Christmas Gifting As A Line Manager

[1319Mummy]

I am a Band 3 line manager in NHS. I always by my staff gifts at Christmas time. This year my team has grown slightly and with times being hard, I simply cannot afford to gift them all.

I have a family of my own and this money needs to spend on them as a priority.

I know my team will feel let down and they will feel like they haven’t got anything because they don’t deserve it. I really don’t know what to do. I really don’t want to tell the real reason (that money is tight). I usually spend £5 each on them so not much but when it’s multipled it’s around £50. The culture in my workplace is that line managers buy their staff individual gifts so getting a shared gift is not really an option. I guess I am just asking for suggestions of something that’s thoughtful, shows appreciation but very inexpensive! I really can’t spend anymore that £25 TOTAL this is between 10 members of staff. Please help.

I used to buy my team (when I had one) a chocolate advent calendar each; not an excessive cost, I used to get them from Lidl.

I don't give presents to my team but I do bake for them from time to time. It was mini Christmas puds in pretty cloth wrapping one year.

I have done this the past fews as well as a Christmas gift :/

10 Cadbury selection boxes are £16.50. Get these plus a little something else if you feel you want to make it up to £25 spent in total.

So £2.50 per person.

Chocolate
Tree decoration (you could do a decoration and chocolate if you buy a multi pack of decs and split it)
Homemade mini Christmas-shaped shortbread biscuits in a jar (if you have a stock of jam jars) or wrapped in cellophane bags with ribbon
Other homemade food items. I think homemade is great because it shows you care about them whilst also hinting subtly that money may be tight.

ETA cross posted!

Oh we had a lovely staff member who would make little gift bags for everyone, and in it they included a chocolate coin, a Christmas smelling tea light, a single serve hot chocolate, a lindor truffle and a candy cane. It was just so thoughtful and all came from multipacks. She would add a personalised message on the gift tag. Would this work for you?

Can you get anything from Ali Express / Temu? I got some lovely tote bags / side bags for £1-3. In the summer I got handheld rechargeable fans on a string, are you allowed those where you work? There’s loads of cheap reusable coffee cups too. Just avoid the tiny plastic things and choose bundle deals / free shipping.

I feel for you, this is such a tricky situation. I think the only way round it is to spend what you can afford - or go with the homemade option (I know that is still expensive), and then write each of them a really personal card thanking them for what they have done that year, showing your appreciation etc. That way they still feel valued. Unless they are living in a rabbit hole, they won't be immune to the COL crisis either.

For my team I wrote them each a personalised Christmas card with something really nice about how I appreciated them (and highlighted a particular situation in the year etc) and put a euromillions lottery ticket in the card.

I would never expect my manager to buy me a Christmas present, but think this is a great idea.

Thank you so much for all your ideas. These are really helpful.

I had a similar situation as a line manager for a charity last year. I got individual Christmas crackers from Hotel Chocolat - they will probably have Black Friday discounts.

I’ve sometimes bought my team a mug each and added chocs or sweets inside. Alphabet mugs or coasters, note blocks. One year I got them mini sewing/ repair kits.
Have a browse on Rex London or Temptation gifts in the sale sections. The Works have stationery and novelty items.
It’s more about the thought I’d say knowing about an interest or favourite colour. The card idea with thanks and praise would also go down well.

Ooh what about a small pot plant for their desk, I did this once with narcissi’s? Or a Christmas cactus?

I’d try and order a Christmas bauble for £2.50 each

What about picking up a Christmas dec for each person. Home bargains they are £1.50

Give them all a Christmas scratch card taped to a chocolate bar. I’m doing along those lines for my team but I’ve only got 6 people to buy for.

our manager would buy a large box of chocolates/biscuits to share
can you do that?
why shouldnt it be the done thing,
you can change the rules op

Definitely thw thought that counts rather than value of the gift. Lots of nice suggestions on here. Homemade fudge is a nice easy one to make and can be very presented nicely in a clear bag with ribbon. Tesco white chocolate and cranberry recipe is nice and festive.

Challenge the culture! This is ridiculous. You are their manager not their mother. You simply say to them that historically mangers have bought team members gifts but this year you won’t be doing that. Times are difficult for many and there’s no shame in saying it. Plus, no one needs more ‘stuff’, and at this time of year especially no one needs more food. If it helps to soften the blow, suggest a whip round where you all contribute to a donation to charity.

I take my team out to lunch and put a £5 scratch card on each place setting.

Why not give them each a £2 scratch card?

A scratch card in a card is a good idea. There's usually a Christmas themed one for £2.

Your staff will understand. As a band 3, you hardly earn any more than them anyway and you're all on a very low salary, so they're not going to expect a generous gift.

I agree. If your NHS organisation is like mine and many others, people are facing redundancy all the while having their organisation bang in about wellbeing.

Creating a culture where someone feel pressured to spend money on colleagues is out of order.

I would absolutely do this! It’s lovely!

I dint think anyone on band 3 in the NHS should feel they ought to be buying other staff presents. Band 7 or 8 maybe, but not band 3.

It's time to change the culture. If you feel you must do something, maybe make some cakes or Christmas biscuits and bring them in. I think the staff would feel very uncomfortable knowing you're buying for them if money is tight.