what small present can I send a bunch of very overworked guys?

February 6, 2008 6:26 AM

what small present can I send a bunch of very overworked guys?

a few friends have started their own business and things have been taking off. they spend every waking hour (and then some) in their office, trying to get the work out of the door. I'm thinking of a creative little gift to send over to them. something like "the strongest coffee in the world" (any idea what brand that might be?). something a bit out of the ordinary is most welcome but it has to be no worse than pg-rated.

your suggestions, please...

posted by krautland to shopping (12 comments total)

Why not try looking here for some ideas?
posted by LN at 6:30 AM on February 6 [1 favorite]

What's the business? Maybe the gift could be a cute reference to what they do? I don't think it's especially caffeinated, but my favorite coffee, taste-wise, is Moka Summatra from DeansBeans.com. When I want more caffeine, I just drink more.
posted by mccarty.tim at 7:20 AM on February 6

Food.

Food that takes no work to prep, clean up, or consume.

A basket of cookies or muffins is always welcome. Or a lunch of a bunch of Chinese or Italian. A huge bag of chips, pretzels, or other snack food.

Going a bit further, you could make a box of instant food that can be eaten at the desk. Ramen, soups, etc. To take it to the next level, a box of MREs would be funny, but eaten in the end.

Stick with food and it will be the best gift.
posted by Argyle at 7:41 AM on February 6

They probably have coffee there.
How about a pick me up in the afternoon like a tray of cookies or brownies?
posted by beccaj at 7:41 AM on February 6

I'm going to third the cookie idea. Maybe something like this?
posted by Evangeline at 8:17 AM on February 6

I agree with food. But in my office, the things that went the fastest during crunch time were biscotti (nicely dunked in the copious cups of coffee), slim jims (I know, I know), gorp and bottles of Starbuck's frappucino.
posted by nightwood at 8:19 AM on February 6

We always liked having an intern / production slave / project manager there who would do the routine crap for us and order pizza, feed the meter, and shuffle the itunes playlists.

Can you afford to get them a temp for a day or two?
posted by jenkinsEar at 8:39 AM on February 6

novelty brand coffee (i've read it's quite drinkable): Meth coffee

I'm working 10-12 hour days for a startup right now and I can say nothing is more welcome in that environment than food -- usually cookies or other baked goods. I'm actually the only one there (out of 4 or so) who drinks coffee, though, so coffee may only be enjoyed by a few depending on the office.
posted by fishfucker at 8:42 AM on February 6

Hire a masseuse to come in for a few hours. There are ones who specialize in coming into offices and doing this.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:52 AM on February 6

Hire a masseuse to come in for a few hours.

That is an EXCELLENT suggestion. Out of the ordinary, not too expensive, and likely (at least more so than food or coffee) to be the kind of luxury that a small start-up wouldn't think about splurging on for themselves.
posted by dersins at 9:22 AM on February 6

I sent someone brownies once and they went over really well, make them in a disposable cooking container (one of those foil ones, or the plastic oven safe ones if you can find them), and include disposable plasticware, and some napkins. Also put a little mint in the brownies, to give them a little pick-me-up. (By mint, I mean actual peppermint extract, as found in the spice aisle at the grocery store. You could include other things if you think they'd like them, but I'm not advocating that.)
posted by anaelith at 10:38 AM on February 6

Seconding the masseur.
posted by nax at 10:43 AM on February 6