s also just not always feasible for that to happen, depending on budget constraints. I was part of a team that won an award with a cash prize attached one year. The way it was set up, half the cash went to the manager and the other half was equally split among the rest of the team members. So when all was said and done, I got an extra…$33.17 in my paycheck that week. Yippee. Like, yeah it’s better than $0 but not exactly the “oh wow!!” moment you normally expect when you hear, “cash prize.”
              My manager used his portion to take us all out to lunch one day at a nice-ish restaurant which was honestly an unexpected and cool surprise.

              And while it’s great to have moral objections to Amazon, Target, etc (and I definitely share them), sometimes some of us just have to suck it up and shop there anyway. So a gift card to those places is nothing to sneeze at. If nothing else, it’s something I could easily re-gift to someone else, so now that is one less gift *I* have to worry about spending money on.

                1. 653-CXK*

                  IIRC, the cards are taxed at a value over $25. That was why my ExJob was adamant about giving us cards at $24 – to avoid that tax.

      3. Ashley*

        Or for the clueless boss ask for help. I had one that was utterly clueless about me, but thankfully someone else guided him. Meanwhile one of my best bosses just sent a e-gift card to my go to store with no mess and no wasted plastic.

        1. Jake Purralta*

          I’ve only been given gift cards or alcohol and I don’t drink alcohol. I did work as an admin a lot of years ago for 3 people and 2 of them used to get me national book tokens as they knew I liked to read.

            1. londonedit*

              In the UK, at least, they’re basically gift vouchers for books, that can be used at any bookshop. So rather than getting a specific gift card for Waterstones (big book retailer), for example, you get someone book tokens and they can spend them anywhere, from Waterstones to the little independent bookshop down the road. They’ve been a thing for years – I always used to get book tokens from my grandparents for Christmas when I was a child, and it was really exciting taking them to the bookshop and choosing the book I wanted.

      4. amoeba*

        Eh, I also kind of like supporting small, local stores with that though. And if I do get a gift certificate, I actually prefer one for a place/thing I wouldn’t normally have bought! So, like, a small local shop with a nice choice of food and drink things, great. A local bookshop, amazing. I’ll see something new! Amazon or Visa or whatever… yeah, it’s basically just like cash, and honestly, the amount of cash that would be realistic in our company (basically the budget for the presents) would probably be something like 20 bucks. Which, you know… it’s not nothing, for sure, but getting that from my boss? Feels super weird, like the world’s smallest year-end bonus!

        Of course, you can only do local if the employees all live in the same general area or if they offer shipping, sure. Otherwise it needs to be something different.

      5. Kelly L.*

        Yeah, I have an otherwise wonderful colleague who’s fond of those gift cards like “Happy” that are supposedly to a bunch of different stores but that no one at any of those stores knows how to process, lol.

    5. GingerbreadWoman*

      I am exactly the same. I do not want the gifts on this list. I do not want junk. I do not want clutter. Even if some of the items somehow relate to my interests, I either already have one or it would be unlikely that someone would pick the kind I would want. If my boss gave me one of these items, she would simply be handing me the responsibility of figuring out how to get rid of it, and although I would be capable of acting grateful, I would actually be quietly resentful.

      1. Happy meal with extra happy*

        That’s extreme, being quietly resentful of someone just trying to do something nice. No gift is perfect, including “no gifts”, and not all managers have the ability to give a suitable amount of cash.

        1. GingerbreadWoman*

          I have requested no gifts from all family and friends as well. I live in a tiny space and already have more “stuff” than I need, which I need to slowly word on decreasing, not have added to by well-meaning others.

          I absolutely do not expect cash or cash-equivalent. If my boss wants to recognize me in a non-monetary way, I would welcome a card with handwritten comments expressing appreciation for my contributions to the department.

    6. 653-CXK*

      Same here. I’m getting a small bonus this year, but I’d rather have that than tchotchkes that I won’t use or that will be used up in days.

    7. Disappointed Australien*

      I was looking for “gift for employees who work for money” and slightly sad to see that it’s not there.

