Office Gift Giving
Secret Santa, White Elephant, Hot Potato. However your office chooses to celebrate the holidays, gift giving can be either fun or stressful for your staff. Every office faces the same challenges when it comes to inter-office gift giving. There may be the Scrooges who don’t want to participate in anything or maybe the Bob Cratchits who really can’t afford much. Throw in some Spirit of Christmas Present cheerleaders with too much holiday cheer and your office gift giving event could be a disaster.
Here are some tips to engage your team this holiday season with gift giving.
Have a plan
Before you announce any events, think about your staff, their attitudes and what would be the best way to get them in the holiday spirit. Maybe a game of White Elephant with a low or no dollar amount might be fun for your team. Does your team need to get to know one another better? Maybe Secret Santa is the way to go. Whatever you choose, be sure it’s appropriate for everyone’s mindset and budget.
Set a budget
This part of gift giving when your entire team is involved cannot be stressed enough. Setting too high a budget and in other circumstances not a high enough budget can be a deterrent to participate. Again, knowing your team and their challenges will help you decide what the limit should be.
Match your company culture
Some office environments can be reserved while others can be somewhat rowdy. Separate things further into departments and you could have a group of quiet employees or a bunch of competitive ones. Knowing your office culture and how much your staff will engage in gift giving and games can help you decide if White Elephant is better for your team than Hot Potato.
Cash or gifts?
Unless you’re the boss, cash is generally not given in the workplace. Gifts to co-workers and bosses are generally accepted in every office as long as they are appropriate. Gifts that are offensive or cross a line should probably be left at home even if your office tends to have a rowdy game of White Elephant.