THE HOLIDAYS ARE A TIME TO CELEBRATE, BUT FIGURING OUT "TO GIFT OR NOT TO GIFT" AT WORK CAN BE TRICKY. HERE ARE A FEW TIPS AND IDEAS TO GET YOU THROUGH THE SEASON.
With lavish corporate holiday parties and Christmas bonus cheques become less frequent, figuring out the gifting etiquette at your work can be a bit tough (especially if you are new to the company or to your team). Do you get your boss a gift? If you are a manager, do you get each person on your team a gift?
First, be sure to ask your coworkers if there is already a plan in place. Many offices host a Secret Santa or everyone chips a few dollars in for one gift for the boss. If this is the case, be sure to join in! If you have a particularly close relationship with a coworker or your manager, then a little gift can be very thoughtful. Here are my ideas for finding those festively appropriate gifts that appeal to a wide crowd.
Keep it homemade (kind of)
My sister recently shared the idea of a "local gift" to bring to an exchange and I think this idea is not only super on trend (supporting small shops!) but it is bound to be loved by a wide crowd. If you can manage the timing, pick something up the day of the event (like those doughnuts below!)
Here are a few of the local gift ideas available in my town.
1. Gourmet doughnuts from Doughboy 2. Tegu magnet blocks for ages 3-99 from Citizen Kid 3. Educational prints by Lily Kao Design from Nest 4. Fossil Stone and Marble cutting from from Ten Thousand Villages 5. House made chocolates from Ka'Kau
Donating with a meaning
There are so many organizations running fantastic campaigns this time of year to ensure everyone can celebrate the season. For that hard to buy for person, pick up a donation item that would really resonate with their own passions or activities outside of work. For example, if your coworker is a big hockey fan, purchase a mini sticks set or if your boss just had a baby, buy a box of formula for donation. Be sure to wrap up the gift with an explanation and spread the joy of giving.
Say it in writing
Rather than fretting over the who and the what, share the feeling of the season by sending out custom holidays cards with a thoughtful note. This year we ordered custom Christmas cards from Vistaprint (check it out below!) and we were able to send a holiday message to way more people than we could have bought gifts for.
Vistaprint makes it super easy to customize a template or design your own card. It does take a bit of time to write each person a wee note, but I think the personal touch is really worth it.
When in doubt...
Don't kid yourself, lots of items are re-gifted over the holidays. Even though you may think the brie baker is the perfect gift for anyone on your list, your co-worker with the lacklustre kitchen skills may disagree. And wine and liquor make the perfect re-gifting options!
This time of year there are plenty of impressive gift sets available with something a little extra (like fancy glasses). Whether your co-worker or boss cracks it open at Christmas dinner or re-gifts to the hostess at the next gathering they attend, you cannot go wrong with this option. Bonus if you can find a local brand. Here are a few of my favourite gift sets and wines available this season.
1. Forty Creek Barrel Select gift set 2. Moosehead Holiday gift set 3. Wayne Gretzky Merlot wine 4. Muskoka Lakes Cranberry wine 5. White House Co. Riesling Pinot Grigio VQA wine 6. Bacardi gift set
Happy gifting!