13 Holiday Office Party Favor Ideas

Corporate holiday party favors are thoughtful presents to distribute to employees and clients at corporate functions or office gatherings. These gifts are especially important to your employees, as they highlight your relationship with your team. Organizing holiday party favors for employees at an office party is more than a token of appreciation for their hard work and dedication throughout the year. It also establishes a connection based on trust, understanding and compassion.

You care about your team and share the common goal of growing the business and reaching new heights together. As such, you want to ensure gifts are more than the usual trinkets that flood the market during the most festive time of year. Without veering from your budget, you can select gifts that leave a lasting impression on your employees, making them feel valued.

Why Corporate Holiday Party Favors Matter

Corporate gifting is a multibillion-dollar market expected to grow, as companies see the benefits of gifting clients and employees. Setting aside a budget for holiday office party favors has several benefits for your company that increase productivity and revenue. Here are reasons to gift your employees during office celebrations:

• Showing appreciation: Your employees are the force driving results for your business. Handing them thoughtful party favors recognizes their efforts and shows them that what they do matters to you. Gifts can be a recognition strategy your business employs to boost productivity and engagement.
• Strengthening company culture: Gifting strengthens relationships, and in business, relationships are crucial. Party favors can be a tool for strengthening company and employee connection, creating loyalty and excitement around company values and goals.
• Increasing job satisfaction: One reason behind employee turnover is a lack of job satisfaction. Since gifting boosts morale and engagement, it’s an excellent strategy for improving satisfaction, which increases employee retention rates. You want a happy and satisfied team for business growth, and while an office holiday party tradition can do wonders in boosting morale and camaraderie, throwing in tokens of appreciation maximizes that effect.

Top Holiday Office Party Favor Ideas

Do you have a list of favors for your office holiday parties? If not, browse our curated list of popular office party favor ideas and stir your inspiration for the next time you throw a memorable office party.

1. Mugs and Tumblers

Quality and usefulness make for the best gift ideas for office celebrations. You want items that employees will find useful and practical. Mugs and tumblers are perfect in this regard. You can customize them to capture organizational values and make them unique.

Since it’s the most festive time of year, design your mugs and tumblers with promotional messages consistent with the holiday season. Employees will likely be proud to take high-quality mugs and tumblers home or use them around the office.

2. Candy Stashes

Edibles are just as memorable as other items, even if they don’t last long — especially candies. Since many people have sweet cravings, a well-packaged candy kit makes for a great favor, as it will surely come in handy at home or work when sweet cravings hit.

There are many ideas for presenting stunning candy kits that display quality and thought. You could select different types of candies and fill each kind in small, clear vials or tiny glass jars with wooden corks. Then, package your favors in branded gift boxes with ribbons.

3. Mixed Teas or Coffee

There couldn’t be a better place where coffee flows than the workplace, which makes coffee blends an excellent idea for an office holiday party. Send an assortment of seasonal blends to your coffee-drinking employees. For those who prefer tea, you could purchase an assortment of teas or buy various flavors in bulk and prepare your own creative mixed tea package.

4. Holiday Tote Bags

As you plan for a holiday party in the office, consider an item that makes carrying things around convenient for your employees — a tote bag. Tote bags are functional items your staff can use to carry lunch, breakfast, snacks or other items to the office. Tap into that need for a presentable carrier bag by gifting each guest a holiday-themed tote bag.

Branded tote bags can also serve as a passive advertisement strategy, putting your business in front of people’s eyes as your employees continue to use them. As a favor, tote bags can have a high ROI because they serve your employees’ needs while showcasing your brand to the public.

5. Customized Holiday Candles

Candles are ideal gifts for corporate holiday parties. They evoke warmth, cheer and cozy emotions relevant to the season, which is why you want your employees to associate the company with a joyful atmosphere.

Your employees may already be considering filling their homes with candles for the holidays. By surprising them with candles in company colors and gift-wrapping them with a branded holiday label, you can leave your staff feeling cherished.

6. Holiday Ornaments

Ornaments have a special place in people’s hearts because they are sentimental items. Your employees have a connection with your company and what it stands for. You can use customized ornaments to strengthen that bond further by expressing sentiments in a way that uplifts and encourages your staff to keep doing their best.

Customized ornaments are unique and affordable gifts that can have a lasting impact on your employees’ minds and hearts. The value is in the details. With these items, try to step back from promotional messages and focus on gratitude and appreciation, as they pertain to company values. An ornament with an engraved message that says something like, “With love from your (company name) family to your loved ones” can have a lasting impact on your employees.

7. Spices

The festive season is a time of culinary delight. What better way to convey that message than by sending spice jars to your employees to aid in their holiday cuisine?

Spice jars are affordable, easy-to-arrange and functional favor options. For each employee, package a spice jar or an assortment of spice vials with holiday tags. You could also throw in a recommended soup recipe and ask your team to try it — or any other edible idea — and share their results.

8. Jars of Honey, Applesauce or Maple Syrup

Small jars of honey, applesauce or maple syrup may not be the go-to party favors for office events, but they are among the most thoughtful items you can give. These jars of sweetness are valued kitchen products that can leave your team pining for another scoop.

Customize these jars to reflect your brand. Your employees will appreciate the unique and tasty addition to their kitchens.

