15 Best Christmas Gift Ideas for Employees: From Unique to Practical
Anything can be a good Christmas gift for your employees; it’s all about personalization. A gift card, book, or coffee mug can be either the best gift for Christmas or a missed opportunity— it all depends on personalization.
Did you give them a gift card for something they actually want?
Did you give them a book they actually want to read?
Did you give them a personalized coffee mug about something they actually care about?
The trick behind giving your employees the best Christmas gift is personalization and with this article, we’ll help you uncover what your employees want for Christmas.
But first, let’s see why you should even give your employees a Christmas gift.
Why Christmas gifts matter
Gifts have been an important part of our culture for centuries. With gifts, we convey care for each other, strengthen our relationships, and show appreciation.
Now, this matters because a happy employee is an engaged employee and you want your employee to be happy about a gift they received in the workplace. According to HBR, when employees are happy, they have a lower turnover rate, have a higher performance in the workplace, and are more productive.
A Gallup study about the effects of employee engagement in the workplace added a couple more benefits to this list:
- 81% less absenteeism
- 64% less accidents at work
- 10% increase in customer loyalty
- 23% increase in profitability
A happy employee is an engaged employee and with the benefits you get from that, you want to have engaged employees. One thing to consider is that the biggest driver of employee engagement in the workplace is how much care leaders and managers show toward their employees.
And one of the best ways to show that appreciation is by ensuring that you give your employees the best possible Christmas gift. With that in mind, let’s look at some Christmas gift ideas.
The process of picking the best gift (always)
When picking out a gift for your employee, you should have three things in mind:
- Personalization. Will this gift make sense for the person?
- Meaning. What kind of meaning do I want this gift to represent when I give it to the employee?
- Effort. What’s the effort I need to invest so that the employee feels cared about?
According to a study done by Fox Business, 81% of employees said they were disappointed by holiday gifts in the past. The same study stated that 77% of employees said that they would prefer picking their own gift instead of the boss choosing the gift.
The data doesn’t show us that the employees prefer to pick their own gifts; the data shows the disappointment from employees that their bosses can’t pick the right gift for them. So if you get this right, your employees will cherish it!
Depending on your company's size and budget, you can do different things with Christmas gifts. The first thing is that the gifts don’t have to be universal— not everyone in the company needs to get the same gift (remember personalization). However, you need to be careful not to accidentally create a major disbalance in gifts.
As an extreme example, it would mean that you can’t gift one employee a brand new car as a Christmas gift and another a coffee mug— the perceived difference in values in those gifts is too much. The best way to ensure equality is to have a dedicated budget for gifts and keep all gifts within a certain budget.
If you have a larger company and can’t buy gifts for everyone by yourself, then give your managers a budget so they can get the gifts for their members. They’re the ones that know their members the best.
15 best Christmas ideas for employees
1. Gift cards
Employees love gift cards!
With gift cards, employees can spend them with pre-approved vendors to get anything they prefer. It’s like LEGO cubes but for grown-ups. The wide range of choices is what makes gift cards so appealing. An employee can use it on LED TVs, VIP tickets to a concert, spa sessions, travel arrangements, and even Steam games.
It’s no wonder that 75% of businesses use them as a preferred non-cash reward. Also, they can serve as a perfect Christmas gift for your employees.
2. A book
Books, like coffee mugs, are getting a bad rep as Christmas gifts. However, that’s only true if you don’t personalize the gift. When picking out a book as a Christmas present for your employee, make sure that you don’t give them a book that teaches them how to do their job better. They might take that the wrong way.
Instead, give them a book that’s about their personal interests. This will show personalization and that their manager or you as the HR person in charge know about their interests. If they just started baking, ask their colleagues which chefs and bakers they follow on YouTube and get their cookbooks. The key to the book being a great present is just like any other gift— personalization.
3. Baking tools
What’s Christmas without the sweet smell of cookies? Baking tools such as dough scrappers, bread makers, Dutch ovens, or iron pans can be really great gifts for people who like to spend time in the kitchen.
Again, you’ll have to ensure that you personalize the gift and get the person a gift they need and they will use.
4. A set of knives
A set of knives can be a really great Christmas gift because it’s super versatile. If you know someone in the office who is on a meat diet and prefers eating steak quite often, then you can get them a set of steak knives.
If the employee likes fish/sushi, get them a set of sashimi knives. If they enjoy food all around, get them a set that includes a chef’s knife, a boning knife, and a Cooking knife (cleaver).
5. Humidifier/dehumidifier, air cleaner
If you have employees working from home (WFH), a humidifier/dehumidifier will be an excellent Christmas gift. They’re spending a lot of time at home and the moisture in the air most likely isn’t in the optimal range so a humidifier/dehumidifier will fix that.
On top of that, humidifiers/dehumidifiers will also improve air quality in the space, helping people with asthma, allergies, dry sinuses or dry throats, and congestion. The best thing about this present is that it can also be used in the office environment (if the employee has a dedicated office space). Maybe their allergies are causing them to take sick days during pollen season and a great air cleaner can help prevent that.
6. A houseplant
A houseplant can be a great Christmas gift when done right. With a houseplant, you need to not only look at the function of the plant (cleans the air) but also look at its aesthetic. This is something people will have in their space and they want something that’s aesthetically pleasing and that fits their style.
This is the case where bigger isn’t always better— make sure that the plant fits the decor of the person or they won’t like it.
