“Welcome back to work after maternity leave” gift

[OvertiredandConfused]

A member of my team is due back next week. She’s pretty senior and has been much missed. We’re all still working mainly from home and so I really wanted to get her a gift - or a little box / bag of gifts - to make her feel welcome. She’ll go back to an empty house after dropping her DC at nursery so it’ll be really strange. Her maternity leave started well pre-COVID.

I have no idea what to include! Can you help please MN?

As thoughtful as you are I think a gift for returning to work after maternity is a bit ridiculous (and I’ve had 3 children!)

I got a present when I left for mat leave and when the baby was born.
If they give me something when I returned I’d think it was a bit weird.

Plus it mean everyone else who gets pregnant will expect one.
Meow about a “hi Sarah nice to have you back!”

A returning from maternity gift is a bit over the top in my opinion.
Why don’t you arrange time to have a coffee over a Zoom call in her first days back. You can catch her up and make her feel included. Way better than any material gift you can send that she could equally buy herself.

Really?

Agree with PPs.

It comes across as quite bumlicky tbh.

Flowers would be perfect and I think this is a great idea.

When I came back my colleagues got a cake and we shared it between us and the rest of the floor. I really appreciated it especially as the whole team changed and I only really knew one person.

I would organise a zoom call for the team. Flowers are a lovely idea as well.

Gosh, okay. MN has spoken

She has a team of one. No office trip / opportunity to meet with colleagues until November. Hard to share cake over zoom.

Was just thinking it would be tough to adjust to working from an empty house without the experience of going through it with everyone else. Was only thinking of small / jokey items to help her through her first day. One less item on my to do list