Christmas Gifts for Assistants?

MickeyMouseCD524

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
I work with a very large office and was thinking of getting a small Christmas gift for all the assistants that I work with. Now there's 36 of them and I can't really afford to get them all $25 gift cards to Amazon. but I was think of sending them all a Christmas card, with a candy cane, and a $5 Starbucks card. Is that too little? Should I just forgo sending them something and just send them all a card but no gift?
 
Do they all sit near one another? Could you do a cookie tray or some other edible they could all share?

Given the circumstances and numbers involved, I think the $5 card would be more than enough too if that works better for you. Some people I know used to give lottery tickets in such cases too.
 
Scratch offs- that sounds like a fun ideA! As another poster mentioned, a fun dessert or cookie tray or something similar might be well received as well. I think your idea of Starbucks GC would be appreciated as well-

Are you personally paying for these gifts, or is your Company? That might prompt me to go the gift card route.
 
If you are big enough to have 36 assistants that report to you then I would think that you could afford to spend $25 a piece. If you are one of 36 and these are all your coworkers then I would think you are setting a bad precedent that everyone needs to purchase gifts for everyone. Just buying 36 $5 cards is nearly $200. I am assuming your situation is the latter, so I would just poll your coworkers and maybe do a cookie or white elephant exchange. I know that I would prefer one $25 white elephant gift than a bunch of dollar store tchotchkes from 36 people.
 


If you are big enough to have 36 assistants that report to you then I would think that you could afford to spend $25 a piece. If you are one of 36 and these are all your coworkers then I would think you are setting a bad precedent that everyone needs to purchase gifts for everyone. Just buying 36 $5 cards is nearly $200. I am assuming your situation is the latter, so I would just poll your coworkers and maybe do a cookie or white elephant exchange. I know that I would prefer one $25 white elephant gift than a bunch of dollar store tchotchkes from 36 people.
Spending $1000+ on gifts for assistants is way overboard.
 
Scratch offs- that sounds like a fun ideA! As another poster mentioned, a fun dessert or cookie tray or something similar might be well received as well. I think your idea of Starbucks GC would be appreciated as well-

Are you personally paying for these gifts, or is your Company? That might prompt me to go the gift card route.

Me personally! Scratch offs are a great idea too!
 
If you are big enough to have 36 assistants that report to you then I would think that you could afford to spend $25 a piece. If you are one of 36 and these are all your coworkers then I would think you are setting a bad precedent that everyone needs to purchase gifts for everyone. Just buying 36 $5 cards is nearly $200. I am assuming your situation is the latter, so I would just poll your coworkers and maybe do a cookie or white elephant exchange. I know that I would prefer one $25 white elephant gift than a bunch of dollar store tchotchkes from 36 people.

They are not my assistants. Like I said I work with them. My company and their's work together. They're at another firm, but I don't feel comfortable giving to one and not the others, since I deal with all of them at some point.
 


They are not my assistants. Like I said I work with them. My company and their's work together. They're at another firm, but I don't feel comfortable giving to one and not the others, since I deal with all of them at some point.
If these are just folks you deal with at another firm then I think some sort of food gift to share would be fine. Lots of people have mentioned chocolates but that is definitely what a lot of people bring. I would maybe talk to the group's manager and arrange a day to bring in pizza or a tray of sandwiches. Little Caesar's pizza or a tray of party sandwiches from the local grocery would be fairly inexpensive.
 
I work with a very large office and was thinking of getting a small Christmas gift for all the assistants that I work with. Now there's 36 of them and I can't really afford to get them all $25 gift cards to Amazon. but I was think of sending them all a Christmas card, with a candy cane, and a $5 Starbucks card. Is that too little? Should I just forgo sending them something and just send them all a card but no gift?


It is the thought that counts, right?!?! Thirty six people is alot to buy for. I would love the gift card or the scratch off. Probably the gift card more cause I would have the $5, and I would lose on scratch off with my luck. My daughter got $5 from her retail store manager to Wawa and she was thrilled. She never thought why isn't this more money. She got gas and thought how wonderful it was for her manager to use her own money and buy for each of them. If anyone thinks it's not enough, then you can't fix that.
 
I think the scratch offs or gift cards are a great idea. You could also do a basket with chips and snacks or things like hand sanitizer, highlighters, etc.
 
It is the thought that counts, right?!?! Thirty six people is alot to buy for. I would love the gift card or the scratch off. Probably the gift card more cause I would have the $5, and I would lose on scratch off with my luck. My daughter got $5 from her retail store manager to Wawa and she was thrilled. She never thought why isn't this more money. She got gas and thought how wonderful it was for her manager to use her own money and buy for each of them. If anyone thinks it's not enough, then you can't fix that.

Ok that makes me feel better, I'll get the gift cards then. I just didn't want to come off looking cheap.
 
If there are 36 assistants, I'm guessing you do not use them all and if you do, not really any one is getting the brunt of your work.
Is it more like you want to just show them you are thinking of them? If so, cookie tray or DD coffee and donuts right before Christmas for all. But, if I had to choose, what I would want, I would choose the GC, $5 is still $5 and I wouldn't be eating any cookies or donuts.

