Somehow, long, long ago, I became the gift buyer for our office. Any time there is a birthday, wedding, retirement or employment anniversary, I am the one everyone turns to figure out what to get. I thought I’d share our go-to birthday gifts that are ideal for coworkers.
Personally, I think gift cards are fabulous. You can get them in large or small amounts, and you can get them for almost any establishment. So, if you are getting a birthday gift for someone and it is just from you, you can get a $10 or $20 gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks, Target or Amazon, or simply a Visa gift card.
If it is a group gift, where you have collected money from a group of people, then a restaurant gift card in a larger dollar amount is usually well received. Another plus for gift cards is that they are so convenient to find. The local drug stores now carry an enormous amount of gift cards from many different stores. Gift cards are truly our go-to birthday gift. The only downside I sometimes hear is that they lack the “personal touch” but that is what makes them perfect gifts for co-workers. You can add a personal touch by writing a nice personalized birthday card to go along with it. Also, if you pick someone’s favorite restaurant, or store, the personal touch is that you knew enough about them to select one of their favorites.
I always appreciate getting a gift card. The extra cash to one of my favorite places is always a nice thing to have! And with a gift card to a place you know the recpient frequents you can be sure that they will use the gift.
I love to get and to give gift cards. You can never go wrong with them. I would suggest, though, that you go the extra effort and give a gift card to a place where you know the birthday person lieks to shop or eat. This does make it a bit more personal. Plus, the Visa. MC and Amex cards charge an activation fee which I think should be illegal.
Thanks for that information Mindy. I did not know that Visa, Amex and MC charged an activation fee and agree that this practice should be illegal. Perhaps if no one purchased these cards they would eliminate the fee. I know I won’t purchase any.
I like to purchase a gift card to someone’s favorite Restaurant, either from myself or from a group of employees.
My team and I do not do gifts. As nice as it is to receive them, its a nuisance to go get them. So we made an aggreement that we wouldn’t buy gifts for one another. Basically our gift is to be hassle free!