The office Christmas gift exchange is a discipline of its own. You are not buying a gift for someone you know well, but for a person you share eight hours a day with and yet have no idea what they do at the weekend. A gift for colleagues therefore has to manage one thing: to delight without being personal.
Three rules that apply in every company
Stick to the agreed limit. If the team agrees on around €12, it is not nice to bring a gift worth €40. It looks generous, but in reality it puts the others in an awkward position – and the person who received the expensive gift feels obliged. The limit is not a restriction; it protects everyone involved.
Avoid anything personal. Cosmetics, perfume, clothing, diet aids, alcohol for someone you do not know drinks. These are all categories where it is easy to put your foot in it. A working relationship can handle practicality and humour, not intimacy.
Be careful with joke gifts. Mugs with slogans, novelty items and references to office incidents carry one risk: a joke that works in a group may feel different to the recipient when they unwrap it in front of twenty people. If you are not sure, choose something that can be used.
🎁 Sorting out gifts for the whole team? Wooden notebooks, keyrings and small items engraved with your logo – from a Czech sheltered workshop.
Browse our range for businessesBy situation: what to give whom
1. Secret Santa: one colleague, a small budget
The most common format and also the hardest, because you usually draw someone from another department. Safe bets are practical little things for the desk – a keyring, a bookmark, a pencil holder, a magnet.
If you know at least one thing about the person – that they cook, read or cycle – build your choice around it. Even a small gift that hits on an interest feels completely different from a random item in the same price range. We have put together more ideas for a smaller budget in our article on gifts under €20.
2. A gift for the whole team: uniform, but not soulless
When a company gives gifts to all its employees, the challenge is balancing uniformity with a personal touch. A proven compromise: the same product for everyone, but with an individual name in the engraving.
A wooden notebook is the classic for this purpose – it is gender-neutral, suits every profession and, unlike a pen with a logo, does not disappear within a week. Those who write by hand will appreciate it daily; those who do not at least have a nice object on their desk.
3. A gift for business partners and clients
Here the bar rises. The gift represents the company, so the quality of workmanship matters more than originality. A solid wood serving board with a discreet engraving on the underside works reliably – it ends up in the kitchen, not in a drawer.
Czech companies that are required to employ a certain share of people with disabilities can also combine buying gifts with the so-called "substitute fulfilment" of this obligation by purchasing from a sheltered workshop. We have discussed this in detail in a separate article on corporate gifts and substitute fulfilment.
4. A gift for your boss
The most sensitive category. An individual gift from a subordinate can feel awkward, and in some companies internal rules directly restrict it. A safer option is a joint gift of symbolic value from the whole team, handed over publicly.
If you are not sure whether a gift is appropriate, ask the HR department. That is less embarrassing than a gift that cannot be accepted.
5. When a colleague is leaving
December is often a time of departures too – into retirement, to another company, on parental leave. Here something to remember you by makes sense: a sign with text, a wooden greeting card signed by the whole team or a piece engraved with a date.
Experience shows that the signed card is often what people keep longer than the gift itself. Do not underestimate it.
Tip for organising the exchange: Appoint one person to organise the draw, set the limit and the deadline. A gift exchange without clear rules ends the same way every year – half the people bring a gift, the other half forget. And agree whether gifts will be unwrapped on the spot: public unwrapping is more fun, but forces people to react spontaneously, which does not suit everyone.
When you are the organiser
The organiser's role tends to be thankless, but it decides whether the exchange works out. Three things worth keeping an eye on.
Do the draw early enough. Ideally in the first half of November, so people have time to choose a gift rather than hunting for one in a hurry on 22 December. At the same time, set a clear deadline by which gifts should be ready.
Think of those who will not take part. In every team there is someone who would rather not join in – for personal, financial or religious reasons. Participation should be voluntary, and nobody should have to explain themselves.
Agree on the format for handing over gifts. Are they unwrapped on the spot, or does everyone take their gift home? Public unwrapping is more fun, but forces people to react spontaneously in front of the whole team. For larger groups, the calmer option is often better.
When to order what
| Type of gift | Budget per item | Order by |
|---|---|---|
| Secret Santa | Approx. €4–20 | Early December |
| A small gift for the whole department | Approx. €4–20 | Mid-November |
| A set engraved with names | Approx. €20–40 | End of October |
| A gift for clients with a logo | Depending on volume | September to October |
| A gift for a departing colleague | Joint collection | Two weeks in advance |
From our workshop
Frequently asked questions
What limit should we set for Secret Santa?
In Czech companies the limit is most often agreed at roughly €8–20. More important than the exact figure is that the limit is set in advance and everyone sticks to it – the difference between a €4 gift and a €40 gift creates an awkward situation at the party.
What should I give a colleague I hardly know?
Stick to practical, neutral things – a keyring, a bookmark, a notebook, a little something for the desk. Avoid anything that assumes knowledge of their taste, size or personal life. The less you know the person, the less the gift should feel like a personal gesture.
Is it appropriate to give a gift to your boss?
An individual gift from a subordinate can feel awkward, and some companies restrict it in their internal rules. A joint gift of symbolic value from the whole team is safer. If you are not sure, ask the HR department what rules apply where you work.
When should we start ordering gifts for the whole team?
For bulk orders with a logo, allow several weeks for production and delivery, so ideally sort them out in September or October. In November workshop capacity fills up, and in December it is usually too late for personalised orders.
Should we give gifts to people working from home too?
Yes, and it is worth posting them so they arrive before the joint online get-together. A colleague who unwraps their gift at the same time as everyone else is not excluded from the ritual – and it is the ritual, rather than the contents of the parcel, that matters most.
What gifts for colleagues can I find at AMADEA?
We offer wooden notebooks, keyrings, bookmarks, boards and small decorations that can be engraved with a logo or a name. For bulk orders, see our For Businesses section.
🌳 A gift that stays on the desk longer than until January. Wooden products from a sheltered workshop – with a logo, a name or both.
Go to our range for businessesAuthor: Martin Portych – specialist in wooden products, gift advice and shop content
Editorial policy: Our content is based on the day-to-day practice of the AMADEA shop, the real needs of our customers and a commitment to clear, useful and trustworthy information.