It’s never too early to start thinking about gifts for your team for Christmas. It will be here before you know it!
By planning ahead, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress and give yourself a lot more options. We’ve all had that last-minute panic when we discover the gift we really wanted has sold out!
As businesses are starting to return to normal, many will find they now have some staff back in the office, some still working from home, and potentially some staff based overseas. Sending gifts to everyone means getting organised early so you don’t miss the last postage dates. And you don’t want anyone to feel like they were forgotten.
Get your gifting plans organised in September and then you can sit back and enjoy the festive season along with your colleagues, instead of frantically trying to find last-minute solutions.
There are lots of different ways you can thank your staff at the end of the year and we know that showing them how much they mean to your company can go a long way to helping employee satisfaction and productivity. To help you decide on the best gift for your employees, here are some fabulously festive ideas:
Christmas is typically the time to eat, drink and be merry! So you can’t go wrong with a gift of food and drink.
If you don’t know everyone’s dietary preferences, this can feel like a bit of a minefield. But don’t forget, food & drink is usually shared with friends & family at this time so even if the recipient doesn’t eat or drink everything themselves, they’ll be happy with something to give to others. It is the season of giving after all!
However, if you would prefer to send treats specific to the recipient’s requirements, WellBox offers a gift redemption service. This way, the recipients can enter their own dietary preferences whilst also entering the address they’d like their gift to be sent to.
Gift cards
If you have a very varied team, sometimes it can feel almost impossible to find a gift that will be suitable for everybody. Take the pressure off yourself with gift cards. These allow the recipients to choose the gift that is just right for them.
If staff members are away for the festive period, or maybe feeling they’ve had enough gifts in December, they can always keep the gift card for the new year and treat themselves to something to alleviate the January blues!
Fitness gifts
The lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 saw many of us taking up new hobbies such as running, cycling or online yoga. Encourage your team to continue with these healthy habits in 2022 by sending them a gift that will help them achieve their exercise goals. It could be a gym membership, a yoga mat or a voucher for new trainers.
A healthy body = A healthy mind, so it’s in your interest to keep those brilliant brains active for next year’s plans.
Charitable donations
The last couple of years have been tough for charities. They haven’t been able to hold their usual fundraising events and therefore the donations that they so desperately rely on have been at an all-time low. At the same time, with the financial & mental health impacts of the lockdowns, more & more people are needing their help.
Find a cause that resonates with your employees and they are sure to appreciate that you’ve helped out their community.
You can, of course, combine 2 gifts in 1. Every gift that you send with WellBox includes a charitable donation. So your team members get a gift and so does someone in need.
Tech gifts
We rely on technology for so much nowadays at home and at work. For the holiday season, it’s probably best to send something they can enjoy at home such as wireless headphones (to drown out the over-excited children), a voice assistant such as a Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, or a digital photo frame to store their precious memories.
Or how about a pocket-sized power bank to keep all their other gadgets going when they’re on the move!
Family board games
Last Christmas, many families weren’t able to spend the holidays together due to the lockdown restrictions. So this year the celebrations are going to feel that much more special with everyone around the table together again.
Help them make this time even more fun with the gift of a board game that can be enjoyed by all ages. Or maybe a jigsaw that the kids can complete with grandma – give your employees the gift of 5 minutes peace!?
Scented candles
Winter is the time to light some candles, snuggle under blankets and enjoy a hot drink. Help your team create a cosy atmosphere at home with scented candles.
Mental Health Gifts
Go even further than a candle and gift your staff a range of products that will help them relax over the festive period. You want your team coming back to work in the new year feeling like they’ve had some time to rejuvenate themselves.
Things like massage balls, sleep sprays & masks or luxury toiletries such as moisturisers or body scrubs. These can all encourage your team members to take some time for themselves away from the many Christmas parties and Boxing Day sales crowds!
Company swag
The options for items that you can add your company branding to now are endless. There are the traditional mugs, water bottles, notebooks or keyrings. But if you’d rather something a bit different you could send frisbees, umbrellas (essential in the UK), sunglasses (sadly less essential) or gym bags.
Keep in mind that adding branding to products can often mean extended lead-times so make sure to get your orders in early if you do want to do this.
Office accessories
Many employees are starting to make a return to the workplace at the end of 2021. For some, this can feel like a daunting prospect after so much time spent at home.
Why not welcome them back with some new accessories for their desk? Items such as notepads, diaries, pen holders, water bottles or even just a stash of snacks for their desk drawer. These can all help to make their desk feel like their own again.
House plants
Whether they’re back in the office or working from home, a bit of greenery in their workspace can have many benefits. Plants can help to reduce stress, increase productivity and boost creativity (Ciphr, 2018). Plus they just make the place look nicer!
Remember though, that not everyone is green-fingered, so choose a plant that is easy to look after such as succulents, peace lilies, or spider plants.
Movie tickets
With cinemas being closed for most of 2020 & the first half of 2021, we all got very used to watching movies at home. Although being at home means getting to watch in your pyjamas and being able to press pause when someone needs a bathroom break, there’s nothing quite like watching a movie on the big screen.
Encourage your team to support an industry that was hit hard by the pandemic restrictions and enjoy a movie of their choice at the same time.
Team experiences
When thinking about what to do for your staff at Christmas, parties often come to mind first. But 2020 made us all think differently when parties weren’t allowed.
Although we can gather in groups again, you might still want to do something different from the traditional idea of a Christmas party with dinner & drinks. There are a lot of options for team experience days but some of the more popular ones are wine tasting, go-karting, escape rooms or cocktail making classes.
Think about the types of people in your team. Are they generally active people, brainy people who like a mental challenge, or are they foodies? Of course, not everyone will be the same but it’s almost impossible to please everybody, so just go with the majority.
Luxury coffee
If your team members are anything like me, there’s not a lot getting done before their caffeine fix for the day! A gift of luxury coffee granules to top up their cupboard stocks will be much appreciated.
You could even send this as a gift set with a mug or a miniature cafetière to add to the coffee-drinking experience.
Flexible hours
Maybe you don’t have the budget for gifts this year but you still want to do something nice for your staff to show you appreciate everything they’ve done this year.
Offering flexible hours so your employees can get their own Christmas shopping done when the shops are less crowded, or even offering an extra couple days of holiday, will certainly give them that festive feeling.
Whatever you decide to do, make it as easy for yourself as possible. You’re supposed to be able to enjoy the festive season too! With WellBox, once you’ve chosen your gift, it’s an easy 3-step process to get your gifts sent out:
1 – add the festive message you want to include with your gifts.
2 – choose when you’d like your team to receive their gifts.
3 – upload a spreadsheet of all the delivery addresses, or download a gift redemption link so the recipients can enter their addresses themselves.
Still can’t decide on the perfect gift for your team? Why not create a gift portal where the recipients can choose from a variety of gifts and provide their own delivery information.
The earlier you can get your gifts organised, the sooner you can start to enjoy yourself, and look forward to the smiles on your employees’ faces.
With gifts, it really is the thought that counts, so if your team can see you’ve thought about them then they’ll appreciate the gesture you’ve made.
Happy Holidays Everybody!
