22 Businesses That Make Gift-Giving Easier

Creative gift ideas for co-workers, bosses, employees and more

Our 22 businesses that make corporate gift-giving easier all have an online presence, making shopping and delivery a breeze. Your recipients may include business owners, managers, co-workers, people in your professional network and more. You’ll find gift ideas appropriate for many occasions, including holidays, birthdays, retirements, promotions and even when an employee resigns to pursue other career goals. 

Book of the Month

If your gift recipient loves reading, a Book of the Month subscription will be a welcome surprise. Book of the Month is a subscription box where users get to pick a book from five curated options, including early releases and debut novels. From mysteries to romance novels, there will be books for every reader on your list. You can gift members three months, six months or 12 months of a subscription.

Elfster

While Elfster is marketed as a “free Secret Santa generator,” it’s helpful for all holidays and gift-giving occasions. The Secret Santa function allows you to set up an exchange in minutes. You can also establish rules to ensure you never draw your partner or yourself. 

With Elfster, you can add links and notes to your wish list. When someone buys something off your list, they can mark it as bought so that others know not to buy you that gift. Elfster also keeps track of birthdays and addresses, and will remind you if someone you follow is having a birthday soon.

Giftagram

Giftagram was created to make gift-giving easier. It’s an excellent resource for personalized, unique gifts, offering users instant access to a marketplace of handpicked, curated products.

Giftagram uses proprietary technology to send items you choose with just a few clicks. First, choose your gift from a selection of high-quality products from local and international retailers. Next, enter your recipient’s information so Giftagram can contact the person via text or email about your gift. Once the recipient enters their address, the company will ship the gift.

Giftsnideas

Giftsnideas is an international gift-sending website that lets you send gifts to more than 12,000 international cities. Peruse a variety of handpicked gifts from around the world on the Giftnideas website. Browse by occasion, recipient, category and more. You can even choose a specific delivery date to avoid shipping worries. Find the perfect gift for every occasion with the confidence of knowing it will arrive at its destination on time no matter where it’s going. 

GiftTree

Gift baskets are an easy, fun gift, but compiling and packaging a basket can be time-consuming and expensive. GiftTree creates beautiful, themed gift baskets assembled by hand. Search for baskets by price, occasion and gift type. In addition to its keepsake baskets, GiftTree offers an extensive collection of personalized and engraved gifts for all occasions.

Gyft

As the prevalence of mobile and social media shopping grows, gift-giving via your mobile device is a no-brainer. With Gyft, you can give and manage gift cards from your smartphone or tablet. Users can purchase and send gift cards for more than 200 retailers, including restaurants and airlines. Recipients can manage and redeem gift cards from the Gyft app on iOS and Android devices.

Handwrytten

Handwrytten makes personal connections through ink and paper quick and easy, using a robot to send a handwritten message directly to your chosen recipient. Pick out a card and type your message, and the website’s robotic handwriting machines will write your message in any handwriting style you choose, from casual to fancy. 

The card is sealed in an envelope, addressed, stamped and sent out for delivery. The starting price is $3 per card (cheaper than some store-bought cards), making Handwrytten an affordable way to send meaningful notes.

Packed with Purpose

Packed with Purpose sells gift boxes with handcrafted products from nonprofits and businesses that employ people with disabilities. The company has a range of boxes to fit any occasion. One of its most popular boxes – A Sweet Thanks, Deluxe – includes items from seven socially responsible businesses or nonprofits. For example, one unique and inspirational business, Greyston Bakery, employs individuals who have been incarcerated, homeless and/or addicted to drugs, and provides housing, health services, childcare and training to its workers.

FYI: Businesses that practice corporate social responsibility aim to improve their communities, the economy and the environment.

Personal Creations

Personal Creations offers a personalized gift-sending experience. The company sells a wide range of thoughtful and fun gifts with a personal touch, such as stockings, ornaments, photo frames and pillows. All products are available to etch, monogram or embroider with names, initials or a personalized message. Personal Creations focuses on major holidays and releases limited-time items for each occasion.

Snappy

Snappy makes it easier for managers to send gifts to their teams, allowing team members to choose the gifts they want from a curated online collection of items such as tech products, gift cards and subscriptions. Create your gifting campaign in seconds, and the company can personalize all gifts with logos and more.

Sugarwish

With Sugarwish, you can send a personalized assortment of candies without worrying about choosing the wrong ones. Select a bag size, personalize an e-card and send the gift to your recipient. They will receive an email with your e-card and a coded link to the Sugarwish website, where they can select candies for the box. Once your recipient has submitted their choices, Sugarwish packs up the gift and sends it out. This company makes it easy to send personalized gifts to friends, family, employees and even your boss.

CorporateGift.com

CorporateGift.com is more than a corporate gifting marketplace; it’s a comprehensive gifting platform that allows you to streamline multi-address orders, send e-gifts, allow recipients to choose their gifts, automate gifting, and customize gifts with logos or messages. CorporateGift.com can even integrate with your customer relationship management (CRM) platform, such as Salesforce, making it easy to send gifts to customers and prospects.