      My workplace has a least-awful way of dealing with gifts to the company (or to people who don’t want them): we have a ceremonial “opening of the christmas table” where the gifts have been arranged, and those who want anything can take it or negotiate with the other people who want it. And those who don’t want to can just ignore the whole process.

    8. Wolf*

      I’m okay wth the suggested items that most people would use up – like socks or candy.

      But a disco light and a salt lamp? Just no.

  7. Richard Hershberger*

    A good selection, but I disagree about the rolling pin. The office baker almost certainly has one already. I think I have three. And unlike the cutting board, you don’t really have any use for extras. And they last forever.

    1. A perfectly normal-size space bird*

      And rolling pins can be very personal. My mom swears by the plastic kind that you fill with ice cubes and has a knit cotton sheath. My baker friend loves the tapered style. My sibling loves their marble rolling pin and won’t use anything else. I have tried many different types and find the standard wooden rolling pin with silicone rings works perfectly for me.

      1. KateM*

        In general, don’t give someone a gift something to do with their hobby that you don’t know much about yourself (unless you ask them what to buy and buy that exact thing).

      2. Spacewoman Spiff*

        Haha, yes. I’m so attached to my rolling pin (the tapered kind) that I packed it in my bag last Thanksgiving, so I wouldn’t be forced to roll out a pie crust with the different style of pin my mom owns.

      3. Worldwalker*

        My favorite is a simple wooden cylinder. I have a few pieces of wood of various thicknesses in the kitchen drawer for different thicknesses of dough.

    2. Charlotte Lucas*

      I definitely have two. And I love my French tapered rolling pin.

      Instead, I would recommend something like a spice collection (Penzey’s has nice ones) or a gift card for King Arthur’s Flour.

    3. Parcae*

      I agree with you. I think the hobby-related gifts are most appropriate for someone who is very new to whatever it is. E.g., a nice rolling pin for someone who just made their first entry in their family’s cookie exchange, or the yoga duffle bag for the person who just started taking classes. The yoga pro is more likely to already have their preferred gear. Notice that Alison recommends the bento box for the person who keeps *saying* they want to bring lunch from home, not the person who already does.

      Relatedly, unless we’re talking about my youngest coworker who just moved out of their parents’ place for the first time, is there anyone out there who would use a Roku who doesn’t already have a Roku?

      1. Charlotte Lucas*

        A fellow middle-aged coworker and I were talking about streaming, and it’s our older relatives who that’s a good gift for. (Generally, it’s not something they’d buy for themselves but that they appreciate if a family member buys it and sets it up for them.) But these people are all retired, so not really a “gift from a manager.”

  8. katertot*

    Is it appropriate to say we don’t want a specific present? My company has gotten us novelty socks and a gift card to a nearby grocery store where a lot of us typically grab lunch. I have never worn the novelty socks, though I can see how they think it’s a low-risk gift option… I’d rather have an extra $10 to the grocery store.

    1. Zahra*

      As with gifts from extended family, I doubt you can say “I don’t want this part of the gift”. I’d go with “Thank you for thinking about me!” Maybe a few months down the line, mention that you know many people who don’t like novelty socks and that gift cards to a place that has near universal appeal is always a good bet. Like the nearby grocery store. You might not buy lunch there, but you could grab something to cook for the evening on your way out, a condiment that just ran out, take advantage of a specific sale, etc.

    2. Parcae*

      Nah, I don’t think so. Some people prefer trinkets and some people prefer cash-like things*, and I think your company’s doing a pretty good job covering their bases with the sock/grocery gift card combo. Give the socks to coworker who really likes them and maybe you’ll get lucky with them buying you a coffee to say thanks.

      *I know the comment section here tends to prefer cash over trinkets, and I would agree that’s a good approach if we’re talking about significant sums of money, but the $5 and $10 gift cards I’ve received from managers in the past left me feeling a little cold. It’s not enough money to make a difference in my budget and it doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies a chocolate bar or a pair of socks might, so why are you bothering? I’m not saying you have to agree with me; just that it’s a subject on which reasonable people could disagree.

      1. Aggretsuko*

        This sounds like my mom’s reasons for disapproving of gift cards: you know EXACTLY how much you were worth financially.

