The Worst Company Gifts Ever According to the Internet & What to Give Your Employees Instead
published
February 4, 2025
We've all experienced the joy of receiving a thoughtful gift from an employer, but what about those gifts that make you cringe? In the world of corporate gifting, there are some real horror stories out there. From the hilariously bad to the downright offensive, we've scoured Reddit threads to bring you the worst company gifts ever given, according to the recipients. If you’re reading this while trying to choose a gift, you are already winning, because the worst employee gift is nothing at all. The angst is real:
“You guys are receiving company gifts?!”
“A big nothing!”
“Your company buys you gifts?”
The second worst employee gift is something thoughtless, impersonal, insensitive, inappropriate, useless, or offensive, as we’ll see.
Don’t worry, we're not just here to laugh at the fails—we'll also provide inspired alternatives to ensure your employees feel truly appreciated. Let's dive into the world of corporate gifting gone wrong and learn how to do it right!
The Worst Gifts for Employees & The Best Gifts to Replace Them With
Skip: Re-gifted & Used Items
“I was re-gifted a gift basket given to my boss by a client and he forgot to remove the card that was addressed to him.”
“A pile of the snacks they keep on hand for patients,” for Nurses Week.
“$50 gift card but only $10 was left.”
“10 pieces of leftover Halloween candy - like bat and skeleton shaped chocolates” for Christmas.
“Surplus stuff. Old IT equipment like VGA cables that aren't in use anymore.”
Another person mentioned getting the surplus company swag with the old logo on it so they could get rid of it.
Give Instead: Sustainable Recycled Corporate Gifts
Regifted and surplus items have a natural home any day of the week: the breakroom table. Staff that can use what you have will help you clear out your storeroom in no time, just don’t try to pass it off as a company gift. Want to give old items new life? How about giving recycled gifts? Or choose brand new premium quality corporate gift items that keep surplus items out of landfills:
Skip: Expired Items
“Expired food.”
Multiple people said, “A dead plant.”
“I once got an expired chocolate tower.”
Give Instead: DIY Kit Gifts
Of course, you can simply make sure you are buying new food gifts and plants from reputable sources with timely delivery. Another idea is to offer plant kits that contain everything your staff needs to grow their own herbs and flowers, or kitchen accessories to help them create fresh homemade meals. These employee gift choices come with a zero percent chance of DOA, and a 100% chance of fun:
This gift idea knows how to make an entrance. Lively Root has "proprietary packaging designed to provide our business gifting buyers with the confidence that their gift will arrive safe and healthy and that their recipients receive a high end, sustainable unpacking experience they will love!"
Skip: Gifts with Strings Attached
If you want to create a positive corporate culture, avoid giving gifts that cut into your staff’s bottom line. Skip anything that requires an employee to spend their own money, energy, or time.
“A coupon for 15% off Panera Bread catering.”
“$5 store credit for Xmas. I work for a high-end jewelry store. $5 isn’t even .05% of our cheapest item.”
“One free movie ticket, get the second ticket 50% off.”
“Two free tickets to a cinema. The issue was that the closest cinema in that particular chain was about 800 miles away from me.”
Give Instead:
Choose gifts that are high-quality, thoughtful, useful, and show genuine appreciation with no investment or extra effort from the giftee. But if you must leave strings attached, we suggest:
Skip: Insensitive & Thoughtless Gifts
Alcohol for people that don’t drink (one crew got this and stated there were 3 recovering alcoholics on the team).
A cinnamon roll for someone who is allergic to wheat.
A pizza party for a team where half of them were vegan.
“A bag of trail mix. I couldn’t even actually eat it because it had almonds in it, and those will kill me.”
“I’m diabetic and my boss knows, but every year he gets me 2 dozen cookies, a tin of caramel popcorn and bag of homemade chocolate turtles.”
“I was gifted a ham for the holidays…..I’m Jewish.”
Religious gifts for people who aren’t religious like “a bible” or “a nativity scene.”
Apparel that isn’t the right size. “I was given an XXXL because they were all out of my size (XL).”
Clothing items that they can’t wear at work. One team got denim shirts, even though the company dress code prohibits it.
Give Instead:
A custom online pop-up gift store where the employee can choose their own presents including the right apparel size or food that fits within their diet restrictions and tastes. Here are some choices to fill your selection:
Want to give corporate apparel and bypass the size question altogether? Customize some nice hats or accessories with your logo:
Skip: Untimely Gifts
“An advent calendar... Delivered on the 15th of December.”
“I got a 5-year plaque from a company after I'd been there 6.5 years”
Give Instead:
Give employee gifts that are ready when they are! Here are some can’t miss anytime options:
- Cash
- Trust us, no one is complaining about this one. If it doesn’t seem festive enough, fix it with a holiday currency envelope.
