Gift giving "corporate style"

Gift giving is an art. The main goal behing the act of giving someone a gift is to make the other person feel special. It takes a few steps to achieve this goal and affect the other person on an emotional level. Visually, we are naturally attracted to beautiful things (hint: nice gift wrap). Emotionally, we enjoy personalized things (hint: a handwritten card, a frame with a real picture of both of you). Practically, we like things that will add value to our lives (hint: something we can use!).

You can imagine how I was silently in shock when I once received a gift from a person about a year later after I had given that person that exact gift. Basically, she gave me back my gift!

If you take time to choose a gift, it will show. Also, know at least a few things about the person's likes and dislikes. When handing a gift to someone, never, and I repeat, never comment in a way that will make the other person uncomfortable. This includes saying "Do you like it? Oh, I don't think you like it... You can exchange it! ....Yeah, I don't think she liked it..". This is one of the worst things someone can do when giving a gift.

In the corporate world, gift giving is common, yet sometimes misunderstood. Remember to keep it professional. You may want to buy something that can be actually used in the office/business environment. Depending on what the person does or where she/he works, you may also want to keep it more conservative, or less.

Whether you have a large or small budget, creativity is key.
I have a few personal favorites, for $ and $$$ that I would like to share with you:

• For the Sweet Tooth: delicious Champagne Truffels from Teuscher (Switzerland)
• For the tea Lover: the blooming teapot, tea for one and blooming green tea from TupperLiving (Tupperware)
• For the coffee Lover: a magnificent Nespresso machine
• To complement someone's Stationary: Fine greeting cards with the person's initial(s) - don't forget the envelopes!
• To add a bit more elegance to someone's Stationary: a classic Lamy fountain pen
• For news and magazine Lovers: a subscription to a nice magazine ("Pink", for business ladies, "Portfolio", for both business men and women)
• For the Mom who is also your Coworker: a subscription to "Working Mother" magazine (great!)
• Car TLC: In addition to a gas card (minimum US$25,-), arrange for the person's car to be cleaned inside and out, and if you want to impress even more, arrange for it to be detailed!
• To add a bit of Fun and Laughter: The Hallmark "Hoops&Yoyo" collection has a great variety of fun (and funny!) gifts (to be given to someone you know a bit more)
• To add Motivation: there are great motivational and inspirational cards, posters, frames, even coffee mugs and agendas/calendars. Check out AllPosters.com!

Gifts to avoid:
- Perfume or cologne
- Pets of any kind
- Clothes, especially undergarments
- Shoes
- Jewelry
- BIG things, like a funny 2 gallon coffee mug (?..), a 1yard long pencil or a 20 pounds chocolate bar

To succeed in the art of gift giving, take your time, find out a bit more about the person, be creative, make it pretty, personalize it and be sincere, always!

Kindness is a wonderful thing. Use it wisely!