Gift ideas in lieu of gift cards

That's a hard one Chai...best thing for incentive is money in my opinion! Can't think of anything that would compare to the gift cards. I buy pretty, vintage hankies for friends and family to put in a card but not sure how that would translate at work. I love stationary and they have all kinds that are pretty and masculine and affordable. And it is something that as you see what you like, you can stock up on. Sorry...I know these are not exactly what you are looking for. Good Luck!

A general massage can be purchased for 35 dollars at the massage place next to Central Market on westgate...

THAT is a good idea.

well.. maybe not for all, but those who dont want it can get the money back from the gift certificate.. and then it isnt considered income is it?

Why would anyone declare a gift card as income?? Or is this coming from a company? Wouldn't a gift book be taxable, too, then?

The problem with gift cards is some of them expire, if you can believe that. My son says he likes to get them but not give them.

I'd still give them and tell your company you bought a book at Indigo (or wherever) instead.

Would movie passes work?

It's an issue we've run up against as well. The big sticking point where I work is that nothing can be accepted, or given, that can't be shared.

Gak!

How about a deli basket then? I personally would adore that. Or wine. Or something of that nature. Or is giving alcohol bad? Uh-oh.

I guess you're stuck with chocolates and flowers, eh ehBeth? Eat and smell. phftooey.

A nice bottle of wine can be had for around $15-20. Gift boxes or bags to present them in are only a couple of bucks more. You could have a red and a white on hand and give them a choice if you don't know their preference.

I'm with Mame... When did gift cards get declared as income?

Nothing can be given that can't be shared? What kind of policy is that?

Christ, I thought we were bad about giving the losing team trophies to not hurt their feelings.

Our office has a $100 gift limit. Often this is for all of the gifts given by an entire department. I ain't kiddin'. It's a financial services thing. Oof.

Anyway -- some have been said before --
* movie passes
* a small catered lunch or snack (like a cake)
* scarves for women
* ties for men
* keychains
* pen and pencil sets
* backpacks (small)
* mugs

For those asking - apparently this is something new as of May of this year. I hadn't heard anything of it until I just did a Google search.

IRS Link

HolyMoly, can you translate that? You have two years to claim it? Good grief.

Thanks for posting that fishin....now you see my dilema mame and shewolf.

I used to go over to the Walgreens or CVS and buy 4 or 5 $50 gift cards for restaurants or department stores, home depot, target etc. and that was 4 or 5 birthdays taken care of.

I either buy things with my company card, or sometimes put certain things on my personal credit card and get reimbursed.

My company has resently implimented this nifty new expense/credit card reimbursement/reconciliation application. In other ways, it's actually pretty cool. However, if any gift cards are purchased you would need to document who you were buying it for. So, no dice.

Getting someone a massage I believe, would still involve giving a person something that has a monetary value to it, and would have to be reported.

sigh....ok....BIG SIGH.......Bottles of wine, gift baskets, stationary, that's exactly the kind of stuff I'm trying to get away from....

First, I really don't have the inclination or the time to play Susie Shopper. I friggin' hate shopping for that kind of stuff in the first place. It bores me to tears, then there's inventory to carry around, trying to figure out what individuals would like....I know from experience there's nothing worse than getting yet another damn fruit basket, or some doo-hicky you have no use for. Give me a macy's card please.

Now, if I was buying for personal friends, that'd be different. However, although I like the people I work with, but I'm not going to do the "Oh gosh, this scarf is just PERFECT for Sylvia!" thing....I have no idea what Sylvia does on her time off, and really don't care. I see her personally at meeting once a month.

This is strictly business, a down and dirty, here's something worth $50 bucks that you can you, have a nice day sort of thing.

damn IRS.

Guess you're hooped... either that or delegate!

I know. I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just such a pain in the ass to think about personalized stuff, and the person getting it is like "oh great, another friggin gift based on the fact I mentioned I like elephants one time.




Chocolate?

everyone likes Chocolate. Or knows someone who does.

I seeeee............ well.. your just up **** creek aint'cha?


too bad you were not in charge of vacation time.

3 or 4 extra hours off one day would be a great gift to some.

What about small desk radios/ head sets? Corny, over done I know.. but a far cry from a bottle of wine.

hmmm...just looked at Godiva's website, they ship.

I'll check out some other sites too.

Is there any way to do this as baseline, and then have a couple of backup gifts laying around for emergencies?

As in, you know that your boss' birthday is May 19th, so you just go ahead and buy HIM a gift card in April or whenever. And do the same for other occasions that you can predict.

What about buying a bunch of gift certs under the "Promotion" tag, you know, what you give good clients... but giving them to your staff instead?

I've seen cookie bouquets and fruit bouquets for something a little different. We had a fruit bouquet sent once called edible bouquets or something like that - my friend loved it.

Ha!

We're the one's people give gifts to in order to entice us to use their products, not the other way around.

Unfortunatley, we have no shortage of people who need to use our service It would be a happy day if people didn't need us any longer.

We get so much stuff from drug reps and other sales people it isn't even funny.

Plus, that wouldn't be honest. Fudging accounts like that is a firing offense.

Cookie bouquets, fruit baskets....we have them coming out our ears. You see so many of them they aren't different anymore.

Actually, I kinda like the idea of the chocolates....it's fast easy and can be done in a couple of clicks online.

A $50 appliance from Target... and the receipt.