8. Extra days
For many employees, one of the most appreciated gifts you can offer during the holiday season – not to mention a nice surprise – is the gift of extra time off work. Here are a few ways you could offer this:
Additional holiday or annual leave days
Duvet days (an unscheduled day off for any reason)
Half-day Fridays during December
Birthday day off
Flexible working days
Top tip: Balance is key
Ensure that any extra days off work fit well with your company’s schedule and operational needs. Here at Peek & Poke, for example, our dev and art teams usually avoid taking too many holidays during the months of October and November to cater for the annual pre-Christmas demand from clients!
Discover more corporate Christmas gift ideas >
9. Desk gifts
Desk accessories and playful additions can brighten up the area and make day-to-day tasks more enjoyable. At Peek & Poke, we have a healthy mix of low-maintenance plants and fun character figurines (thanks to the amateur 3D printing enthusiasts among us 🤖). Here are some other ideas:
Stress balls
Rubik’s cubes
Mini desk basketball
Custom mouse pads
Ergonomic wrist supports
Humorous/motivational desk calendars
Desk organisers
Personalised notebooks
Low-noise desk fans
Top tip: Consider the wider office environment
When selecting desk gifts, keep in mind the overall office setting and potential sensitivities. For instance, some employees may have allergies to certain plants, while others might be distracted by noisy accessories.
10. Charitable donations
Giving back during the festive season – or at any time of year – is a meaningful way to show your appreciation while supporting causes that matter to your employees. Here are some of the things you could do:
Make a donation on behalf of an employee
Ask the employee to choose a charity or cause
Donate to local organisations or projects
Give employees ‘volunteer time off’ to contribute their time to a cause
Top tip: Gamify your charitable giving
Turn fundraising into a fun game for staff with a running totaliser (e.g. an amount for every new score submitted, just like we did with our Yuletide Joyride competition). You could also run a game competition where the winners get to choose the charities to receive donations (like construction firm Rhodar did with their Soccer Skillshot campaign).
Looking for more inspiration? Check out our post on corporate fundraising ideas .
11. Wellness gifts
Wellness gifts can be a great way to help staff take a breather and relax during the festive period, or have something to brighten up that post-Christmas slump in the new year. Here are some thoughtful gifts – big and small – to support employee wellbeing:
Essential oil diffusers
Scented candles
Self-care bath kits
Herbal tea sets
Weighted blankets
Yoga mats
Fitness accessories
Spa vouchers
Meditation app memberships
12. Personalised gifts
Whether it’s a name, quote, image, or other meaningful adornment, adding a personal touch to your gifts is a nice way to make it feel unique to the recipient. Here are examples of items you could have customised for your staff:
Coffee mugs
Water bottles
Travel flasks
Calendars
Notebooks or planners
Pens
Tote bags
Phone cases
Keychains
13. Experience days
Instead of a physical item, give employees the gift of a memorable experience to enjoy with friends, family, or colleagues as part of a festive get-together. Here are a few examples:
Cooking or baking classes
Spa or massage treatments
Zip-lining
Skydiving
Hot air balloon rides
Track days
Theme parks
Wine tasting or brewery tours
Escape room vouchers
VIDEO Top tip: Create a competition
Instead of giving high-value gifts to lots of individuals, consider a prize competition where staff and suppliers can play to win experience days! This is exactly what Sleeping Giant Media did with their App-Attack game competition, with prizes including tickets to Alton Towers, The Crystal Maze Experience, a glider flight, bungee jump, and more!
Learn more about the Sleeping Giant Media game >
14. Entertainment gifts
Who doesn’t love a bit of entertainment? Whether it’s something small in the moment, or tickets for a big event to look forward to in future, there are various routes you could go down:
Theatre shows
Comedy shows
Concerts
Festivals
Sporting events
Cinema vouchers
Puzzles and brainteasers
Board games (a favourite here at Peek & Poke)
Jigsaws (also popular around these parts)
Card games (okay, we love games… 🤷)
Top tip: Double up on the entertainment!
Play games to win games – that was the message behind our recent It’s Snow Time! competition, where players could submit their score and be in with a chance of winning board game prizes as chosen by our staff!
15. Learning and skill development
For some staff, there’s nothing better than a gift focused on their education and personal growth. Whether you partner up with a learning provider or offer a one-off course, there are plenty of thoughtful ways to show a recipient that you’re committed to their long-term success:
Online course vouchers (language learning, coding, etc.)
Masterclass memberships
Access to industry conferences or workshops
Skill-based learning kits (photography, art, etc.)
Educational software subscriptions
Leadership or coaching sessions
16. Books
Whether it’s entertaining fiction, thought-provoking non-fiction, or something inspiring with lots of visual pages to flick through, books are a classic gift choice with plenty of genres to choose from:
Best-selling novels
Classic novels
Personal development
Productivity
Business or entrepreneurship
Self-help
History
Cooking
Biographies or memoirs
Humour
Graphic novels
Poetry collections
Hobbies
17. Charity shop finds
You’re probably familiar with the idea of Secret Santa, but have you tried putting a charitable spin on it? In recent years at Peek & Poke, we’ve drawn a name each and then spent a certain amount (e.g. £20) on charity shop items for the lucky recipient. It’s a fun format that makes your money go a long way!
Here are just a few of the items we’ve managed to find for one another while contributing to a good cause ahead of Christmas:
Second-hand books
Pre-loved clothing
Kitchen accessories
Home décor items
Board games
Jigsaws
Card games
Kids’ toys and books
Top tip: Return unwanted gifts
If you get something you’re not a fan of (and let’s face it, the chances of this are quite high when there are jokers in your team), simply take it back to a charity shop for someone else to buy. It’s a win-win for you and the charity!
Branded games – a unique bulk Christmas gift for large teams!
Looking for a fun bulk gift for employees this festive season? Consider an online branded Christmas game and prize giveaways instead of individual presents!
Here’s why an online game could be a great fit for you:
It engages large teams in a fun and interactive way 🎮
It’s a unique experience compared to typical gifts 🥳
It’s quick to set up so great for last-minute plans ⏱️
You can add your company branding ✅
Employees have the chance to win big prizes instead of small gifts 🎁
It encourages friendly competition 🤼
Regular giveaways help to build excitement 😄
Online games are instantly accessible for global and remote staff 🌍
There’s no shipping or bulk buying 🚢
The game is eco-friendly with no physical waste 🌱
You could even pair your game with an online advent calendar and ’12 days of Christmas gifts’ competition format for an interactive combo that keeps players coming back again and again!
Derivco Sports Christmas Game Bundle
Derivco Sports used a multi-game bundle to engage hundreds of remote staff in the lead-up to Christmas. By combining the games with an advent calendar landing page, they were able to create a fun competition with daily prizes to be won each week!
The prizes were smaller gifts from Mondays to Thursdays, with the bigger wins – including a projector, sweet hamper, and Amazon Firestick – up for grabs on Fridays!
Beazley Risky Rider
For years now, insurance company Beazley has done away with Christmas cards in favour of a fun game competition for its broker audience. In the case of Risky Rider , the game was available in both English and French and helped to raise awareness of their charity partner All Hands and Hearts !
