A few years ago, we went out and asked real people what their bosses had given them as holiday presents that they actually appreciated. Because times change and people change, it was time to go out and ask again.
Take a look at this list of gifts that have been a big hit. You’ll notice (again) that some are contradictory–that’s because employees and managers are human. This list is meant to spark your imagination, not to give you an excuse to not know anything about your staff.
And remember, presents only go one direction in the office–down. If you’re the boss, don’t even think about hinting that you’d like something.
- My boss always gives us a bottle of wine — which I love. (I always end up with a 2nd bottle because one of my colleagues doesn’t drink wine–which my boss should know) I give my staff Girl Scout candy or cookies that I know they like & then we go out to lunch.
- We go to lunch and take the rest of the day off. At lunch, annual bonus checks are given as well as small gifts: soft blankets, spa gift cards, or something like that. My staff also like to exchange gifts, so everyone is getting four or five gifts.
To read the whole list, click here: What Real People Want as a Gift From the Boss: We Asked Them
I received a Chloe purse. Not a small one either, it is a nice leather/Suede tote valued at 1K!
My former boss hosts a lovely Holiday family international potluck at his home on a Friday night. Think about that.
I think this one was not meant to be complimentary. 🙂
I am so excited that you used mine (downtown gift card and note) I may have to reach out and remind both of those bosses how much they meant to me 😀
If you are the parent of a school aged child and are looking for a great teacher present – a letter to the administration praising the teacher or teachers if appropriate is the best thing you can give. Give a copy to the teacher and send a copy to botht the building and district administration.
I already have a great Christmas gift: a new and utterly fantastic boss. I don’t need anything else as going from hell on earth to heaven on earth is more than good enough.
One year the boss gave us little remote control car toys. We worked out of his house and his Rottweiler (a lovely friendly dog) discovered she loved to chase them.
So playing with the cars involved “dodge the dog” and learning how to navigate them under furniture. The sound of a car starting up would bring her from wherever she was and it was on. A Rottie doing a scrabbling sliding turn on polished wood floors after a 2″ long toy car was hilarious!
Alas they tended to only survive two or three captures so the set didn’t last long into January…