7. Coffeemaker
Millennials love coffee. According to a study from Empower, 62% of Millennials say they’re willing to spend $7 on a daily coffee because of the joy it brings. That’s why a coffeemaker would serve as a great Christmas gift, especially to Millennial and Gen-Z employees.
There are two things you can do with a coffeemaker: You can either gift the employee a simple, affordable coffee maker or you can get a dedicated coffee machine for their section of the office. Maybe you know that the team on the office floor wanted to get a good coffee maker so you decided to purchase a team gift and give them a great coffee maker that they’ll use on a daily basis.
8. Nutribullet/Blender
Blenders are amazing as a gift; they’re versatile and multifunctional. Your employees can use them for various things and that’s why they’re so good as a Christmas gift.
If you know that your employee goes to the gym often, you can gift them a Nutribullet blender so they can do their shakes pre/after their gym session. If you know that your employees love to eat berries, then they can use the blender to make shakes out of them. Also, anyone who bakes or cooks can use the blender for a variety of things in the kitchen.
9. Exercise/yoga ball
When it comes to the exercise equipment, the yoga ball reigns supreme. It’s multi-purposeful and it’s universal in its size and shape. Avoid giving other exercise equipment such as dumbbells unless you absolutely know what kind of weight/shape of the bar the person uses.
Also, be mindful that many people struggle with their weight and with a healthy body image. So use the yoga ball as a gift only if it makes sense for the person or the entire company involved. If you’re a company operating in the health industry, the message behind the gift is quite different than if you were in the fashion industry and started giving your employees yoga balls as Christmas gifts.
10. Games
Since gaming as an industry is bigger than the music and movie industry combined, let’s immediately differentiate the gifts you can give to three types of games (and gamers):
- Online games. Online gamers are people who play games using various consoles such as PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo (or PC games). When giving games as Christmas gifts in this category, be mindful of the console the person uses and give them a game they can play on their console.
- Board games. Board games range from simple games such as Don’t Be Angry, which lasts for 20 minutes to games such as Twilight Imperium which lasts around eight hours. If you know your employee plays board games, either get them an expansion pack for one of the games they already have (such as Catan), or gift them an entirely new board game that they might play with their friends.
- Card games. Last but not least are the card games. You probably have at least one person in your company who enjoys playing card games. Magic The Gathering is the most popular card game and is played by around 50 million people. By figuring out what kind of card game your employee likes, you can buy them a pack/deck of cards from that game.
11. A yearly subscription
Yearly subscriptions can be an excellent way to show to your employees that you care about them. Some of the gifts that might not look that great as a one-off gift are perfect for a yearly subscription.
For example, gifting your employee French cheese once doesn’t seem like a good idea, but giving them a yearly subscription to the cheese is a great idea (if they like great cheese).
Not all subscriptions have to be for Netflix, HBO, or Amazon Prime— you can give your employees various yearly subscriptions such as “Fruit Basket of the Month,” exotic coffees each month, or wine for the year.
Whatever you pick, make sure that the person would enjoy that because they’re gonna be getting that throughout the entire next year!
12. Educational programs
Employees want to invest in their professional development. So a great Christmas gift would be to give them access to to educational programs they can use to improve their skills. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) such as Coursera or Udemy are a perfect example of this or LinkedIn’s Linda program that gives people certifications on LinkedIn once they finish the courses.
13. Wellness weekend/program
Employee wellness is a big thing in today’s working environment. Considering the amount of stress and the fast-paced environment everyone’s working in, a nice way to relax and avoid burnout would be a wellness weekend in one of the facilities in the vicinity.
With wellness, you have a plethora of options to choose from:
- Massages
- Spa
- Sauna
- Manicure/pedicure
- Facial
- Hot-tub
- Swimming in a pool
Now, depending on your employee’s location, they might not have a facility nearby that has all of this. So, focus on the wellness program they can get nearby and provide them with a Christmas gift that will leave them relaxed and well-rested.
14. Time off
You don’t have to spend any money on this gift, but it’s a win-win situation for everonye. When the employee gets additional time off, they can relax and recharge their batteries and the company doesn’t spend any resources on it. Look at the employees who want to visit their (distant) relatives and give them some additional time off so they can do it stress-free.
15. Office-related gifts
Office-related gifts can be any number of gifts that you know will improve the quality of life of your employees when they’re in the office. They can be any of the following things:
- Personalized journals
- Specialized pens (like the 5-in-1 pen)
- Desk calendars
- Adjustable (laptop) desks
- Fidget toys (remember the fidget spinner?)
- Art
- Dust/Snow/City globes
- Palm rollers
- Specialized bookends and bookmarks
- Wireless chargers
- Headphones (headset)
- Desk organizers
- Coffee mugs
The best thing about office-related gifts is that you can combine them any way you like so you can get all of your employees a desk organizer along with a wireless charger or give them desk calendars and palm rollers.
In conclusion
Gifts, especially Christmas gifts, are a deeply personal matter and you should approach each employee’s gift individually. If you manage to do so, you’ll have happy employees who turn into engaged employees, which is a win-win situation at work.
We know that picking Christmas gifts isn’t easy, and it can be especially challenging if you’re not well-versed in employee rewards and recognition programs. But you don’t have to worry— we can help you with that. With Qarrot’s catalog of e-gift cards, you’ll make picking Christmas gifts a walk in the park. So book your demo today and let us lead you through the process.
