The Holiday Collection
The short answer: The best Christmas gifts for employees are useful, consumable or give people time back: extra paid time off, a catered lunch, a quality food gift, or a practical item they'll use every day. A common range is $25 to $100 per person. Before you buy, know one tax rule: small holiday items are generally tax-free, but cash and gift cards count as taxable wages.
Our picks for christmas gifts for employees
Printables
Christmas Budget & Gift Planner
Set a budget for every person, log each purchase, and watch what's left - plus printable gift, card, menu and to-do pages.
Here are ideas at four budgets, a simple way to set your number, and how to track the cost.
This guide is for owners and managers buying for their own staff. If you're buying for peers, our Christmas gifts for coworkers guide fits better.
Christmas gifts for employees by budget
| Budget per person | Ideas |
|---|---|
| Under $15 | Gourmet cocoa or coffee, a holiday cookie tin, a quality pen, a handwritten card |
| $15 to $30 | Insulated tumbler, local bakery box, desk plant, nice notebook, cozy socks set |
| $30 to $60 | Wireless charger, insulated lunch bag, regional food basket, quality throw blanket |
| $60 to $100 | Noise-canceling earbuds, a nice backpack, a restaurant dinner for two (on payroll if it's a gift card) |
| Not a thing | A paid half day, a long lunch on the company, or an extra floating holiday |
Gift ideas employees actually like
Time off
Ask almost anyone and they'll pick time over stuff. A paid half day on Christmas Eve, a late start the morning after the party, or an extra floating holiday in January costs you hours, not shopping time, and everyone gets the same thing.
Food gifts
A local bakery box, a regional snack basket, a ham or a box of good chocolate works for almost everyone. Ask about allergies and dietary needs first and offer a swap. Running a clinic or care team? See our gifts for nurses for ideas that survive a 12-hour shift.
Useful everyday items
- Insulated tumbler or water bottle
- Wireless phone charger
- Quality notebook and pen set
- Lunch bag or bento box
- Cozy throw blanket or slipper socks
Skip heavy logo merchandise. A small logo is fine; a giant one turns a gift into a uniform.
A team experience
A catered holiday lunch, a bowling afternoon or a cookie-decorating hour on the clock. Shared experiences build the team, and nobody has to store anything.
Gifts for remote employees
Remote staff are easy to forget until the shipping deadline has passed. A few things make it easier:
Shopping for a manager? See our gifts for boss ideas that stay professional.
- Order early. Aim to ship by the first week of December so carrier delays don't matter.
- Choose things that travel. Coffee, tea, chocolate, a tumbler or a throw blanket ship well; fresh baked goods don't.
- Match the in-office gift's value. If the office gets a catered lunch, send remote people a meal of equal value (through payroll if it's a gift card or meal credit).
- Send the note separately. A card that arrives in the mail, or a short video message on the team call, makes the gift feel personal.
- Budget for shipping. Postage on 10 boxes can add $100 or more, so put it in the plan from the start.
How much to spend on employee Christmas gifts
Pick a number you could repeat next year even in a slow season. Employees notice when a gift shrinks, so a steady $30 beats $75 one year and $15 the next.
| Team size | $25 each | $50 each | $100 each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 employees | $125 | $250 | $500 |
| 10 employees | $250 | $500 | $1,000 |
| 20 employees | $500 | $1,000 | $2,000 |
Add 10% to 15% for wrapping, cards and shipping if you're mailing gifts to remote staff. Give the same gift or amount to everyone at the same level, and write a short personal note for each person. The note is what most people remember.
The tax basics (in plain English)
This is general information, not tax advice, so check with your tax professional.
Before filing, run through our tax documents checklist.
- Small holiday gifts are usually tax-free. The IRS page on de minimis fringe benefits lists low-value holiday gifts as an example of a benefit too small to tax.
- Cash and gift cards are wages. The same IRS guidance says cash and cash equivalents, including gift cards and gift certificates, are never de minimis. They go through payroll and show up on the W-2. Some employers gross up the amount so the employee gets the full value.