That is very thoughtful of you to show them all you are thinking of them (coming from an assistant of high professionals who has worked with bosses that have given me Tiffany necklaces, $500 gift cards to $50 gift cards and less).
 
If there are 36 assistants, I'm guessing you do not use them all and if you do, not really any one is getting the brunt of your work.
Is it more like you want to just show them you are thinking of them? If so, cookie tray or DD coffee and donuts right before Christmas for all. But, if I had to choose, what I would want, I would choose the GC, $5 is still $5 and I wouldn't be eating any cookies or donuts.

That is very thoughtful of you to show them all you are thinking of them (coming from an assistant of high professionals who has worked with bosses that have given me Tiffany necklaces, $500 gift cards to $50 gift cards and less).

I should clarify the top post. But they're not my assistants, they're people at another firm's assistants who we deal with frequently (like every day). So the CEO, COO, etc of this other firm we work with a lot's assistants. I generally avoid food because so many people have dietary restrictions. But I appreciate your input. I'll probably go with the gift card.
 
I should clarify the top post. But they're not my assistants, they're people at another firm's assistants who we deal with frequently (like every day). So the CEO, COO, etc of this other firm we work with a lot's assistants. I generally avoid food because so many people have dietary restrictions. But I appreciate your input. I'll probably go with the gift card.
I just find it strange that you want to buy gifts for 36 people at a company that is not even yours. Since there is such a wide group of people I would find it hard to believe that you have that much contact with these people to feel compelled to buy all of them a gift, even at $5 a piece. Do you sit in this client's office so have daily interaction with these 36 people? Is this your only client? Do they really do anything other than their basic job or are these 36 people so influential that what you are really doing is a bribe? Not saying it is a bad thing but buttering up the C-suite executive assistants is wise if it gets you access that you wouldn't get otherwise. At that point, that is just a business expense and you need to decide how much you have in your marketing budget.
 
I just find it strange that you want to buy gifts for 36 people at a company that is not even yours. Since there is such a wide group of people I would find it hard to believe that you have that much contact with these people to feel compelled to buy all of them a gift, even at $5 a piece. Do you sit in this client's office so have daily interaction with these 36 people? Is this your only client? Do they really do anything other than their basic job or are these 36 people so influential that what you are really doing is a bribe? Not saying it is a bad thing but buttering up the C-suite executive assistants is wise if it gets you access that you wouldn't get otherwise. At that point, that is just a business expense and you need to decide how much you have in your marketing budget.

Maybe the OP is just a nice person, that likes to let people know she appreciates them, and it isn't a calculated business decision...
 
I'm pondering what I would think if someone from a different office gave a gift to all of the assistants in my department. Sending over food for the group is normal. GIving a gift card to each of the assistants would seem odd. I think it's great that OP is trying to be nice, particularly in this day and age when that doesn't seem to be people's instinct. But I think giving those gifts could clash with corporate culture.

It's often the assistants who do all the work, but it's their bosses who decide what businesses to hire. OP probably doesn't want to do something which would make them think, "That's odd." Even if this didn't start as a calculated business decision, I think OP should take a step back and think about it as a business decision.
 
I just find it strange that you want to buy gifts for 36 people at a company that is not even yours. Since there is such a wide group of people I would find it hard to believe that you have that much contact with these people to feel compelled to buy all of them a gift, even at $5 a piece. Do you sit in this client's office so have daily interaction with these 36 people? Is this your only client? Do they really do anything other than their basic job or are these 36 people so influential that what you are really doing is a bribe? Not saying it is a bad thing but buttering up the C-suite executive assistants is wise if it gets you access that you wouldn't get otherwise. At that point, that is just a business expense and you need to decide how much you have in your marketing budget.

Not everything has to be a calculated business decision. It just feels like a common courtesy imo. They're not my client and we're not there's we partner and work with them on various projects. They come to us, we go to them. We've built up a great relationship with them, and as someone who has been an EA I always appreciated when we were remembered around the holidays. So I wanted to make sure they felt acknowledged and appreciated because they do just as much work as their bosses do.
 
I think the $5 Starbucks gift card is perfect and will be very much appreciated by the recipients. It is the thought that counts. I’m sure they will think it is a very nice gesture on your part.
 
Are you a member at your local Costco? Assuming you have one nearby that is. Try checking out their gift sets. Mine has a four pack of mugs, each in their own box, and each with a candy and I think and instant pack of starbucks via for $20.
 
I was once in a similar situation, though the number of people I wanted to get a little something for was less than 36 (about 15), and what I did was buy a giant basket and fill it with a sample/stocking sized soaps, bubble bath, bath bombs, and body lotions, etc. from bath and body shops. I added some candy/chocolates as well. When I bought it in to their staff lounge, it was really well received…the staff was very excited to get something different and they said it was a lot of fun picking things out.
 

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