The best employee gift ideas have three things in common: they feel specific to the person receiving them, they have a story attached, and they are memorable long after the occasion that prompted them. Most corporate gift lists provide the opposite: a ranked catalogue of items that could be given to anyone, by any company, on any occasion.
This guide covers employee gift ideas that actually create connection, from recognition moments to milestone programmes to seasonal gifts, and the practical considerations for running a gifting programme across teams of any size. [1]
This guide is part of our complete guide to employee gifting.
Key Takeaways
- The best employee gifts feel personalised, have a story attached, and last beyond the day they are given.
- ForestNation Gift Stories carry a personal message linked to a planting contribution in Tanzania, with programme records and estimates available through a Forest Profile.
- A Tree Gift can mark recognition, onboarding, anniversaries or holidays when a planting contribution suits the employee. Choose the message for that particular moment.
- Digital Gift Stories do not require postal addresses or parcel shipping. ForestNation helps agree the sending arrangements for your team.
- Start an employee gift programme at forestnation.com/employee-gift.
Employee Gift Ideas by Occasion
Recognition: Spot recognition gifts work best when they are timely, specific, and easy to send. A Gift Story can carry a single-tree planting contribution and a two-line message, personalised with the employee’s name and a note referencing what they specifically did. The personalisation is what separates recognition from routine.
Onboarding: Welcome a new employee with a message about why you are glad they joined, linked to a planting contribution in Tanzania. A Gift Story can introduce the forest they can follow. Agree the sending arrangements for their start date; the message and the physical planting happen on separate schedules.
Work anniversaries: Let the message recognise how the person’s contribution has developed. You could fund one tree for year one, five trees for five years, or a larger planting contribution at ten years. These are example allocations to discuss, with a Forest Profile to follow the programme. The note about what those years have meant deserves as much care as the tree count.
Employee Appreciation Day: The first Friday of March. A personalised Gift Story can be sent to each employee by email, without collecting postal addresses for a digital gift. Tell ForestNation the date and audience so we can agree the sending arrangements and help with the message.
Seasonal and holiday: Digital Gift Stories avoid parcel shipping for distributed teams. Agree the intended send date and personalise the message for the occasion. Emails may arrive or be opened at different times; a common campaign does not require everyone to receive or read it simultaneously.
Remote and distributed teams: Digital Gift Stories offer worldwide email delivery without sending a parcel to each location. A team in London, New York, and Singapore can take part in the same planting programme, with individual messages that recognise each person’s contribution. Choose the sending arrangements with your team’s time zones in mind.
What Is a Good Gift to Give Employees?
A good employee gift is specific, not generic. The distinction is not about cost, it is about whether the gift communicates “I thought about you” or “I completed the gifting task.”
A physical gift needs to be right for the person. A food hamper calls for attention to dietary preferences; a useful item or a gift card may suit someone who would welcome that choice. The message still matters. Name the contribution you are recognising rather than relying on the item to explain it.
A ForestNation Gift Story offers a personal digital message connected to a planting contribution in Tanzania. It suits someone who would value that gesture. The Forest Profile provides programme records and estimated impact; it does not show a measurement of an individually assigned tree. For someone who would enjoy growing from seed at home, a physical Tree Kit offers that separate experience.
For more on turning a good gift into recognition that lasts, see our guide to employee appreciation gifts that get remembered.
Unique Employee Gift Ideas
For companies that want gifts that stand out rather than merge with the background of every other corporate gesture:
- Named team grove: Fund a tree for each team member and bring the contribution together in a shared Forest Profile, with a Gift Story for each person. The name describes the team’s programme, rather than a promise that its trees occupy one separately assigned grove.
- Department forest: Fund a tree for each person in a department, with a named Forest Profile to follow and share. Use the accompanying messages to recognise the people behind the department’s work.
- Impact-linked gift: Add a planting contribution to recognition of a team achievement. For example, you could fund 50 trees per person for a quarter or 100 for a year. These are illustrative choices to agree for your programme, alongside the recognition and rewards your people value.
- Milestone countdown: Fund one tree per month during an employee’s first year. A twelve-tree planting contribution can mark their anniversary, with programme records in a Forest Profile. Pair selected milestones with a personal note about what they have brought to the team.
How to Run an Employee Gift Programme
Start by telling ForestNation the occasion and who you want to recognise. We can help choose the gift format and shape the message. For a digital Gift Story programme, the practical steps are:
- Choose the occasion. Start with onboarding, recognition, an anniversary or a seasonal thank-you. ForestNation can help you choose the planting contribution and gift format for the people you have in mind.
- Arrange the Forest Profile. Agree how the company’s and employees’ contributions will be shown. The profile brings together programme planting records, updates and estimated impact for people to follow and share.
- Send Gift Stories. Give each recipient a personal email message connected to the planting contribution. Agree sending arrangements for your occasion. Digital delivery needs no postal address; the email does not establish that planting has already been completed.
- Follow the programme. Forest Profiles show programme planting records and estimated impact. The CO2 figure is an estimated 0.025 tonnes per tree per year from field measurements and modelling, with the 30% uncertainty discount already applied. Oxygen is also an annual estimate; work hours describe the total establishment-phase contribution. Use these figures with their scope and assumptions, as explained in the impact methodology. They are not real-time measurements of each employee’s tree or carbon credits.
Research and References
- Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2023. Disengaged employees cost the global economy $8.8 trillion annually in lost productivity. gallup.com/workplace/393497
- Deloitte Center for Integrated Research, Engaged employees are asking their leaders to take climate action, 09 November 2023. 69% of employed adults surveyed for Deloitte’s global State of the Consumer survey said they want their companies to invest in sustainability efforts, including reducing carbon, using renewable energy, and reducing waste. deloitte.com: engaged employees are asking their leaders to take climate action
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good gift to give employees?
A good employee gift recognises the person and what they contributed. Write a note that names what you appreciated, then choose something they would welcome. A digital Gift Story carries that message and links it to a planting contribution in Tanzania, without postal address collection or parcel shipping.
What to get an employee as a gift?
Choose around the person’s interests, the occasion and what you want to say. A physical Tree Kit suits someone who would enjoy growing from seed; a digital Gift Story offers a personal message connected to planting in Tanzania. Marriott, Salesforce, and Logitech are ForestNation clients, but the choice for your employee should start with that person.
What is the $20 $50 rule for government employees?
For US executive-branch employees, this is an exception for certain unsolicited gifts from outside government, not a general permission to accept gifts. Under 5 CFR 2635.204(a), qualifying gifts may total $20 or less per source per occasion, with no more than $50 from the same source in a calendar year; cash and investment interests are excluded. Price alone does not make a Tree Gift compliant. Ask the recipient’s agency ethics official before sending, as the Office of Government Ethics guidance recommends.
What are some unique employee gift ideas?
Consider a named team planting contribution, a department Forest Profile, planting linked to an agreed team milestone, or one tree funded each month of a new employee’s first year. Pair the contribution with a message naming what the employee did. A Forest Profile records the programme; it does not mean an individually assigned physical grove.