- High-value items aren't "small." IRS Publication 15-B explains the de minimis rules in detail and notes that the IRS has found items over $100 can't be treated as de minimis.
- The $25 limit is about business gifts. IRS Publication 463 caps the deduction for business gifts, like client gifts, at $25 per recipient per year, with wrapping and shipping costs not counted toward it. Gifts to your own staff are generally handled under the fringe benefit rules instead.
Track it so tax time is easy
Keep every receipt and write down the date, what you bought, the cost and who got it. The Business Income & Expense Tracker ($7.99) is a fillable Excel and Google Sheets tracker that logs sales, expenses and business miles, then totals each category for tax time and shows your monthly profit. Add an "employee gifts" category and you'll know exactly what the holidays cost. Browse more templates in our spreadsheets shop.
Buying personal gifts too? The Christmas Budget & Gift Planner ($4.99) keeps your family list and your work list from bleeding into each other, with a budget for every person.
See also
The Holiday Collection
Give every person a limit and watch what's left
The Christmas Budget & Gift Planner adds up every list for you: a budget for each person, a log of each purchase and the amount left to spend, plus printable gift, card, menu and to-do pages.
- Spreadsheet for Excel and Google Sheets
- 11 printable pages, US Letter + A4
- Instant download, 14-day fix-or-refund promise
Planning the whole season? See the holiday sets from $7, with early prices through Cyber Monday
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Christmas gift for employees? A good Christmas gift for employees is useful, consumable or gives them time back. Paid time off, a catered lunch, a quality food gift or a useful desk item all go over better than logo merchandise most people never use.
How much should I spend on employee Christmas gifts? A common range is $25 to $100 per employee. Pick a per-person amount you could repeat next year even in a slower season, and spend the same on everyone at the same level.
Are employee Christmas gifts taxable? Low-value holiday items like a ham, a gift basket or a small desk gift are generally tax-free de minimis benefits under IRS rules. Cash, gift cards and gift certificates are different: the IRS says they are never de minimis and count as taxable wages, so they belong on payroll.
Can I give employees gift cards for Christmas? Yes, but gift cards are treated as taxable wages. The IRS says cash and cash equivalents, including gift cards, are never de minimis fringe benefits, so run them through payroll or gross them up so the employee gets the full amount.
Is the $25 IRS gift limit for employees? The $25-per-person deduction limit in IRS Publication 463 applies to business gifts, such as gifts to clients. Gifts to your own employees generally fall under the fringe benefit rules in Publication 15-B instead, so ask your tax professional how your gifts should be handled.
How do I track employee gift spending for taxes? The Business Income & Expense Tracker ($7.99) logs every gift purchase in a holiday or employee-gifts category in Excel or Google Sheets. Record the date, item, amount and who received it, and the category totals are ready at tax time.
What can I give employees instead of a gift? Extra paid time off is one of the most appreciated alternatives. A half day before Christmas Eve, a catered team lunch or a year-end bonus run through payroll are all good options that skip the guesswork of choosing a gift.
Should I give all employees the same Christmas gift? Yes, give the same gift or the same dollar amount to everyone at the same level. It's fair, avoids hurt feelings and keeps your budget simple. A personal handwritten note can make each identical gift feel individual.
Should a manager buy gifts for their team? A manager doesn't have to, but a small, equal gift for each team member is a kind gesture. Gifts should flow down, not up, so employees shouldn't feel pressured to buy for the boss.
When should I buy employee Christmas gifts? Order employee gifts by early December. Bulk orders, personalization and shipping all take longer in December, and you want everything in hand before the last workday before the holiday.
Free printable
Get the free Holiday Budget Starter Kit
A one-page holiday budget, a gift list with a spending limit for every person, and a 6-week countdown so December stays calm and paid for. You'll also get our weekly HomeBase email with simple holiday planning, budgeting and hosting tips.
