When that time of year rolls around again and the office party planning committee decides it will be fun to organise a gift exchange for the office Christmas party, don’t despair! And don’t just buy a bottle of wine or box of chocolates like you do every year!
We’re here to help you come up with some gift ideas for the workplace or office party gift exchange that will actually be well received by all and add some fun to your office holiday party.
First things first, you may need to establish just what kind of gift exchange has been planned. There are many different ways to organize a gift exchange, Dirty Santa, White Elephant, Yankee Swap, Pollyanna or Secret Santa.
They’re all somewhat similar and most will just involve a slight change in the way the presents are distributed amongst the guests.
But, a White Elephant gift exchange, if played according to traditional rules, actually requires the gifts to be more “gag” gifts – funny items nobody actually wants. A Dirty Santa game is also more fun if at least some of the gifts are not very desirable.
So, make sure you’re clear what sort of gifts the party organizers are expecting people to bring. In this article we’ll be focusing on gifts people might actually want to receive in the office party gift exchange. Click here if you’re looking for white elephant gift exchange gifts.
Secondly, we’re going to assume you’ve been given a budget, so we’re going to stick to gifts you can buy for your office party gift exchange that are under $25 – we’re assuming most people don’t like to go too high in the budget for a work gift exchange.
So, without further ado, here’s our list of suggestions for items that would make good gifts for a gift exchange at work.
Work Gift Exchange Gifts
Everyone needs somewhere to relax and this hammock might just be the perfect place!
We’ve all got skin and we should all care for it more.
All the grilling tools you’ll ever need packed in a sturdy case – could this be the most impressive looking gift at the gift exchange?!
Everyone loves popcorn, right?
A fruit infuser water bottle because we all need to drink more water and fruit’s healthy, right?
A pizza cutter because…well, pizza!
A hot water bottle you can heat in a microwave!
A game of “Hookey” to play over the Christmas break.
An aloe vera plant – the perfect addition to any office desk or home.
A cheeseboard/charcuterie platter – great for entertaining.
A wine cooler bag – perfect for toting wine around to all of those Christmas parties and events.
An indoor herb garden kit – the gift that keeps on giving!
Or maybe a herb cutter and board set.
No need to go camping – make s’mores indoors!
How do you make a beanie even better? Add bluetooth!
How about some rechargeable hand warmers?
Maybe a Coca Cola hot dog toaster will be the gift that gets the workplace gift exchange into a frenzy?
A soft and luxurious throw blanket is sure to be a hit.
Or, maybe a picnic blanket to get them all dreaming of the great outdoors.
And, as always, if you’re really stuck for ideas, an amazon gift card will always be a popular gift, no matter what the occasion!
Hopefully these gift ideas have got your gift giving juices flowing. The hard part of choosing gift exchange presents is finding gifts that potentially anyone would like. Of course that’s not 100% possible as everybody has different likes/needs/wants in life.
But, take a look back over our list. I bet there’s at least one item there that you’d be happy to receive in a workplace gift exchange.
If you’d be happy to receive it, your workmates probably would be too! We’re pretty happy with our list and we think you’ll find that it’s chock full of ideas for good gifts for a gift exchange at work.
Happy Gift Giving!
