16 Great Employee Gifts to Show You Value Your Team

Whether you're rewarding a project completed, celebrating a company milestone or work anniversary, or simply encouraging a fun, supportive work environment, thoughtful employee gifts can play a big role in keep up team morale and expressing your gratitude for the people you work with.

From coffee mugs and pen sets to gift baskets, tech gifts, and company swag, team gifts and employee appreciation gifts also help create a company culture where positive reinforcement and employee recognition are regular parts of your company or brand's day. This results in staff that enjoy their jobs and really do feel like they're part of a team. 

Thank you gifts for employees can be sourced with any size budget and in many different shapes and sizes; let's check out some gifting ideas for great staff/team/employee gifting!

16 Great Ideas for Employee Appreciation Gifts

1. Corporate Discounts

Our first idea for employee gifting is fairly easy, but has wide-reaching positive consequences: partner with local businesses to offer exclusive corporate discounts on products and services, providing employees with valuable savings opportunities. This rewards your staff and your company, in that the employees will enjoy the discounts, and your company will establish itself as a friendly collaborator with other businesses/brands.

2. Company Swag 

Customized apparel/swag is always a fun choice for team gifts! You can gift branded gear in a general company sense (think tote bags or pen sets, which are also great promotional giveaway bulk gift items), or make special personalized gift swag to commemorate a company project, work anniversary, or other achievement. Try exploring Fourthwall’s apparel catalog for more inspiration for staff appreciation gifts - you can customize and create everything from hats and t-shirts to knitted sweaters and duffle bags.

International esports organization Dignitas’ 2024 pro company jersey, as seen on their Fourthwall merch store. 

3. Desk Accessories

Amp up your employee's work environment - whether they're in-office or WFH (work from home) - with personalized desk accessories. Fourthwall has plenty of employee appreciation gift ideas in this category, too, including mouse pads, desk mats, laptop sleeves, drink coasters, notebooks, and that evergreen work classic, pen sets. Allowing your staff to personalize their desks and work areas is a great way to show that you appreciate each person's individuality, while still supporting everyone's work as a team.

4. Beverage Gifts

Elevate workday coffee breaks with beverage gifts for employees - thoughtful high-quality coffee or tea team gift sets, providing your staff/employees with a luxurious treat for their daily caffeine fix. A coffee or tea box office gift could include a selection of specialty coffees/teas (you can even customize your own company coffee at Fourthwall), flavored coffee sugars or honey tea sticks; and a pourover drip coffeemaker or French Press. Take this staff appreciation gift one step further by adding in some drinkware; you can customize your brand/company logo onto a custom mug in several styles, like those available from Fourthwall. 

The Mach-E Owners Club (U.S. and Europe) uses Fourthwall to customize their club’s coffee mugs.

5. Gourmet Treats

Treat your employees to gourmet food baskets or gift cards to their favorite restaurants, so they can indulge in delicious meals on their lunch hour or outside of work. A charcuterie board or snack box would be another great foodie gift idea, filled with treats perfect for work breaks or to take home and enjoy over a long weekend or the holiday season.

6. Wellness Kits

Another thoughtful gift for employees is to encourage healthy living with wellness gift sets. These could include items like scented candles (you could even include your own company-branded candles, like the ones available at Fourthwall!), custom water bottles and specialty bottled waters, eye masks, and even fitness-adjacent personalized gifts like yoga mats, portable blenders, and activewear.

7. Desk Plants

Bring a little nature to the office with these employee gifts: low-maintenance succulent plants or desk plants to brighten up workspaces. You could choose a specific type of plant so your team can build a pre-planned "office desks garden," or offer to let each employee express their personality by choosing their own desk plant.

8. Tech Gear

Bluetooth speakers or noise-canceling headphones are a great gift idea, to help your team focus and enjoy music during work hours. Another employee gift idea in this category would be a gift set of smaller tech gifts- you could team them up into pairs, such as a branded phone case and a wireless phone charging pad; a branded airpods case and a new set of AirPods; or a branded power bank and a light-up acrylic write-on memo board.

