It is OK to Gift Colleagues on Valentines
Valentine’s Day is a special moment for all loved ones. It is professional and shows appreciation. While most people celebrate it with their partners, colleagues are also special people deserving of your appreciation.
If you have colleagues whom you truly appreciate it is ok to gift them during valentine’s. It is not weird but quite normal and should not be misinterpreted. It is a good appreciation of friendship at work.
Simple & Unique Valentine’s Gifts for Your Colleagues
1. Chocolate
Ladies love chocolate and naturally, it becomes the most popular valentine’s gift you can get your female co-workers. While there are quite expensive chocolate brands, there are cheaper yet quality chocolate brands out. Some men love chocolate too as well so this valentine’s gift can go both ways.
2. Chocolate Covered Fruits
Unlike store-bought chocolate goodies, chocolate-covered fruits are great cheap valentine’s gifts for your co-workers as you can make them at home. It is a great option as you get to customize them and give them a homemade touch. It shows you have put thought and effort into the gift.
You can use fruits such as strawberries bananas, and cherries covered with melted chocolate. You can also bake cookies which you can share with everyone. Both male and female colleagues will love these treats.
3. Invite your Co-Workers for Dinner/Lunch
If you are quite social with your colleagues you can invite them for dinner on valentine’s. It is nice hosting your co-workers at your home as it communicates that you truly love and treasure them. Allow them to come with their significant others to avoid making the invitation weird and unacceptable.
The dinner does not need to cost you much. You can cook a nice dinner with frugal ingredients and have your partner or friend help you with the dinner.Your colleagues will be truly amazed by this gesture. Alternatively, you can do lunch instead of dinner. Invite everyone at work to go out for one lunch together at a restaurant of choice.
4. Flowers
Nothing can communicate to your co-workers that you love and treasure them like flowers. Gifting flowers to your colleagues is fine when you gift everyone and avoid getting taken out of context. However, flowers are attached to romantic partners so avoid making the gesture seem romantic or inappropriate.
Make sure you steer away from any romantic ideations, and let your colleagues voluntarily pick the flowers for themselves. Create enough uniform bouquets for everyone, put them in a common bucket/place and ask them to pick or help themselves or gift their partners. Also chose non-romantic flowers such as daffodils, thistles, or shamrock. Through this, flowers become an acceptable valentine’s gift for your colleagues.
The valentine’s flowers do not need to be expensive. You can buy cheap ones at gift shops or flower shops. Alternatively, you can go the most inexpensive way of picking and making your flowers bouquet if you grow them in your yard.
5. Framed Colleagues Photo
If you have some nice photos of you and your colleagues, then framing these photos is quite a thoughtful valentine’s gift to them. The option can be quite inexpensive yet you can go for some good affordable printing and framing options.
Specifically, get a small or moderate size which is a nice gift that can be displayed on their work desk. Such a gift for your colleagues can be quite sentimental as they communicate your love gesture and that you care. You can manage to fill this gift idea last minute as you can print and frame them yourself.
6. Buy your Colleague Books Gifts
Books are quite a thoughtful and meaningful gift for your colleagues. Books also add knowledge and gifting your co-workers on valentine’s speaks of your good intentions to them. You can get quite some goods books inexpensively such as second-hand books. All you need to ensure your book gift is adding value and aligned with the goals and values of the colleague that you are gifting.
7. Shopping Vouchers
If you are out of ideas on what your colleagues may love as a valentine’s gift, then you can gift a shopping voucher. The co-workers get something meaningful and useful as the voucher allows them to buy something they truly want and need.
8. Valentine Movie Tickets
If your co-workers love movies, get them tickets for a movie for Valentine’s. It can be really fun to enjoy a movie night out together with your colleagues on valentine’s. They can bring their partners to the movies as well or go separately if they wish.
Valentine movie tickets are not exactly expensive and you can cheaply get them for your colleagues. You may be lucky to get last-minute tickets to for your co-workers.
9. Hand-made Valentine’s Cards and Notes
If you want to show care and appreciation to your colleagues, valentine’s cards will do. You can buy and add your own customized message on the card. If you are artistic, you can hand make cards and notes. Small notes with messages such as “It’s great to have your positive spirit and talent on the team! Happy Valentine” are n amazing show of concern and love.
10. Create a Scrapbook of Work Projects
If you have worked with your colleagues for a while you must have done amazing work and projects together. Create a scrapbook of all that you’ve done together and gift them. It is cheap yet so thoughtful that your co-workers will love it as it shows so much thought and effort went into the gift-making.
11. Gift your Co-Workers Office Supplies
If you want to gift your colleagues something meaningful, then you can go to the office. You can get small things such as notebooks, pens, rubber bands, paperclips, etc, all of which are quite cheap when you buy in bulk to be enough for everyone.