- Gifts Cards
- As long as it’s not a super low value like $5, people hate that. If that’s your budget by all means turn it into a gourmet brownie or other small, fun item paired with a nice in-office lunch spread. Make sure gift cards are for locally available or online stores that people actually like.
- Extra Vacation Day/PTO
- The gift of time itself! How inspired.
- Experience Gifts
- Give gift cards or vouchers for spa days, restaurants, and fun recreation activities that are redeemable at the giftee’s convenience.
Skip: Inappropriate Gifts
“My partner got a Victoria Secret gift card.”
Back… away… slowly.
Give Instead:
How about some nice, wholesome, cozy sweatshirts, flannels, or an embroidered throw blanket? Feel better? We do!
Skip: Gifts with Typos
“A 10-year anniversary memory book with my name spelled wrong on every page.”
“Coffee mug with the company name misspelled.”
A teacher got a keychain that said "I love teching! Spelled exactly like that.”
Give Instead:
Gifts with error free text. Even the most astute spellers can make a mistake, and a quick proofread by a teammate or AI tool can fix it.
Gifts that allow you and your staff to play with words at will:
Skip: Just Plain Random Gifts
We can’t begin to account for these. If you get your employee gift idea from a troll working in a laboratory inside a giant Wendy’s in a dream, maybe run it by a few coworkers before you wrap it. Here are some recent head scratchers:
A pillow case.
A bowling ball case (the company had nothing to do with bowling).
Road salt.
One tea bag.
Snowmobile gloves.
Give Instead:
I don’t know, here in Maine road salt sounds pretty good! Just kidding. Kind of. To avoid inexplicable company gifts, take your inspiration from the most popular gifts in the retail space each year. If it’s a must have for the general public, odds are your team will want it too. Here are few ideas identical or similar to brand name items that came up more than once in discussion threads:
Skip: Repetitive Gifts
One person stated they got hoodies every single year.
“Christmas two years in a row we've gotten a scarf.”
“One year I received 3 different kinds of clocks.”
“Every year the same. A bottle of wine.”
Give Instead:
A variety of gifts that continue to surprise and delight over time. Here’s how:
- Have the same person or team buy the gifts each year and keep a log to avoid repeating.
- Shop this collection of brand new gift items. Your staff doesn’t already have them because they didn’t exist last year.
- You can even get around the no repeat rule with apparel if you come up with a unique design each time. Think about it, how many themed baseball caps and graphic t-shirts do your family members have in their closets that they bought themselves? If your art is cool enough, the new yearly edition can become an anticipated event.
- Give fun employee gift boxes. They’ll keep your staff guessing as they dig out goodie after goodie. Here are a few of our favorites:
Skip: Donations Given in the Employee’s Name
Everyone loves a good deed, but there’s a right and wrong way to do it. Here’s the wrong way:
A couple people said they got donations in their name to a charity that they didn’t have a say on. “A gift has been made in your name to…”
“My company planted a tree on my behalf.”
“A donation has been made in your name to the New York City Ballet.”
Give Instead:
Gifts that give back to good causes with each purchase. Your employee gets something for themselves, along with the knowledge that a charitable donation has been made by the manufacturer.
Want to do more? Host charitable workplace events throughout the year, like food drives and blood drives, that are not presented as corporate gifts, but as an opportunity for positive community involvement. Nothing wrong with giving out commemorative t-shirts and mementos to voluntary participants though! How else do you get that great group photo? Don’t forget, snacks are on you!
Skip: Gifts that are too Manager/CEO Focused
“A cheap picture frame inset with a picture of all the managers together.”
Multiple people said books written by the CEO.
Give Instead:
- If your CEO wrote a book, the team should have it! Go ahead and give it out to staff, but as onboarding and training, not as a candidate for worst company Christmas gift ever.
- Offer employee benefits that include a choice of educational and inspirational titles yearly. That’s popular perk here at Crestline.
- Give out books by everyone’s favorite author, themselves. A nice journal or leather padfolio is always welcome, and you just might get your investment back in the form of inspired ideas.
“Very nice crystal bookends. We bought them for staff celebrating milestone years of employment and were quite pleased with the outcome.” - Jennifer
And there you have it! Corporate gifting doesn't have to be a minefield of cringe-worthy moments. By avoiding the common pitfalls and opting for thoughtful, personalized, and useful gifts, you can ensure your employees feel truly valued and appreciated. Remember, the best gifts come from the heart (and a bit of common sense). So, next time you're in charge of the company gift list, keep these tips in mind and you'll be the office hero. Happy gifting!