        (Hard to argue that point, because it’s clear.)

        1. Parcae*

          Yes, that really sums up the problem, doesn’t it?

          I wasn’t offended in the case of my old managers because I knew 1) the gift cards were coming out of their own pockets and 2) they were not paid enough for more extravagant gifts to make any sense. But really, I would have appreciated a personal note of thanks more.

          I’m not anti-gift card per se, but I see absolutely no point in gift cards when people are exchanging gifts of roughly equal value. It’s one thing if a parent is giving to a child, or a wedding guest is giving to the happy couple. But if I give you a $25 gift card for your birthday and you turn around six months later and give me a different $25 gift card for mine, all we’ve managed to accomplish is committing each other to spending some of our money in a specific place.

          1. Lucifer*

            “ But if I give you a $25 gift card for your birthday and you turn around six months later and give me a different $25 gift card for mine, all we’ve managed to accomplish is committing each other to spending some of our money in a specific place.”

            We…kind of tend to do this in my family? I don’t have a lot of discretionary income, as does several of my family members, and most of my nieces and nephews (whom I’m primarily getting gifts for especially around the holidays) are at the age where gift cards and cash are surefire hits. I get gift cards from my parents or siblings, they get gift cards from me, and we’re all pretty happy because the cards are for stores we shop at all the time (Amazon, target, local grocery chains, Uber eats, home Depot), or visa/Mastercard cards.

            It’s generally the same with my friends too. It never occurred to me that anyone was keeping a mental ledger of this :-/

  9. Khatul Madame*

    Socks are a GREAT gift and awesome as corporate swag, as long as they are made of quality materials.
    I do have a pet peeve: corporate swag socks only come in one size. I had to pass all my conference loot to my male family member.

    2. Rocket Raccoon*

      I will die on the hill that socks are the universal gift. I never give *just* socks, but every gift I give includes them. I am unapologetically a sock evangelist. They are useful, get used up, and if you don’t want them they’re easy to regift/donate.

      1. KateM*

        Depends on the type of socks. I used to get woollen socks and those got usually used up by local moths.

      2. Yet Another Traffic Engineer*

        My partner hates giving and receiving gifts, and especially celebrating his birthday (to the point where he doesn’t want me to acknowledge it at all). Meanwhile, gifts are my love language. So we had to quickly work out something that would work for both of us.

        Enter: our shared love of novelty socks!

        We now have “Non-Denominational Sock Exchange Month” during a random, ostentatious-seeming day during our (mutual) birthday month, and “Sockmas”/”Sockret Santa” for December. We each buy the other a pair of novelty socks and a card (of course, we tend to edit the cards liberally by crossing out the word “Christmas” and writing “Sockmas” or other such things).

        It works great for both of us: for him, it removes a lot of his hatred of gift giving and receiving because he knows exactly what to buy and what he’ll get. I get what I like out of giving and receiving gifts by being able to choose something that will make him smile, and he always chooses something that makes me smile.

        Socks are always useful and do eventually wear out so they don’t accumulate into a “pile of crap”. It’s relatively cheap (a *nice* pair of socks is $10-$30, and you can get them for $2-3 too if finances are tight that year). It means that after 4 years together we now both have a nice selection of high-quality socks.

        I don’t know if I’d go as far as to recommend socks for every person on every occaision, but they have worked so brilliantly for the very specific (and potentially disasterous) collision of our mutually incompatible attitude towards giving and receiving gifts!

    4. Nekosan*

      Yeah, I LOVE socks, but even the standard “women’s” size is too big for me. The men’s socks are just enormous and basically unwearable even as slipper-socks.

  10. Becky s.*

    My last employer, non-profit social services agency, used to give gift cards for convenience stores. Here in the Philadelphia area, that is Wawa. They were always a big hit.

  11. FricketyFrack*

    Throwing this out there since it’s related – does anyone have suggestions for a good group gift? My coworkers and I (there are only 4 of us) usually exchange gifts because we’re a pretty tight-knit group, but I’m struggling to think of good personalized stuff this year. I’m dealing with some health stuff that’s eating all my extra bandwidth, so I’m leaning toward something that would be a cool thing for everyone. I looked at the food subscription Alison suggested, but it’s a little pricey for what you get. I like the idea of it, and I’m not opposed to something similar, though. Also open to any other ideas.

    1. Pomodoro Sauce*

      12 foot ratcheting tie-downs. Everyone is like “hahaha what?” and then for the next year people are like “THESE SAVED ME.”

      2. Dry Cleaning Enthusiast*

        You can even use them off label in Camping Emergencies. Is it a little overkill for a tarp/clothesline? Yes, but we were dry!

    2. Strive to Excel*

      Group gift as in things you will get 4 of? Or one gift that the 4 of you will share in the office?

        1. DisneyChannelThis*

          What’s your budget?

          Fancy pods for the keurig? Coffee flavor syrups? Multipack of assorted tea?

          Radio or bluetooth speaker if you share music . Emergency alert weather radio if y’all live near tornados or other disasters.

          jigsaw puzzle to do together in the break room?

          Basket of food

          1. FricketyFrack*

            I’m leaning toward the food, and maybe a puzzle – we have SO much coffee and 2 of them don’t even drink it, and we’re all in offices so while we have a bluetooth speaker, we mostly don’t hear it.

            I’m not super set on a budget, maybe $200 or less? That’s probably about what I’ve spent for everyone in the past some years.

            1. Dry Cleaning Enthusiast*

              Puzzle and a puzzle board to hold it, if you can’t dedicate a table. Plus some nice non-crumbly snacks to eat while puzzling.

        2. Funko Pops Day*

          My spouse and I are obsessed with Harry & David Royal Riviera pears. They also replace anything that you’re not 100% thrilled with (we had a box at the end of the season where half of them were bruised and went bad, and they sent us a new box gratis; my spouse got me a Fruit of The Month subscription and I had some bad cherries, which also got us a new box.)

          If you’re sure about food restrictions, Zingermans also does a veriety of amazing baskets.

    3. Pam Adams*

      one of my coworkers gives everyone lottery scratchers. (Usually our students are the ones who win) I’m making jam for my office mates.

      Also a nice flashlight/emergency light or charging brick.

    4. Cruciatus*

      What about if you had a game for them instead? This might be stupid, but maybe someone out there will think it’s fun! I saw it on Facebook years ago and now it’s a tradition with me and my friends. First step, buy a lot of plastic wrap…buy little things to fill it and add them to the plastic wrap as you add more wrap, a treat here, more wrap, a treat there, occasionally switch up the direction of the plastic wrap, etc.

      So you do that for as long as you have patience, plastic wrap, and items for it. Once complete, you gather the folks who want to participate. You need 2 oven mitts, a Santa hat (you can make this optional) and 2 dice. So you pick one person to start, they have to put on the oven mitts, the hat, and start unwrapping the plastic wrap ball. The person next to them starts rolling the dice until they hit doubles, when they do, they then put on the oven mitts, hat, and start unrolling the ball. And so on and so forth. Some people get a long time to unwrap the ball, some people get 5 seconds and have to take off the mitts, the hat, etc. You get to keep whatever falls out of the plastic wrap ball during your turn unwrapping it. And the oven mitts make it much more challenging than it sounds! You can fill it with anything you want (obviously small things). Some things my friends fill it with are candy, lottery tickets, tiny Post It notes, pens, cool pencils, lots of Dollar Store/Tree/ stuff. Truly, it can be almost anything you want. Whoever’s doing the ball usually puts one bigger ticket item at the very beginning of the ball (nothing crazy, like a card game). It’s hard to explain and I do fear this sounds dopey, but I swear even 10 years later doing this, we always laugh and have a good time with it. It’s less about what you get (but almost everyone gets something out of it), and just having fun together, and while you can go crazy expensive, if you just stuck to treats and cheap (but useful!) things you can keep it from being too much. Just a thought!

    5. Goodbye Consulting*

      I worked in an office where we had a communal microwave popcorn popper – one of those bowls that you can just add a little oil and kernels and have fresh popcorn. Everyone was SO EXCITED for a little afternoon snack and people were really good about cleaning it out afterwards. So my suggestion is a popper, starter bottles of oil and kernels, and a powdered topping or two if you want to get fancy with it.

