Choosing employee Christmas gifts sounds like one of the more enjoyable jobs on the end-of-year to-do list. That is, until you’re trying to find one gift that works for hundreds (or even thousands) of people with completely different tastes, interests and lifestyles.
Get it right and a Christmas gift can be a brilliant way to finish the year on a high, acknowledge your team’s contribution and simply say a big thank you. Get it wrong and, well… there are only so many unwanted mugs, bottles of wine and boxes of chocolates one person can politely take home.
So, how do you choose a Christmas gift your employees will genuinely appreciate?
Whether you’re planning your festive rewards months in advance or Christmas has suddenly appeared around the corner, here are some of the things worth considering before placing that corporate gifting order.
1. Start with what you want your Christmas gift to achieve
Before deciding what to give, think about why you’re giving it.
For many businesses, Christmas gifting is simply about thanking employees for everything they’ve contributed during the year. For others, it forms part of a wider reward and recognition program or accompanies an end-of-year celebration.
Your objective can influence the type and value of gift you choose.
If you’re thanking the whole workforce, for example, something inclusive and flexible may be the priority. If you’re acknowledging an exceptional year or celebrating a major company milestone, you might decide that something more memorable is appropriate. There’s no universal “perfect Christmas gift”. The right choice is the one that fits your people, budget and reason for giving it.
2. Set a realistic budget – and look beyond the headline cost
It probably goes without saying, but establishing your budget early makes the whole process considerably easier.
Work out how much you can comfortably spend per employee and remember to consider the total cost of the campaign rather than just the price of the gift itself. For example, are there postage or fulfilment costs? Will your team need to package individual gifts? Are you sending gifts internationally? How much internal admin will be involved?
Sometimes a product that initially appears cheaper can become surprisingly expensive once you’ve factored in storage, packaging, postage and the time required to distribute it. Digital rewards can make life considerably simpler here, particularly for large, hybrid or geographically dispersed workforces.
If you’re based in the UK, it’s also worth checking whether your gifts could qualify as trivial benefits under HMRC rules. Certain non-cash benefits costing £50 or less can be provided without tax or National Insurance implications when HMRC’s qualifying conditions are met, so speak to your payroll or tax team when planning your gifting strategy. Check out our article about our Leisure Choice Gift Card as an example of a trivial benefit.
3. Think about the people receiving the gift
This might sound obvious, but it’s an important one. A common corporate gifting mistake is choosing something the person planning the campaign would personally enjoy and assuming everyone else will feel the same way. There’s a good reason to put your people at the centre of the decision, too. The CIPD recommends that effective reward strategies consider the needs of employees alongside those of the business and its wider purpose and culture.
Your workforce could include people in their early twenties through to their sixties, employees with children and those without, people working from home and people commuting every day. They’ll have different hobbies, dietary requirements, cultural backgrounds and ideas about what constitutes a great gift. Check out our article about cultural considerations when it comes to corporate gifting.
Before ordering 500 identical bottles of prosecco, ask yourself:
Would most of our employees actually choose this for themselves?
If the answer is “probably not”, it might be worth reconsidering.
You could even ask employees what they’d value. A quick pulse survey earlier in the year can provide useful insight without necessarily spoiling the Christmas surprise.
4. Give people choice wherever possible
The more diverse your workforce becomes, the harder it is to find a single physical product that everybody wants.
That’s why choice can be so valuable when selecting employee Christmas gifts. Rather than trying to predict exactly what every employee would like, you can give them the freedom to decide for themselves. There’s evidence behind the case for personalization, too. Gallup’s research suggests that recognition is most effective when it’s individualized to the recipient rather than based on what the person giving the reward would prefer.
Gift cards are particularly useful here. An experience gift card, for example, could mean a romantic dinner for one employee, a supercar drive for another, a weekend away for someone else and a family day out for another.
Everyone receives the same reward, but what they ultimately do with it can be completely different. That helps keep your Christmas gifting fair and consistent without making it feel one-size-fits-all.
5. Consider giving a memory rather than more ‘stuff’
Physical gifts certainly have their place, but it’s worth considering whether your employees really need another branded water bottle or hamper arriving at their door.
Experiences offer a different approach. A meal out with a partner, a spa day, a trip somewhere new or an activity they’ve always wanted to try gives employees something to look forward to beyond Christmas itself.
