With the holiday season upon us, the time is nigh to start thinking about what the heck you’re getting your employees to show appreciation and close out the year on a high note.
When you think of corporate America and Christmas, you might see visions of the traditional office party, an Ugly Sweater contest, and a festive in-person soiree. You may even see some teamwide Secret Santas flash before your eyes.
(And if you listen closely, you can barely hear Mele Kalikimaka softly playing beneath the hum of lightly buzzed coworkers making small talk around the punch bowl and cheese trays.)
The fact is that it’s important to show appreciation for your hard-working crew, and ‘tis the season to show gratitude for the people close to you. But while all of this might seem merry and bright, there is one major hurdle a lot of founders, CEOs, and HR teams face this time of year — how do you include remote teammates in the festivities?
Although the remote employee cohort has receded a bit since the start of the pandemic, more than 20% of the US workforce is still clocking in from afar in 2025, and even more are embracing a hybrid model.
With this work model well in place, it’s been tough to continuously find creative ways to include remote employees in office events (and it’s a hurdle that’s not toppling any time soon as 97% of people want some form of remote work, whether that’s full-time or hybrid).
One great solution? Intentional, meaningful, actually delightful employee gifts. From swag to thoughtful goods and meaningful messages, e-gifting is a unifying resource for any business with remote employees. While your team may be spread across the country, inclusion through purely better employee gifts is your ticket to a successful and memorable holiday season (and employees who want to stick around for many years to come).
The Rise of the Remote Employee Workforce (and What That Means for Your Corporate Gifting Culture)
We know this point has headlined thousands of stories since 2020, but there’s been a significant increase in the number of remote workers — a trend that the pandemic not only poured lighter fluid on, but then proceeded to toss roughly a billion lit matches on top.
Companies are realizing the benefits of allowing employees to work from home, such as increased productivity, improved accessibility and inclusion, and reduced overhead costs. However, with the rise of remote work comes new challenges, especially when it comes to creating a positive company culture of unity.
.png)
While working from home (or coffee shop or nomadic van or…) has its benefits, things like traditional office parties and in-person gift exchanges may not be feasible for remote workers, which is why finding alternative ways to show appreciation for them is crucial.
Remote employees play a vital role in your company's success, and it's important to make them feel valued and included, especially during the holiday season when everyone is after that warm, cozy feeling.
A lot of tools have blasted onto the scene since early 2020 with the goal of bringing together scattered teams. For instance, Zoom saw a 30x increase in downloads compared with 2019, and Slack saw user headcount grow by 6 million in that same span. In a nutshell, most companies scrambled to build a new stack of tools that would bring their teams together in this new normal (ugh, we know, we hate this phrase, too).
Finding the tools to manage projects and chat with each other is one thing, but finding solutions that glue the squad together during events, holidays, and celebrations is a whole different beast.
These are the events where memories are made, and there are so many intangibles in play, such as speaking to each other more deeply than water cooler chatter and picking up on sensory experiences like the themed cocktail or unforgettable cookies. What used to be a matter of ordering everything — snacks, swag, gifts, notecards — to one place is now a matter of getting the same experience to hundreds of people in hundreds of different places.
By tapping into a modern online gifting tool, you can easily align with the equally modern workspace and send thoughtful gifts to your remote staff no matter where they’re located in just seconds. This not only boosts employee morale but also helps to foster a positive corporate culture, increase employee retention, and smash unicorn status (or whatever your company goals may be).
Why Showing Appreciation for Remote Employees Is Priceless
As an HR manager, founder, CEO, or general overseer of people at your company, you may wonder if it’s really that important to show appreciation for your remote employees. They seem happy enough, right? After all, they may be physically distant, and it’s not as easy to engage with them compared with employees in the office, but that’s how they like it, right?
When it comes to your team — in-person, remote, or hybrid — it's crucial to recognize the hard work and dedication of your entire squad, especially during the holiday season.
Employee appreciation is vital for boosting morale, increasing productivity, and fostering a positive corporate culture. It’s a key ingredient to creating an outstanding employee experience today.
In a time when employees place less value on ping pong tables or well-stocked La Croix and more value in things like authenticity, engagement, belonging, and connection, tapping into the right tech to help you nurture those vibes is vital.
When remote workers feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work. This, in turn, can lead to improved job satisfaction, innovation, customer satisfaction, and employee retention. (Not to mention that the word will undoubtedly spread and top talent will be flocking to your careers page.)
Invest the time to show your remote employees that you care and appreciate them, and you not only enhance their job satisfaction but also strengthen your company's overall success and street cred. Putting a wedge of your budget toward thoughtful, intentional employee gifts is a foolproof way to show your appreciation and make your remote employees feel valued and included during the holidays and beyond.
So, What Makes a Great Employee Gift?
Now that you know the whys behind sending mind-blowing gifts to your whole team, near and far, it’s time to tackle the what. It’s daunting to think of picking out a present that:
- Is easy to ship.
- Everyone likes.
- Isn’t hard to source.
- Is in the budget (while being high-quality, of course).
That’s a tall order, truth be told. Swamped with indecision, most people in your position (erm, people in charge of sending gifts to a ton of other people for the holidays) panic and go for the easiest option out there: gift cards.
Gift cards definitely have their time and place in Corporate America. They can be effective when saying “thanks!” to prospects for coming to a demo. They’re convenient li’l pick-me-ups or surprises. And a DoorDash gift card is the undeniable king for a coworker who’s grieving a loss and cooking dinner is the absolute last thing they wanna do.
