Last year at this time we talked about some ‘non-traditional’ holiday gift ideas—this year let’s focus on a few gift ideas for a business owner or an inter-office gift exchange that will leave colleagues impressed with your creativity and thoughtfulness, especially when half of the other presents are all gift cards.
Books
A book can say a lot, especially if people think you’re not listening. Surprise a boss or colleague with book that fits their specific goals and needs. Here are a couple of books about management and leadership to get your wheels spinning:
- “Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People” by Edward Hallowell.
- “StandOut” by Marcus Buckingham
- “The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work“ by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer.
At the office
You see your coworkers at their desks more than anyone else in their lives, so why not give them something they need at the office—or something they would never think of buying for themselves. We’ll start at the practical and move into the ridiculous.
- Phone accessories: A smartphone holder that sits beneath the outlet, a driftwood charging dock, or maybe this classy holder called an Oona.
- With all the touch devices out there, one question prevails: We’re not expected to wipe all these smudges off with the inside of our t-shirts, are we? No, you’re not a savage—instead, pick up a Toddy. The Toddy is a double-sided, microfiber cleaning cloth with an antimicrobial coating—and they come in all sorts of colors and patterns.
- Give the gift of a personal assistant for a day. TaskRabbit.com allows you to outsource your household errands, chores and honey-do lists. They’ll do everything from putting that new office equipment together to running to pick up your dry-cleaning and groceries.
Technology
No matter if it’s your boss or your co-worker, everyone loves getting tech-gifts. Here’s a few that we wouldn’t mind getting:
- Tumi electronics and mobile accessories
- Lynda.com membership to allow a manager or coworker to learn new software on his or her own schedule.
- Digital photo frames
- USB hubdog—because you can never have enough USB ports (or things that look like dogs on your desk).