    4. One Duck In A Row*

      While as others have said it does work with ios, I once got a couple as a gift and found them completely useless. They would tell me my wallet was somewhere in my house. Thanks. I knew that. And the alert sound it made was so faint that even with my really good hearing it was nearly impossible to use it to locate anything. Also, these things only work if the thing you tend to lose is the kind of thing you can somehow fix a tile to or put it in. Too bad it’s illegal and impossible to just give ADHD meds as a gift, because those of us who are constantly unable to find the sh*t we literally had in our hands 10 seconds ago and put down some random place without noticing it don’t need gadgets that will make us more frustrated by telling us that yes the thing you were just holding didn’t fall into a wormhole. We just need easier access to the healthcare that makes our brains work better.

      Um, so yeah, I’ll take a gift certificate to a bookstore or something. For the record. ;-)

  13. Discombobulated and Tired*

    My boss always gives me the same thing every year: a Starbucks gift card, a small bottle of sparkling wine (she knows I am fine with alcohol), and a small box of fancy chocolates. Easy, generic without being boring. Did I follow her example for my own admin? Stupidly no I did not because I didn’t know if she would like any of those things but I was probably overthinking it. She travels a lot so I picked an RFID-blocking travel document holder. She might think it’s weird but it seemed like a neat thing she wouldn’t have.

  14. Anonymask*

    I actually really like the desktop vacuum idea, but would be concerned about how well it worked at $13. I am open to being surprised though!

    1. Someone Online*

      I just impulse ordered three for the admins in my office, so I am about to find out (all three of them keep very clean desks, which is both an inspiration and a judgement of my mess – maybe I should have ordered four…)

    2. Alpaca Bag*

      I gave that one to my spouse last year. She really likes it and still uses it any time she has a ‘snaccident’ over the keyboard. :)

      1. Worldwalker*

        Some years ago, Turtle Wax was selling similar ones (with a turtle shell design, of course) as car vacuums. I doubt if they’d be much use on a car — but mine is super for cleaning crumbs and random crud off my desk. It’s exactly the right size, shape, and suction.

      2. Reluctant Mezzo*

        Keyboard liners are your friend! After having lost a keyboard to cat hair, I now cover every new keyboard of every new machine with a liner.

  15. Lacey*

    My boss got me an amazon gift card this year and it’s literally the best employee gift I’ve ever been given.

  16. Our Business Is Rejoicing*

    As a long-time member (18 years) of Toastmasters (and who wouldn’t have the job I have today without it), very slight tweak: Toastmasters isn’t just a one-time workshop that “you do,” so “just did Toastmasters” isn’t really a thing. Better way of saying it would be “for the person who joined Toastmasters” or “the person who’s in Toastmasters.”

    Even if you get the highest-level award (which takes one year at the absolute least; most people it takes much longer) you may stick around for the practice (and may do it all over again–I certainly did).

  17. HittingHeadGlassCeiling*

    I always buy members of my team gifts out of my personal funds as a thank you from me and not the company, but I give everyone exactly the same thing so there is no possible issue of favoritism. Normally food or similar gift that they can regift to others.

  18. Worldwalker*

    I liked the suggestion for the Anker power pack.

    When I was a little kid, I always wanted to live in the future; I just didn’t realize I would have to charge it! (you ever see the Jetsons charge anything?)

    I have a little flickering “fireplace” that I got from PopShelf next to my desk; it’s a Bluetooth speaker, so I have it channeling a flickering fire sound playing. It makes my desk space nice and cozy, especially since I’m under the weather today. (something I ate didn’t want to be et)

  19. Moose*

    I have a weirdly traumatic experience involving a salt lamp and got a jump scare this AM when I saw it. LOL.

    1. Lucifer*

      I got an Amazon gift card from a boss one year used it to buy a really good flashlight. Still one of the best decisions ever.

