Christmas Gifts for Coworkers That Aren't Mugs

Every office has a cupboard full of novelty mugs from past Christmases. You want to give your coworkers something they will actually use, without spending too much or making it awkward. Good Christmas gifts for coworkers are small, useful and a little bit personal, and most cost $10 to $25. For a close work friend or a team lead everyone loves, our top pick is a song the whole team chips in for.

Hear a song made with Songbond

This one was made for someone else. Yours would carry your coworker's name and your stories.

12 Christmas gifts for coworkers

1. A song from the team ($39.90). Collect the nickname, the in-jokes and the stories from the year, and Songbond turns them into an original song. Split a few ways, it costs less than a lunch out, and it gets played at the holiday party.
2. Coffee beans from a local roaster. Better than anything in the office kitchen. A 12-ounce bag is usually $12 to $20.
3. A small desk plant. A pothos or a snake plant survives fluorescent lights and weekend neglect. $10 to $25.
4. A notebook and a good pen. For the person who takes notes in every meeting. $15 to $30.
5. Something you baked. A tin of cookies, a slab of fudge or a loaf of banana bread. Label it so people with allergies know what is in it. About $5 to $10 per person.
6. Chocolate from a local chocolatier. A small box of good chocolate beats a big tin of the ordinary kind. $10 to $20.
7. A phone stand or charging dock. Every desk needs one and few people buy their own. $15 to $30.
8. A hand cream and lip balm set. Office air in winter is dry, and this gets used daily. $10 to $20.
9. A hot sauce or spice sampler. For the coworker who brings interesting leftovers and talks about them. $15 to $25.
10. A card game for the break room. A quick game that fits a lunch break, left in the kitchen for everyone. $15 to $25.
11. Warm socks for the cold office. Wool or fleece-lined, for the person who keeps a blanket at their desk. $10 to $15.
12. A note that names one thing they did. A handwritten card that says, specifically, what they helped you with this year. It costs nothing, and it often ends up pinned above their desk.

How to choose for each coworker

Match the gift to how well you know them. Something too personal for a colleague you barely talk to feels odd. Something too generic for your closest work friend feels cold.

• If they are your Secret Santa match and you barely know them: the coffee, the plant or the socks.
• If they are your work friend: the hot sauce, the baked goods or the handwritten note.
• If they are the boss or the team lead: a group gift like the song, from everyone together.

Office gift rules that save awkward moments

Stick to the spending limit, even if you like the person a lot. Going over makes others look cheap. Do not give your boss a gift on your own, because a group gift from the team is the safer way to say thank you upward. Skip alcohol, perfume and anything with a joke about age or weight. If you give small gifts to your whole team, give everyone the same thing so nobody compares. And if you drew a name you barely know, ask the person who sits next to them what they like. Five minutes of asking around beats an hour of guessing in a store.

Make a song from the team

Create a Christmas song for a coworker with the names and stories from your office. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour, even on the morning of the party.

Also in the Journal: a personalized song as a Christmas gift and a thank-you song for a friend.