9. Digital Subscriptions

Gift employees with digital subscriptions to streaming services or audiobook platforms; these can be a nice boost while working from home, or (especially with audiobooks) a welcome addition to your employee's commute. A gift certificate to online learning resources is another great appreciation gift idea, especially if you know that your staff member/employee has been working at a particular skill or enjoys a specific hobby.

10. Breakroom Games

Supercharge your team's break room and encourage team bonding and relaxation with a fun gift for employees that has staying power: board games or puzzle sets are great office gifts that coworkers can use during breaks or team-building activities. Having a stack of quick-play tabletop games like Connect Four, Battleship, Hey That's My Fish, or Coup can help your staff reset and enjoy some extra camaraderie over lunch.

11. Meal Kits

This thoughtful and delicious employee gift idea helps inspire culinary creativity with cooking or baking kits that provide all the ingredients and instructions for delicious meals or treats. You could present the gift as a certificate, letting them know which meal kit will be arriving, and add in fun extras like a chef's apron, some customized drinkware, or a set of bamboo kitchen utensils.

TikTok home hook Jess branded her own chef’s aprons using Fourthwall’s design tools and print on demand capabilities.

12. Motivational Reads

Encourage personal and professional growth with our next thoughtful gift idea: inspirational books or motivational planners that empower employees to set goals and stay organized. Throw in a customized/branded calendar and pack everything into a tote bag with your company’s design or logo on it, and you've got a complete employee appreciation gift!

Twitch streamer and Stream Raiders partner AwkwardMonsters designed her own on-brand tote bag with her “AwkwardMonsters” characters as part of her custom merch line on Fourthwall. These totes would make perfect company gift bags!

13. Experience Gifts

Take your employee recognition to the next level with this big-time employee appreciation gift: tickets to concerts, sporting events, or outdoor adventures. These could simply be a big event that's rolling through your city, an event that you know would appeal to a particular employee, or a full coworkers team outing for all to celebrate achievements and strengthen team bonds outside of the office environment .

14. Fresh Flowers

Our next colorful employee appreciation gift idea is to send the surprise of fresh flowers, a simple yet thoughtful gesture that adds beauty and freshness to the workplace. This thank you gift for employees is one that's almost always welcome, and brings a nice festive feel to your employee's desk; also an easier gift to organize if you're looking to bulk gift  a large segment of your staff.

15. Local Specialties

Support local businesses and showcase regional culture by putting together team gift sets full of locally sourced specialties such as artisanal foods (think bakeries, condiment shops, candies/chocolates); local coffee roasters; or handmade crafts like pottery or soaps. "Theming" this staff appreciation gift to your local area is especially effective if you're welcoming in a new team member from out of town; you could also include a local city map or tickets/coupons to local attractions.

16. Time Off! 

And finally, perhaps one of the best employee appreciation gift ideas of all: treat your employee to a well-deserved day off to spend time with family, pursue hobbies, or simply recharge their batteries. You can also reward top performers with extra vacation time on top of their allotted or earned days, allowing them to enjoy extended breaks and recharge before returning to work.

Treat Your Employees with Gifts Made on Fourthwall!

Expressing appreciation for your employees' hard work and dedication is so important for maintaining a positive work culture and fostering employee satisfaction. Fourthwall provides a wealth of customizable options for selecting and personalizing thoughtful employee appreciation gifts. 

Many of Fourthwall's selections would be great choices both as gifts for employees, and also for team-building events (like branded sweatshirts and water bottles), or even corporate gifting (try branded drinkware like stemless wine glasses or pint glasses, or elegant customized candles.)Explore Fourthwall today to explore all the many employee appreciation gift ideas available, and show your team members how much you value and appreciate their contributions to your organization.