At Virgin Incentives, we’re obviously big believers in experiences (we’d be slightly worried if we weren’t). But the important point when you’re choosing your Christmas reward isn’t simply “experiences are better than products”. It’s about asking what will feel meaningful to your workforce. For some teams, a beautifully curated physical hamper might be perfect. For others, flexibility, choice and the opportunity to make a memory will carry much more value.
6. Make sure your gift is inclusive
Inclusivity should be a big part of any employee reward strategy, and Christmas gifting is no exception. Food and alcohol are traditional festive favourites, but dietary requirements, religious beliefs and personal preferences mean they won’t suit everybody.
The same applies to highly specific products or activities. If you’re buying one reward for a large workforce, look for something that offers enough variety for different people to find something they genuinely enjoy.
And don’t forget accessibility. If you’re offering experiences, for example, think about geographical coverage and the range of activities available. A brilliant reward isn’t particularly useful if an employee has to travel halfway across the country to enjoy it.
7. Don’t forget your remote and hybrid employees
With 40% of employees surveyed by the UK Government saying hybrid working was available to them, the days of simply leaving everyone’s Christmas present on their desk aren’t quite what they used to be. If your employees work across different offices, from home or throughout the country, distribution needs to be part of the decision from the beginning.
Ask potential suppliers how rewards are delivered and what information they’ll need from you. Digital employee Christmas gifts can be particularly helpful because they can often be sent directly to recipients, removing the need for boxes of gifts to arrive at head office before someone has the unenviable job of sorting and posting them.
If you’re choosing physical gifts, make sure you’ve allowed enough time, and budget, for delivery.
8. Think about when employees will actually receive it
Timing matters.
Send your Christmas gift too early and it can get lost amongst everything else happening in November. Leave it until the last minute and you’re suddenly relying on delivery networks during their busiest period of the year.
Work backwards from the date you’d ideally like employees to receive their gift. If you’re working with a corporate gifting supplier, ask about lead times, order deadlines and whether delivery can be scheduled in advance.
This is especially important if you’re planning to send a personalised message alongside the reward. Being able to prepare everything early and schedule delivery means one less job to worry about when December inevitably gets hectic.
9. Don’t underestimate the presentation
You might spend £50 on an employee gift, but if it arrives in someone’s inbox with a subject line that reads “Voucher Code – Automated Email”, you’ve probably lost some of the magic.
The way you give the reward matters too.
Explain why employees are receiving it. Thank them for their contribution. Include a message from the leadership team or their manager. Make the moment feel like recognition rather than a transaction.
Even a simple message such as “Thank you for everything you’ve brought to the team this year – we hope you use this to do something you’ll love” can give the reward more meaning. After all, the value of a Christmas gift isn’t just the number printed on it. It’s the sentiment behind it.
10. Choose a supplier that won’t create more work for you
This one is particularly important if you’re responsible for employee Christmas gifts across a large company. Your Christmas reward shouldn’t become your full-time job for three weeks.
Before choosing a supplier, find out how straightforward the ordering process is. Can they handle bulk orders? Can rewards be delivered digitally? Can you schedule delivery? What happens if an employee doesn’t receive their gift? Is there somebody you can actually contact if something goes wrong?
Price will always be important, but don’t underestimate the value of a supplier that can take some of the admin off your plate. Your December calendar will thank you.
So, what makes a good employee Christmas gift?
Ultimately, the best employee Christmas gifts are the ones that make people feel appreciated. That doesn’t necessarily mean spending the biggest budget. It’s about choosing something relevant, inclusive and easy to enjoy, and giving employees enough flexibility to make the reward feel personal to them.
At Virgin Incentives, we help businesses reward their employees with experiences and flexible gift cards through Virgin Experience Days in the UK or Virgin Gifts in the USA. Instead of deciding whether your team would prefer afternoon tea, a hotel getaway, a supercar drive, a spa day, a family day out or something completely different, an experience gift card puts that decision in their hands.
And for businesses looking to offer even broader choice, our Leisure Choice Gift Card in the UK or our version in the USA gives recipients access to a wide selection of brands spanning experiences, retail, dining, entertainment and more.
So while you might not know exactly what every employee wants for Christmas, you can give them the freedom to choose something they do. And that’s one Christmas shopping list you can happily tick off.
Planning your corporate Christmas gifting?
Whether you’re rewarding 10 employees or 10,000, our team can help you find a gifting solution that works for your people, your budget and your business. Find out more about our employee Christmas gifts range below:
