Help my holiday gift stand out this year

December 19, 2008 1:53 PM

I manage six ladies (I'm a guy) in my department and I would like to get them something for the holidays. I am looking for something $10-15 that is not candy, not a gift card and not an ornament. I probably don't have time to order it online so it should be something that I can find at a store. Any ideas? Did you get something cool this year? I want to give something memorable and different than the usual things employees find on their desks before Christmas.
posted by ieatwords to grab bag (39 comments total)

One year I gave my assistants (whom I knew to be crafty) fun little sewing kits I bought at a bookstore. I could see that not going over very well with some folks though.
posted by exogenous at 2:01 PM on December 19, 2008

Hmm... Gift cards might be a good plan. You could get a different one for each person if you want to get fancy, and $10-15 would be a treat to use at bookstores, (some) restaurants, Bath & Body Works or a coffee shop.
posted by lucyleaf at 2:06 PM on December 19, 2008

My officemates and I tend to exchange paperbacks (though we're all editors, so we all read a ton and know each other's reading interests!) and tins of speciality cocoa/tea/coffee. If you're interested in the cocoa/tea/coffee route, you can find them at Target, Cost Plus World Market, etc.
posted by scody at 2:06 PM on December 19, 2008

(And I know "tea" may not seem memorable or cool, but I really like tea!)
posted by scody at 2:07 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Not a lady, but I would love to find good coffee/tea on my desk.

Preferably not in liquid form.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:12 PM on December 19, 2008

Are you aware of who's friends with whom amongst these six ladies? You should be asking them, discretely.
posted by randomstriker at 2:16 PM on December 19, 2008

Why not take them all out to lunch (as a group) and just tell each one of them - one by one - something that they do that you really appreciate. It doesn't have to be anywhere super fancy. But I guarantee you that hearing praise directly from their manager will go a lot further than a bauble or a $10-15 gift card to Starbucks, kwim?

Giftcards always seem to be the easy way out, but since these women work for you, it might be nice to...show the more human side.
posted by dancinglamb at 2:19 PM on December 19, 2008 [3 favorites]

A nice bottle of wine can easily fall in the $10-15 zone.
posted by cestmoi15 at 2:20 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

I definitely loved the gift of a pair of cocoa mugs with some nice cocoa mix that I got from my supervisor one year. Scody's got this one.
posted by Night_owl at 2:26 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm a lone Y chromosome PHB managing a staff of 8 XX writers. One year everyone got a plug-in bubble lamp (we're mostly Of A Certain Age and it was nostalgic for many). One year I gave everyone small bamboo cutting boards and a Christmas or winter-themed spreading knife (wrapped as presents). I brought in a huge sampler of wildly differfent cheeses with some proper cheese knives, an assortment of crackers, and some bottles of non-alcoholic wine - we had a cheese party instead of staff meeting. It was a blast and seemed well received. Moleskine notebooks went over well another year.
posted by cairnish at 2:27 PM on December 19, 2008 [2 favorites]

Scratch-off lottery tickets! I love it when people get me lottery tickets at Christmas. If you plan to spend $10, buy 10 one-dollar tickets instead of one ten-dollar ticket and they will likely win something.
posted by foxinthesnow at 2:28 PM on December 19, 2008

I was pretty excited to find a bottle of extra-nice hand sanitizer in my mailbox this morning at work. Bath and Bodyworks has a large selection of different scents that would certainly be under $15.

Other cool things I've gotten over the years: thank you notes from bosses/clients, picture frames, candles, scarves, nifty blank journals, and funky office supplies (think rhinestone pushpins...this may be a matter of personal taste.)
posted by corey flood at 2:31 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Cashmere socks. (the really fluffy, wonderful kind.)
posted by availablelight at 2:32 PM on December 19, 2008

Give the women you supervise bookstore gift cards. One size fits all.
posted by Carol Anne at 2:39 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

I work at a small shop where beaded cuff bracelets (sort of like this one) have been incredibly popular with women lately.
posted by All.star at 2:45 PM on December 19, 2008

FWIW, Carol Anne, we're required by HR at my mid-sized company to use the word "ladies" when referring to women.

And I second the cashmere socks recommendation.
posted by Roach at 2:49 PM on December 19, 2008

Someone at my work bought these for people, which are cards representing a much needed item that has been given to people in impoverished parts of the world. The site is Australian, but I suppose you could order one online, or alternately, I'm sure such a concept exists in the US as well.

A chicken can be bought for $10 AUD...! So that's probably like $6 USD or something these days. It's a nice and novel way to donate in someone's name.
posted by ryanbryan at 3:00 PM on December 19, 2008

Oh, not hand sanitizer. Ick. Books are fun, though it's hard to pick well for a group of people; cashmere socks can be lovely, if you're in a cold enough area; coffee/tea/hot cocoa is good, though only if you are sure which people drink which of these. I like the lottery scratchoff tickets, but some people do not. A box of very good chocolates? A small bottle of excellent balsamic vinegar (olive oil, etc)? Gourmet food shops often have nice gifts. I'd also consider scanning etsy local to see what someone nearby might have that's fun.
posted by jeather at 3:03 PM on December 19, 2008

I supervise a team of 5 ladies, and I bought them each a nice, decorative blank book and a very nice pen.

Everyone uses pen and paper, and there's nothing about ink and hardbacked blank notebooks w/ colorful Floral or Striped patterned covers that could possibly offend anyone.


Oh, except for the one member of my team that is blind. I got her the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack on CD - nice, light, lounge-y music that's great for background during gift opening or dinner, and not religious or offensive.
posted by InfinateJane at 3:10 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Can you get to a Fair Trade store, ie Ten Thousand Villages? They often have a variety of nice gifts in that price range. I purchased small stone boxes with some mother of pearl inlay for $8.50 each for my employees. They also typically have nice ornaments, candle votives, and the like.

Take a peek at SERVV, for a look at what they are likely to have.
posted by wg at 3:15 PM on December 19, 2008

Moleskine notebooks. I probably wouldn't get them pink ones or anything, though.
posted by Netzapper at 3:32 PM on December 19, 2008

I love dancinglamb's suggestion: that's the kind of thing that any conscientious worker would really appreciate.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 3:55 PM on December 19, 2008

My supervisor gives out little packs of scented candles (holiday-themed: cinnamon, clove, whatever). Going out to a nice lunch can work wonders for morale, like dancinglamb said.
posted by oldtimey at 3:59 PM on December 19, 2008

I want to give something memorable and different

Ya know, if it's a gift, it's not supposed to be about how wonderful and thoughtful you are, it's supposed to be about giving them something that's actually helpful to them. You probably don't know them all that well, you don't know what their homes lack, you don't know what their lives lack, you don't know what they've hinted or asked their families for, you don't know what they're expecting to receive from family. Inevitably, any tangible gift you give them is likely to be a useless knickknack that gets tossed in short order, or kept around at the office to avoid pissing you off.

If it's about them, and not about how wonderful you are, then:

Mall gift card.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:16 PM on December 19, 2008

Purse hooks.

They're utilitarian and thoughtful. Some women don't like to read, some hate candles, but most have purses or bags. A purse hook allows them to hang the purse almost anywhere and not have to put it on the ground or behind a chair. It's especially useful at restaurants and the like.

I just linked to one random store, but googling "purse hook" turns up a lot of options.
posted by TheGoldenOne at 4:41 PM on December 19, 2008

I have no idea if you could swing this or not, given your company rules, but an extra, undeducted-from-vacation-time afternoon off would be awesome. With a nice card saying something you appreciated about each person's work this year.

Gift cards to the local lunch spot/coffee shop or a bookstore would be nice, if you can't get away with time off.
posted by min at 4:51 PM on December 19, 2008

A cute little bonsai growing kit (I think they sell them at B&N for ~$7) or something like that that they can grow in their offices and some lottery tickets.
posted by KateHasQuestions at 5:27 PM on December 19, 2008

@Netzapper: My boss just gave me pink Moleskines today. I am so not a pink person, but it's the thought that counts, right?
posted by ocherdraco at 6:32 PM on December 19, 2008

You should do what dancinglamb said. That's a bitchin' idea.

(Also everyone likes Moleskine notebooks. Get some and stick iTunes gift cards in them.)
posted by Mikey-San at 7:10 PM on December 19, 2008

Also everyone likes Moleskine notebooks.

This is untrue.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:26 PM on December 19, 2008

A good book light would be a great gift if you know they all like to read.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:33 PM on December 19, 2008

My psycho ex-boss gave us handmade coffee mugs - by really good local potters - every year and although I don't work there anymore and don't remember her particularly fondly, I still have and treasure my mugs, and art/craft wise people who come over look at my collection and drool with envy. Go to a relatively decent crafts gallery and get mugs for everyone; possible for $15 per. If you choose wisely, they'll even go up in value eventually.
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:31 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Give everyone a nice indoor plant - like jade or a money tree, or even an orchid if conditions are right. They can choose to keep it on their desk or take it home - and I bet they all keep it on the desk and the office looks nicer too.

Or - the purse hooks are great. I got one recently (I am a 29 year old female) and my friends were all very jealous.
posted by boulder20something at 10:32 PM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Nice smelling hand lotions. They smell good + most women enjoy soft hands + most bathroom soaps at workspace suck + no one actually gives priority to spending money on things like nice hand lotion for oneself, even though they rule = awesome idea for cheap gift
posted by shamble at 11:03 PM on December 19, 2008

Brrrrr *shudders at hand lotion* I hate my skin feeling all gacky with moisturizer. I might just be weird, though.

Seconding the plants, otherwise -- but that's cuz I like plants. Ahhh, it's all so subjective!

A great boss of mine got all her underlings scarves (of the wintery kind) for Christmas once. That made me very happy. She pegged my taste exactly right, which was crucial (but pretty easily done by checking out the scarf I was currently showing up wearing!).
posted by springbound at 12:33 AM on December 20, 2008

Not lotion. Please not lotion. Especially not scented lotion. I get one every year and it's the first thing that I toss in the bin or donate.
posted by bilabial at 7:01 AM on December 20, 2008 [2 favorites]

The best advice is probably to go to a local boutique merchant and find something cool there. Like, I could go to the Giant Robot stores in LA, or to Henrietta Fahrenheit in Ann Arbor/Ypsi, and find something made by local artists that would be cool and relatively cheap.
posted by klangklangston at 9:57 AM on December 20, 2008

Gloves, mittens or maybe a nice knit scarf?
posted by pluckysparrow at 11:02 AM on December 20, 2008

I'm a female person, and I recommend you do not give a gift that is gender-related. Take everybody out to lunch, or do gift cards, or safety item, like an LED flashlight.
posted by theora55 at 3:25 PM on December 21, 2008