9. Themed Snow Globes

Snow globes are popular holiday gifts with varying themes you can pick from to enhance your office holiday get-together. With a variety of images and scenes available, you can select one that best fits the occasion.

For a winter-themed party, you may order snow globes with different winter scenes like a snowy mountain or city. If your party revolves around possible travel plans and fun activities during the holidays, you could order snow globes featuring travel destinations or landmarks like the Eiffel Tower.

A thoughtful snow globe favor can be a beautiful memento that leaves your employees feeling appreciated. They can use these items to decorate their workspaces or mantels.

10. Portable Fleece Blankets

Depending on the time of the year, portable blankets can make incredibly thoughtful gifts. Your employees can bring these warm, fuzzy blankets with them wherever they go, especially since the festive season tends to be chilly. Portable blankets are designed for quick packing when on the go, and a loop closure flap makes them compact. The blankets are made from various materials like fleece, wool and polyester and come in various designs, from manufactured to crochet knit.

Portable blankets are quality office party favors you can get for just a few dollars, and you can customize them with your brand name. Your employees will appreciate the gesture and look forward to using the blankets when temperatures drop.

11. Hand Sanitizers

Try hand sanitizers if you’re looking for an effective and easy-to-execute favor idea. They are gifts fit for any occasion at any time of the year because we’re always exposed to germs. Considering your team is always hands-on at the workplace, gifting each member a hand sanitizer is a nice reminder to stay healthy and shows deep concern for their well-being.

You could order the products with a customized label for a unique touch or attach a stylish appreciation note that says, “Thank you for your hardworking hands.”

12. Indoor Plants

Plants promote happiness and good health, but since the office environment is usually closed off, access to the outdoors is limited. Reconnect your employees with nature by bringing the outdoors inside. The best way to do that is to gift your employees houseplants as party favors, which they can keep on their desks or take home.

Small potted houseplants are an affordable way to leave a lasting impact on your employees’ moods and satisfaction. The best plants for office desks are those with less foliage, such as parlor palm, devil’s ivy, snake plant and polka dot plants. You can customize the pots with your company logo for brand awareness.

13. Branded Wireless Chargers

Try wireless chargers if you’ve considered gifting your employees affordable electronic devices for your upcoming office party. These items are essential for everybody’s out-and-about lifestyle, and with the latest models, you can get high-capacity wireless chargers at a reasonable price. The best part is that these chargers are compact enough for your employees to fit into their purses or pockets.

Tips for Selecting Office Party Favors

Selecting party favors for your office holiday party doesn’t have to be daunting or beyond your budget. You can delight your employees with impactful products that align with their needs. Here are tips for choosing quality, unique and affordable corporate holiday gifts for your employees:

1. Start Early

When you start arranging holiday party favors early, you allow yourself enough time to consider different ideas and see what fits your event. You have the time to make adjustments as needed without the pressure of the holiday rush. Another advantage of ordering early is that you can choose from a wide product selection and ample stock, as many businesses are not yet buying.

2. Form a Planning Committee

Juggling business operations while planning an office party can be tedious. Create a planning committee tasked with selecting the right party favors and determining the minute details. The best thing about bringing team members together to plan an office party is the teamwork, creativity and diversity of ideas. Since the gifts are meant for your employees, involving them in the process can be an excellent idea.

3. Define Your Budget

The perfect office party favors should be impactful and budget-friendly. Determine your budget and look for items within a specific price range. Keep in mind that a budget is not meant to be limiting. Instead, it secures your financial goals while giving you an opportunity to think outside the box, as the best gifts are thoughtful and not necessarily luxurious.

Defining your budget allows you to buy the products you want by taking advantage of price deals and discounts. Purchasing corporate party favors in bulk or using promo codes may help you secure a budget-friendly deal for your products.

4. Make It Practical

Practical gifts have a lasting impact compared to the usual knickknacks. Consider items your employees can use, not those they will put somewhere and forget about. Think about items you would find mundane if someone gave them to you and use that consideration to narrow down your options. It helps to ask yourself questions like:

• Is the item memorable?
• Is the item useful?
• Is the item unique?
• Is the item thoughtful?
• Is the item exciting?

5. Consider Eco-Friendly Materials

The world is moving towards a sustainable future, and that makes products made from eco-friendly materials more desirable, as they uphold environmental preservation. By giving your employees products made from repurposed or recycled materials, you inspire change in your company, paving the way for impact-driven solutions.

Giving your employees eco-friendly party favors sends a powerful message about sustainability and makes your gift unique and valuable. Various eco-friendly gifts exist, such as:

• Reusable, BPA-free water bottles.
• Tote bags made from organic cotton, jute or recycled materials.
• Reusable straws made from metal, silicon or bamboo.
• Recycled notepads.
• Virtual gifts like e-books and gift cards.

Plan Your Corporate Holiday Party With ePromos

Office holiday parties are the perfect opportunity to celebrate yearly milestones with your team and show each member that you value their contribution. As such, choosing the right corporate party favor matters. It expresses thoughtfulness, appreciation and support for the people behind your brand.

Are you planning a unique holiday party and looking for ways to make everyone feel accepted and valued? Are you looking for holiday party favor ideas for your office event? At ePromos, we offer a broad selection of holiday party favors suitable for corporate functions. Explore our range of promotional products, then get in touch for recommendations or to learn more about our services!