  21. Allie with an Eye*

    I also am using personal funds and try to take a similar approach. My team is ~15 people – a mix of remote with most in the US but not all. I have the hardest time each year finding something that is meaningful but also within a reasonable budget! A thread earlier this year suggested Sugarwish and similar companies, which delivers a link via email and allows each person to choose something they like within a few options. Welcome any ideas from others in a similar situation – what has worked for you in the past?

    1. Disappointed Australien*

      I’d be horrified if a non-owner gave me a christmas gift out of their own money. So one of the questions I think it would be nice to ask is whether people want you doing that at all.

      Using your money adds an extra level of performative gratitude to the obligation you’re imposing on your underlings. They might not appreciate it.

  22. No clue*

    Every person on the team I am on has a dog, so I always go for a pet accessory of some kind. This year will be those cool cheese chews.

  23. ubotie*

    I think people are forgetting that the ultimate point of these gift guides (not just here but from any other newspaper or magazine) is to sell ads. Otherwise, all gift guides would just be endless repetitions of, “just give your employees more money/more PTO/lower premiums–or NO PREMIUMS–on their insurance plans/insurance plans with no deductible/paid parental leave for 6 months/carte blanche to hire at least 6 more employees in every department/etc.”
    It’s the New York Magazine–their audience is a very specific income bracket and their advertisers are catering to that so the gift guides will be geared towards that too.

    1. The Gollux, Not a Mere Device*

      I know of at least one exception: Naomi Kritzer’s annual guide to plausibly deniable “gifts for people you hate” but have to buy something for. There’s no advertising in her blog unless suggesting her own books as gifts counts, and this year’s entries include things like “the worst possible way to store whiskey” and “buy a gift card f0r a small business that the recipient is unlikely to ever use.”

      https://naomikritzer.com/2024/12/09/gifts-for-people-you-hate-2024/

  24. Aphrodite*

    I really wouldn’t want any of those. As has been said here repeatedly, the best gifts are cash and PTO.

    Let me note here that I have the Vornado fan shown (in that color and size) in my guest bathroom and it is fantastic!

  25. HolidaySwap*

    Also great suggestions for holiday gift swaps! Just got the bentago boxes—one for office swap, one for family swap!

  26. TheGrinchess*

    My work floated a “we should just buy for the people we want to buy for” approach to the holidays this year. Cause that’ll end well. What could go wrong?

  27. Firefinch*

    I get a box of decomposition notebooks, made to be biodegradable. I get a variety and my staff gets to pick one they like best. A little personal but not too much, work appropriate, and it saves them the hassle of finding a decent one on their own. They seem pretty happy with them. It’s more of a “hey I appreciate you and your hard work” kind of thing. I do this twice a year, not only at year’s end.

  28. One Duck In A Row*

    I just want my boss to follow through with promises in general, but especially regarding my workload so I can someday make it to this time of year without feeling f*cking depressed that I can’t actually take all the PTO I wanted to take (before losing what I can’t carry over) because I have too much work to do and the promised support never materializes even when she asks for and I give her specific suggestions of tasks to delegate to someone else.

    Literally, IDGAF about gifts from work. Just give me the money and the work life balance so I can enjoy gift giving and receiving in my free time, for the holidays I actually celebrate. (The whole season feels like an exercise in being nice without actually being kind. Not calling an in-all-but-name Christmas season/celebration Christmas and then giving gifts we don’t usually need or want is nice in place of being kind.)

  29. Julie*

    My favorite Christmas activity was for the manager to take us out for a nice lunch (which I think was reimbursed) and then let us go home after.
    When I became a manager, I did the lunch for my team and occasionally a very small gift which would be the same for everyone. I think the most popular was one year I gave everyone a small poinsettia which everyone kept at work and it became a contest to see who kept theirs alive the longest.

  30. Highwayman’s Wife*

    I have one employee, and she is the absolute best. My hobby is crosstitching (mostly snarky or sarcastic stuff), so this year I am making her a small-ish piece with a quote from a Christmas movie that I know she loves. It has an expletive in it. I’m so excited to give it to her. Definitely a know-your-audience gift.
    I just gave her a raise, and she’s also getting a generous holiday bonus because she regularly goes over and above. I need to keep her!

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