What gift for a work colleague in the US?

December 3, 2010 7:57 AM

What can I send to a female colleague in the US?

I want to send a birthday gift to a colleague in the US. I'm in Canada. It needs to be there Tuesday. She is late 20's, and a hometown sort of girl.

I'm thinking of something from Amazon, but I have no idea what.

Looking for ideas! thanks

posted by Frasermoo to Shopping (11 answers total)

This is really hard to answer without way more info. Amazon sells pretty much everything one can think of. What kinds of stuff does she like to do? What does "hometown sort of girl" mean?
posted by elpea at 8:04 AM on December 3, 2010

How well do you know her? How much are you looking to spend? Without anything else to go on, I'm pretty sure she'd be happy with a 50" plasma TV and a bathtub full of money.

Realistically, though, maybe a nice scarf? I like scarves. Or a book? Something from Etsy?
posted by phunniemee at 8:05 AM on December 3, 2010

Response by poster: That's the point. Even though I speak to her every day, I really don't know much about her.

I'm just curious to see if there are any good alternatives to flowers / candy.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:07 AM on December 3, 2010

What message are you trying to send? Is sending birthday gifts typical in your workplace? (It's not in most of the places I've worked, and I'd assume, upon getting a gift from a male, remote colleague that I wasn't really good friends with outside of work, that he was trying to send a vaguely romantic message.)

There's a big difference between a strictly platonic coworker gift and a hey-I-LIKE-like-you gift, I think.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:09 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]

If you don't know anything about her, then get a gift card. That way she can pick out whatever she wants. Some people think they're impersonal but I know I'd rather be able to pick out whatever I want than have someone who doesn't know me try to pick out some random tchotchke.

Besides, if its a work colleague then somewhat impersonal is probably preferable.
posted by lilnublet at 8:43 AM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Gift Card sounds like a good idea.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:48 AM on December 3, 2010

If she lives in a city with an Edible Arrangements, they are in the same category as flowers and candy but a little more interesting. I've never heard of someone receiving one and not being impressed.
posted by 256 at 9:31 AM on December 3, 2010 [2 favorites]

No offense intended, 256, but I was given an Edible Arrangement once and I was not impressed. I mean, yes, they're pretty but in the end...it's just fruit. I like fruit as much as the next guy and perhaps I'm just a nasty, gift-grubbing a-hole but I don't want fruit as a gift. Of course the thought counts and I was happy that someone wanted to give me something...I just wish it hadn't been that.

Seconding gift card.
posted by cooker girl at 10:03 AM on December 3, 2010

What kind of work do you do that involves this colleague? There are neat yet impersonal gifts (coffee mugs, mouse pads and stuff like that) on ThinkGeek.com and Zazzle.com. If you have some kind of shared interest (geek jokes, Dr. Who, comic books, whatever) you could get her a little something for her workspace.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 10:37 AM on December 3, 2010

Newton's Cradles are always fun.
posted by h00py at 1:11 AM on December 4, 2010

How about a Zappo’s gift certificate.
posted by blueberry at 1:23 AM on December 4, 2010