2023 Holiday Gift Guide: Showing Appreciation for Your Team During the Holidays
Gratitude is on my mind a lot these days with Thanksgiving and the holiday season right around the corner. As a manager, I found myself combing through holiday gift guides each year for fun and authentic gift ideas for my team. This year, as a mighty team of 1, I’m sharing my gift recommendations with you all in hopes that I inspire some of you to show appreciation for your teams in your own unique ways.
Many of you are likely already trying to think about the best ways to show your appreciation for your team’s hard work (or your boss’s mentorship) this year. If you haven’t thought about it yet - here’s your reminder. As a leader, I know you work hard to ensure that your teams feel appreciated every day. You do that by being present in 1:1s, being a thought partner and sounding board, celebrating their wins, and advocating for them whether they’re in the room or not. You’re not just leaders, you’re champions. On the flip side, when that isn’t happening - we know that employees often cite feeling unappreciated (or under appreciated) as their major motivation for leaving jobs. If you’re not sure how to make your team members feel appreciated, read up on the Workplace Appreciation Languages (by the creator of the 5 love languages).
The holidays present a time for us all to define (and redefine) what type of leader we want to be now and in the future. How do you want to show up for your team? I included options that require a financial investment (most under $50pp) and others that only require a time investment (read: $0). My gift guide has three sections: Gift Ideas, Ideas for Team Building Events, and Words.
Enjoy my gift guide, be inspired, and show your team some gratitude this holiday season!
1. Gift Ideas
I pulled together this list of gift ideas based on gifts I’ve given in the past, great gifts I’ve received, or gifts that I wish I could’ve given.
💳 Gift Cards
I was talking to a friend this week about what a manager should do for gifts if they were running a distributed and fairly large team. The answer was unanimous - gift cards. GCs sometimes have a bad reputation but they can be great gifts!
Amazon: Amazon gift cards are a crowd pleaser.
Buying gift cards for multiple vendors in one order: If you need an efficient way to send your gift cards and want to give your team optionality (while you set the budget), Giftogram is a super easy and streamlined option.
Headspace membership: If your company doesn’t offer Headspace as a perk, consider gifting a subscription to a team mate that is into meditation and mindfulness.
Wine or Spirits: If you have a wine, champagne, or spirits aficionado on the team - a ReserveBar gift card is a great option for them.
Alcohol-free: After my previous bullet point, you might be thinking “What about the people on my team that don’t drink?”. My favorite shop for this group is Boisson, they offer gift cards, and they ship. If you’re looking for an item and not a gift card, I personally recommend the Leitz non-alcoholic sparkling wine but everything they carry is pretty great.
Airline gift cards: A gift certificate to their favorite airline (for the Delta loyalists - a gift card of any denomination would surely be appreciated!).
Gift cards for dog parents: Unless you know your employee’s pet(s) well, I’d opt for a gift card. Here’s some great options: Wild One, Chewy, Max Bone, and Sir Dogwood.
Plants: The Sill has a great selection of gift cards (and holiday plants).
🎁 Gift Boxes
For some people treats and snacks = happiness, so why not send them some snacks (or plants lol)?
Customizable treat boxes: I’ve received Sugarwish and Snack Magic boxes from previous employers and from a fellow coach, Jess Wass (she is AWESOME btw!). The recipient can customize their own boxes and you can set the budget for each box. Note: The gifts aren’t all food btw! For example, Sugarwish has the option of selecting wine, coffee/tea, and candles as part of your gift box.
Plants: For your team member with a green thumb, try Succulents Box.
📝Notebooks
Notebooks: People (myself included) often appreciate most gifts or company swag that includes a notebook. It’s a gift that never gets old and it’s something your team can use in their daily work!
Bougie: Hermes has a beautiful line of notebooks (only $45!!) and Papier has a great monogrammed option.
Quirky: I love Poketo’s creativity journal and, for the cat lovers on the team, Papier’s playful cats notebook is cute.
Classic: Shinola has a nice hard linen option in multiple color ways and Mochi Things has a beautiful range of notebooks that look like old school hardcover books.
🥤 Mugs and Water Bottles
Water Bottles: These are a great gift idea! People love Yetis & Larq for a reason
Mugs & glassware: I love these personalized mugs from Uncommon Goods (I did buy them for my team one year and customized each one), their city-inspired glasses are also great, these monogram mugs from Pottery Barn are beautiful (and on sale!).
📚 Books & Miscellaneous
Travel books: If anyone on your team needs inspiration for their next trip - buy this book or if you have a mix of a gourmand + traveler type - try this book from Atlas Obscura that mixes both of their interests.
Cookbooks: Cookbooks are personal, but if you know your team member well - Bon Appetit has a solid list of 23 great cookbooks for you to peruse.
Professional development: If you think your teams could use some inspiration going into 2023, try these: Scaling Up (great leadership tips for operators), The First Minute (quick read on improving communication skills), Start with Why (how to inspire and influence others), and Drive (the psychology behind what motivates us all with real world business examples).
Travel accessories: Customizable bag tags are a thoughtful utility gift for travel lovers. Mark & Graham has a great customizable option.
2. Ideas for Team Building Events
👩🏾💻 Virtual Events
Holiday Lunch: Host a virtual lunch and, if you’re able to, have everyone expense the cost of food delivery
Fun & Games: You know your team the best, so. if fun & games aren’t their jam please don’t force these events on them. If your team loves fun and games, don’t even think twice about planning one of these!
Virtual Escape Room: If your team could use some bonding time, escape rooms are a great way to spend a few hours.
Virtual Murder Mystery: Similarly, so are murder mystery events.
Awards Ceremony: Acknowledging everyone’s unique contributions can be fun during the holidays; whether it’s their work output, the way their approach their work, or their personality. Hosting a “fake” awards ceremony where everyone is acknowledged is a great way to show your appreciation and have everyone else join in on the fun. When I did this - we called it “The Spirit Awards”.
🕺🏼 In-person events
Lunch, Dinner, or Happy Hour:This is simple. If your team is local, within close proximity to your office, and are willing to travel - host a lunch, happy hour (make sure there’s mocktails!), or dinner gathering.
3. Use Your Words
📧 Digital
Individual emails: Send individual emails to each member of your team outlining exactly why you’re grateful to be working alongside them. Think about what makes them a great hire, what they did this year that impressed you, how they show up for their team members and stakeholders, and tell them how much you appreciate it.
Group email: Send your entire team a note and talk about what makes you proud to lead the team as a whole. Think about the team’s vision, the work they do every day to execute on that vision, feedback that you’ve gotten from other teams about working with your team, and what you’re excited about next year - share those thoughts with them.
📬 Written
Cards: buy fun holiday cards and mail a short handwritten note to each of your individual team members. You’ll need addresses, time, and stamps - but if you go this route, it’s a fun exercise!
What gifts have you given your team for the holidays in the past?
About me
I’m Ashley, a former executive turned business consultant and coach. I’ve spent a decade in tech, collecting successes and learning from mistakes so you don’t have to. Now I spend my time doing what I love the most: solving problems for growth stage companies. I work with founders/leaders to establish operations that enable growth and I work with individual leaders to level up their management and leadership skills - resulting in better business outcomes and highly productive teams.