5 Corporate Christmas Gifting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Corporate Christmas gifts are an important tool for maintaining team loyalty and motivation. The right gift shows employees they are valued and their input matters for the company.
This article examines five most common mistakes when selecting corporate gifts and practical ways to avoid them.
Mistake 1: Lack of Planning and Late Preparation
Some HRs and office managers postpone buying gifts for employees until December, with little time left before the holidays. As a result, instead of personalized gestures of appreciation, employees receive random, generic items.
Issue Overview
By December, the best suppliers are already swamped with orders, and prices for Christmas items are typically 1.5 to 2x higher than during the summer. Consequently, the company either overpays for mediocre gifts or must choose from leftover selections.
Poor planning leaves no room for budget approval, understanding team preferences, or finding unique solutions. Everything boils down to grabbing the first available option.
How to Avoid
A preparation calendar will turn a chaotic process into a structured plan.
- In August, determine the budget and type of gifts. Suppliers release Christmas collections around this time, and prices haven't yet risen.
- In early September, review supplier offerings and place orders. Secure preliminary agreements with reliable suppliers for bulk purchases at fixed prices.
- December should be dedicated to wrapping and preparing gifts for distribution.
- Think about delivery, especially if your company has branches or remote employees. Planning by address and date prevents last-minute chaos.
Mistake 2: Ignoring Individual Preferences
The standard gift set of a mug with the company logo and a box of chocolates has long become a cliché in corporate gifting. It's universal, inexpensive, and utterly impersonal.
Issue Overview
Employees realize that no effort was put into identifying their needs, and identical items were bought for everyone. This undermines the whole idea of a Christmas gift, reducing it to a mere formality rather than a gesture of respect.
Even expensive gifts, if useless, rarely evoke positive emotions.
How to Avoid
Consider employees' ages and interests when selecting gifts. It's not necessary to give each person something unique — just divide the team into groups and choose a different gift for each group. This maintains a balance between personalized attention and practicality.
- Dividing by department allows gifts related to work specifics.
- Grouping by interests helps find something close to hobbies.
- Sorting by family status suggests gifts for kids or useful household items.
Conducting a brief survey with several gift options lets employees influence the selection process. Even a simple three-to-four-question questionnaire about employee preferences significantly increases the chances that the gift will be appreciated.
If personalized or practical gifts are challenging this time due to time constraints, supplier issues, or last-minute planning, give something straightforward yet useful, and invite colleagues to play Secret Santa.
This game involves each participant anonymously giving a Christmas gift to a random colleague. It spurs creativity and caring among staff, complementing official corporate gifts with personal attention.
The MySanta app can help organize the game in a few clicks.
- It allows anonymous communication with the recipient: you can verify clothing sizes, food preferences, and allergies.
- Participants can create wishlists to share their wishes with Santa and receive desired gifts.
- The platform accommodates an unlimited number of participants, suitable for both small companies and large corporations.
- Participant matching is automatic, ensuring no one draws their own name. Plus, you can set exceptions if someone don't get along.
In modern companies, offering a choice such as a gift certificate to a store, a workshop, or a subscription to a valuable service is common. These gifts shift responsibility from management and allow employees to choose something they will truly enjoy.
Mistake 3: Boundary Violations
Not gathering employee preferences can lead to confusing situations, such as gifting alcohol to someone who don't consume it, offering chocolate to a coworker with health issues, and so on.
Problem Overview
While most employers realize that gifting perfumes, cosmetics, or jewelry is not the best idea in the workplace, it's equally essential to learn more about preferences, allergies, and dietary restrictions of employee to avoid awkward situations.
Moreover, low-priced gifts with questionable humor, might come across as mocking the recipient. Even if intended as a joke, employees may feel humiliated in front of the whole team.
How to Avoid
Choose gifts that highlight professional respect and care. Premium products are appreciated as tokens of attention without crossing personal boundaries. Before negotiating with suppliers, run a quick survey about employee preferences. You don't want to order 50 chocolate boxes only to find out that half of your team doesn't eat sugar.
Quality stationery or practical gadgets like a humidifier or mini-fan demonstrate that the company cares about employees' comfort. Home or leisure items — blankets, thermoses, board games — show concern for personal time.
If joking is part of your team's culture, choose something fun yet positive. It's better to give gifts that praise employees' professional or personal qualities.
Consider these examples:
- "Miss Caring"
- "Idea Generator"
- "Funniest Employee of the Year"
- "Negotiation Master"
- "Queen of Multitasking"
- "Office Optimist".
This approach maintains a light atmosphere while turning a joke into a compliment.
Mistake 4: Wrong Time and Way of Gifting
Imagine eagerly anticipating a holiday gift from the company, only for it to be handed over during the peak of a deadline rush. Or just left on the desk seemingly without significance.
Issue Overview
The presentation of the gift is an emotional moment that creates memories. When left casually on a desk or given during a brief moment, the gift is seen not as an appreciation gesture but as a duty to complete before Christmas.
How to Avoid
Creating a small ritual can make gift-giving a memorable event. Organize a Christmas greeting from management — this can be a live office gathering or an online meeting for remote workers.
Personal words of gratitude can lend the gift special significance. A manager or HR representative might mention specific accomplishments of an employee over the past year or simply thank them for their professionalism and dedication to the company.
Mistake 5: Not Collecting Feedback
Silence after gifts are given is a missed opportunity to improve corporate culture and mutual understanding. Feedback helps leaders and HR understand what's truly valuable to the team, and employees feel their opinions matter.
Why It's Important to Gather Employee Opinions
Employee feedback is the only objective way to understand how much they liked the gift and what emotions colleagues experienced: joy, disappointment, or something else. Without feedback, it's impossible to know whether gifts are perceived as caring gestures or mere formalities.
Regular feedback collection helps identify hidden team preferences and prevents repeating unsuccessful choices. Employees appreciate when their opinions are considered in corporate event planning.
How to Use Feedback for Improvement Next Year
Positive reviews highlight development directions, while negative ones help exclude unsuitable options.
Use the feedback to adjust budgets, select new suppliers, or change the timing and way of gift-giving. Note which gift categories elicited the most response.
Methods for Collecting Feedback
- Anonymous survey on the corporate site or social media.
- Conversations with department heads.
- Observation of employees' reactions during gift giving.
- Informal chats with employees after the holidays.
Conclusion
Corporate Christmas gifts are not an expense but an investment in relationships with employees. When chosen correctly and presented thoughtfully, they create an emotional connection that fosters loyalty to the company throughout the following year.
