Ideas for A Work Holiday Gift Exchange: Under $25

I have always been on the fence about how I feel about having to participate with co-worker gift exchanges during the holidays. You pull a name for a white elephant or secret santa gift exchange and you Ted from IT. You’re not even sure if you’ve ever even laid eyes on Ted since he has a remote work schedule accept for that one mandated day in the office. (But IT can work from anywhere, right???)

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You’re at a loss and you’re pretty much all but required to participate so that you don’t look like a bah-humbug teammate, you need your manager to know you’re a team player, and, well, its the holidays and participating is the reason for the season (or something like it). If you’re lucky you pick your bestie that sits one desk over. You know exactly what she wants… a bottle of her favorite wine for after a long day coming back to work in January. Her favorite hand cream (because you watch her apply it on the daily) or a gift card to her favorite place to grab a quick lunch in between meetings. But Ted? Who KNOWS what to get Ted… or Jenny from HR… or Brian from accounts. Work gift exchanges with teammates can be dicey, for sure.

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Given I spent 20+ years working in an office setting, I’ve participated in my fair share of team gift exchanges, co-worker secret santas and white elephants. And a hard no for me? Giving something “recycled” for a true white elephant. No way, no how was I ever going to give something from my home to someone I sit in a meeting with every so often. Plus, who wants a co-workers old junk? I would always buy something small and unassuming that they would find useful, something to make even the most stalwart co-worker smile, or something edible. You can never go wrong with food, snacks and drinks.

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So, if you find yourself in that precarious situation of needing to find that little something for your work gift exchange, I’ve got you covered. These are (mostly) something that would appeal to both men and women, new employees and ones that have been in the rat race for years. The key to finding something that might appeal to both someone you consider your work family along with the co-worker you only know by sight during the monthly office update meetings is to think about what you would want. Would you want that mini etch-a-sketch key charm? Probably not. So assume Pam in program managment doesn’t want it either. Think about things people have in their homes: candles, picture frames, your favorite kitchen tool, or a nice throw blanket (everyone wants to stay warm in those holiday months!).

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Additionally, consider the men and women in your life and what you would gift when you’re all out of ideas and anything that might make their life easier in the office or on the job. Cozy socks, desk organizers, a great mug, a plant for either their desk or their home office. All of my favorites , with some cheeky funny ones, you’ll find below! Budgets for work exchanges are normally $25 and under so I tried to stick to ideas in that range. However, if you all are going big, there’s a few splurge-worthy gifts as well.

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