But for milestones like the holidays or celebrations where showing authentic appreciation is key, a gift card just kinda…misses the mark. The thing you want to avoid most at the end of another successful year of business, where joy and gratitude are at peak levels, is see your squad off into the new year with a gift that falls flat, or (worse) offends them.
So, what do you send your spread-out staff? When you sit down to find the perfect gifts for your remote employees, settling for the easiest gift for you to send is not always the best move. It's important to consider their individual interests and preferences. After all, you want to show them that you value them as individuals and appreciate their hard work — not just check a box off your to-do list.
One idea is to create personalized gift baskets based on each recipient’s hobbies or interests. For example, if you know someone loves coffee, you could include a selection of gourmet coffee beans, a new coffee mug, and some delicious treats to enjoy with their morning brew.
You could also think about sending care packages filled with self-care items like bath bombs, face masks, and scented candles. These gifts show that you care about their well-being and want them to take time for themselves. Make their 5-9 the best it can be, eh?
There’s also a seemingly bottomless catalog of food people love to pick from. From universal crowd-pleasers like artisanal chocolates and cookies and meat, food is an especially memorable gift to get and it ropes in pretty much all the senses.
And beyond purely tangible goods, consider gifting an experience. Candles, movie nights, cooking or craft kits — all of these are options that have an impact beyond the unboxing.
And if you have several options you simply can’t choose between, you can always give your crew the gift of choice with several options they can pick from. Give your team a gift that feels intentional and thoughtful, and you’ll have earned priceless loyalty and camaraderie in return.
How to Personalize E-Gifts While Sticking to Your Budget
When it comes to corporate gifting of any kind, it's important to find a balance between personalization and sticking to your budget. Luckily, there are several strategies you can use to personalize e-gifts while keeping costs under control.
One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to personalize gifts is to include a handwritten card with each gift. Taking the time to physically sit down and write out a heartfelt message shows that you care and it goes a long way in making the gift feel special.
Additionally, lean into an employee gifting platform that offers a range of options at different price points. These tools often provide curated gift options that can be personalized, allowing you to find the perfect gift within your budget. When you gift a brand using a Zest-powered corporate gifting storefront, adding a personalized message is baked into the gifting experience that’s perfect for scaling your gift orders.
Remember, it's not always about the price tag of the gift you give, but rather the thought behind it. Every touchpoint adds up, and by taking the time to understand your remote employees and utilizing the right tools, you can personalize e-gifts while sticking to your budget and still give the best gifts for your employees this holiday season.
E-gifts: A Modern Way to Send Holiday Gifts to a Modern Workforce
Gifting can be one of the greatest ways to connect with your coworkers, but it can also be one of your most time-consuming tasks in Q4. As you coordinate and send e-gifts to your remote employees, efficiency could make or break the moment (and your sanity). Unless sitting in a sea of boxes and packing peanuts and trying to keep track of addresses and tracking numbers is your jam, we have some time-saving tips for you.
Like we mentioned, tapping a brand using a modern gift-sending tool or corporate gifting platform is a guaranteed tactic to streamline your holiday gifting. For example, here are popular brands using Zest Corporate Gifting to offer gifters (like you) a streamlined self-service method of sending gifts en masse. Having a catalog of favorite gifts at the ready takes the stress and decision fatigue off your shoulders.
Plus, a modern gifting tool handles the most tedious part of the process — collecting recipient addresses. As your company grows, the harder it can be to keep track of current employee addresses, especially as people move and addresses change. And after the gift ships? Zest’s dashboard keeps track of every prezzie’s tracking status.
After you wrap up your shopping, all you need to worry about is uploading your list of lucky recipients, personalizing your gift note, and settling on how you want to send your gifts to every employee for easy redemption.
For example, you could send all these gifts directly to your employees’ doorstep for the ultimate surprise. Or you can share them in an email, a text message, a DM, a QR code slipped into your handwritten holiday cards — the options are endless. No addresses? No problem. When you send your gifts as an e-gift, recipients enter their own best shipping address. Digital gift delivery with Zest is as flexible as your company.
More time-saving tidbits include:
- When you have a long list of recipients, opt for a brand using a gifting tool that has a bulk recipient uploader. No matter your gift delivery method — directly to an address, emails, texts, etc. — uploading all your employees with a swift and simple CSV could save you hours.
- Schedule your gifts ahead of time. Whether you opt for shipping gifts directly to your employees as a surprise on their doorstep, letting your gifting tool send emails, or your own digital gift link delivery plan, scheduling your gifts to ship or gift links to send ahead of time will cross off some major stress from your to-dos and stave off any last-minute scrambling.
- Choose a brand using Zest so you can automatically share tracking details with recipients. Not only can this help build anticipation and prolong excitement, but it also ensures that your employees will know right when their gift is delivered so they can bring it inside and avoid any porch piracy or spoiled food.
By following these time-saving tips, you can streamline the gift-sending process and make your remote employees feel appreciated without overextending yourself (and spiking your stress).
Making Your Remote Employees Feel Appreciated This Holiday Season
The holiday season is the perfect time to show your remote crew how much you appreciate them. By sending thoughtful employee gifts, you’re doubling down on including every single one of your employees and showing them they’re valued, even from a distance.
Sending gifts in a way that’s convenient and efficient for both you and your employees benefits everyone. Choosing a brand that’s leveraging a modern corporate gifting tool or platform can streamline the process, providing you with pre-curated options and taking care of shipping and tracking. This saves you time and effort, while ensuring that your gifts arrive in a timely manner.
Even when you can't celebrate together in person with the people who make your company hum, gifting is one powerful way to make your remote employees feel appreciated this holiday season and beyond.
.png)
