Now the flip side to this argument is that not every corporate Christmas gift is intended just for your boss. An office has co-worker, senior administrators and more. An entire pecking order of people that may or may not give a flip whether they get a gift and probably wouldn't consider giving one unless pressed on the issue.
The important rule of them is to maintain your integrity. Let you co-workers, supervisor or whoever understand that you enjoy the gift of giving. One rule of thumb is that the corporate Christmas gift should be of "nominal value". The reasoning behind this is that you don't want to exaggerate the value and make the person on the receiving end feel uncomfortable. This is especially true if the corporate Christmas gift is intended for your boss.
The origins of the corporate Christmas gift are supposed to lie in displaying some type of loyalty up the corporate chain. Maybe along the way the corporate Christmas gift will create some good company morale and goodwill. That is if the act of giving isn't completely taken out of context. A lot of time the corporate Christmas gift aggravates employees who feel their role is to resist any semblance of team spirit. Incredible as it seems but I've seen it with my own eyes. Well, no matter where you lie on the corporate ladder, finding the ideal corporate Christmas gift can be done and in a way that displays good taste and keeps your integrity intact.
The corporate Christmas gift has for years been either flowers, a fruit or cheese basket or wine. And you can't go wrong with any of these, despite the fact that they are pretty boring in terms of gifts. Wine is a easy to give gift. But these days you even that can be misconstrued. Pens and money clips are safe bets. If you make them personalized by engraving then that's a nice touch as well.
These are very conservative gifts that you can safely choose year after year. And remember, safe gifts will not cause any ripples in the corporate break room. Well, if your budget can afford it and your title or position allows it, there are some not-so-expensive corporate Christmas gifts that will impress your co-workers and boss without the result being that you are accused of sticking your nose deep within the President's ass.
Laptops or Palm-pilots may be Christmas corporate gifts that can score points with whomever their intended. Electronic notebooks are smaller and faster than ever and could be worthwhile Christmas corporate gifts for your boss or top performer in your department.
Ultimately, the key to finding the right corporate Christmas gift has to do with keeping in mind just who your audience is. If you don't know your "receiver" you risk having even the best intentions blow up in your face. Will your gift put a smile on the person's face? Will it help the person perform their job better?
If you can find the answer to these questions then you are well on your way to finding a corporate Christmas gift that is in good taste, does what is sets out to do, and makes you feel good in the process.