Caroo

Caroo is a curated gift box provider with a purpose: For every box ordered, Caroo donates meals to families in need through its partnership with Feeding America. Caroo allows you to import addresses, set a custom budget and track your orders.

Blueboard

Want to give a gift that’s not a material item? Blueboard is here to help. This service makes it easy to give experiences – like rock climbing lessons, concert tickets and restaurant gift cards – that make for memorable, unique gifts. Recipients can choose their own experiences from a broad list so they get something they truly want and will enjoy. Blueboard specializes in employee recognition, allowing employers to show employee appreciation with experiential rewards.

Alternative Gifts International

Alternative Gifts International is an excellent option for anyone who wants to make a difference in the world with their gifting. As a gifter, you can select a cause and support it on someone’s behalf with just a few clicks. Alternative Gifts International lets you choose from a carefully vetted list of charities, select a cause and your donation amount, and then send a card to notify the recipient of your contribution.

Firebox

The perfect gift idea for someone who has everything, Firebox offers a selection of unusual gifts sure to please even the most hard-to-buy-for recipients. Options include hot sauce samplers, personalized face pillows and novelty lamps.

Bloomscape

Bloomscape is an easy way to send live plants to your recipients without having to worry about harming the plants en route. Bloomscape chooses pots that optimize plant health. The recipient also receives instructions on how to care for the plant. Choose between herb and vegetable plants, tools and accessories, and unique gifts on the website.

In Good Taste

In Good Taste is a wine gifting company that offers virtual wine tasting, giftable wines, tasting flights and gift cards, making it the perfect gift choice for any wine lover. During the holidays, the company offers a wine advent calendar with a different wine sample for each day.

Swag.com

Swag.com is the perfect answer for a unique gift for those tired of the same old corporate swag. Swag.com offers highly customizable, quality products that employees will be proud to rep. Choose from custom bags, apparel, drinkware, tech and office supplies. The process is streamlined, allowing you to find what you’re looking for, design your products and ship them to your recipients. Items from Swag.com are also perfect if you’re planning a corporate event and need giveaways. 

Knack

Knack is a big supplier with a small-store feel, providing carefully selected gifts from suppliers with inspiring stories and strong values. You can shop the site by the stores’ ethos, such as sustainability, handmade goods or female entrepreneurs. You can also create your own gift boxes.

Goody

Goody is filled with eclectic gifts anyone would love. Bursting with options for virtually any lifestyle or interest, this retailer helps you find gifts for one or two people or the entire team. Better yet, Goody offers products from some of the most in-demand brands, like Apple, Brooklinen and Milk Bar, for gifts that fit your budget and that employees will truly appreciate.

Loop & Tie

For a more curated approach to gifts, Loop & Tie offers a set of elegant gifts for any budget or occasion. With an emphasis on diversity and inclusion as well as equity, Loop & Tie works with retailers to provide sustainable, accessible and socially conscious gifts that help small businesses thrive. 

Best practices for gift-giving at work

Gifts can show your workforce and clients that you appreciate them, but gift-giving could also open the door to ethical concerns like perceived favoritism or a quid pro quo situation. Here are some gift-giving best practices that help companies avoid problems: 

• Establish an official gift-giving policy. When giving gifts in the workplace, refer to your corporate policy or employee handbook. If your company doesn’t have a gift policy, create one. To keep things professional, have your policy make clear that gift-giving isn’t mandatory. If there’s a corporate effort to give gifts during the holidays, that’s the management’s responsibility. Employees should never feel forced into giving a gift. 
• Include everyone on your team. When giving gifts, include everyone on the team and standardize gift occasions. For example, celebrating one employee’s promotion and not another’s could hurt morale. Employees who miss out on a holiday celebration where gifts are exchanged could feel left out or poorly treated. 
• Ensure gifts come from the top. Gifts should usually roll downhill, with managers giving them to employees, not the other way around. While getting a manager a gift is fine, it shouldn’t be over the top and should never be used as a quid pro quo. Common sense rules apply for employees giving gifts to peers or the entire team throughout the year.
• Keep it professional. Don’t make gifts too personal. Finding something that aligns with an employee’s interests is fine, but more luxury items like jewelry, perfume or cologne could be misinterpreted as inappropriate. Gag gifts are also something to avoid at work; humor is incredibly subjective, and a “funny” gift could quickly go awry. 
• Avoid the appearance of favors. Giving gifts to colleagues is usually OK as long as it’s not considered a “favor.” Once a quid pro quo becomes a factor, the gift immediately becomes a conflict of interest. However, if you’re giving peers holiday gifts, welcome back presents or even birthday gifts, that’s fine.

Seamless gift-giving

Giving gifts at work is a wonderful way to celebrate your team, customers, co-workers and more. Plenty of affordable, appropriate options will brighten someone’s day and help foster warm relationships and company cultures. Whenever gifting, always remember to keep things professional, fun and inclusive. 

Kiely Kuligowski, Saige Driver, Brittney Morgan, and Camille Mason contributed to the writing and reporting in this article.