How to Distribute Workplace Gifts Like Santa!

Superstar gift-distributor Santa Claus is a model for how to distribute workplace gifts. (Photo via Roberto Verzo)

Nobody knows how to distribute gifts like Santa Claus!
How does he do it? Well, we’ll never really know all of Santa’s secrets, but the 2011 children’s movie Arthur Christmas has an elaborate theory on how Santa delivers all those gifts in one night.
According to the movie, Santa is able to make all deliveries in 12 hours because he has an arsenal of high-tech gadgets, a sleigh that’s four miles wide, and the help of one million elves out in the field and 25,000 more elves back at mission control headquarters at the North Pole.
As fun as it is to speculate, the real secret of Santa’s enduring and beloved gift delivery isn’t in his gadgets or the physics of his sleigh. It’s in the way he shares gifts. He radiates goodwill, personalizes each and every gift and inspires all with his hearty and heartfelt messages of holiday cheer.
Santa is a superstar gift-distributor and a great model for how to distribute workplace gifts. Read on to find out how you can follow the Santa model at your workplace.

1. Give Gifts for the Joy of It
Santa doesn’t have ulterior motives for his gift-giving. He just wants to make children happy and share his universal gratitude with the world.
Workplace gift-giving is solely about appreciating others for their contributions and dedication to your business. It’s an unfortunate reality that workplaces can be political — everyone at one time or another has worried about promotions, pay grade, benefits and profits — but now is the time to set those worries aside.
If you’re calculating other factors besides gratitude in your gift-giving, or view it as an obligation, you’re missing out! And, your motives will also be abundantly clear to recipients.
To get in the mood for gift-giving, take some time to reflect on your gratitude and specifically on the good times your company has shared with employees over the past year, according to Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas, science director at the Greater Good Science Center, in a recent blog about research-based techniques “to bring the joy back into exchanging gifts.”
2. Don’t Give In To Stress
It’s natural to feel overwhelmed, stressed or even down during the holidays. Everyone has a lot to juggle this time of year. Workers particularly in the retail and hospitality industries are under extra pressure to perform well. But that’s no reason to stay stressed. Instead, find the joy in helping others and building connection with colleagues by working together toward the common goal of delighting customers.
Put your stress in perspective. Your company may be under a lot of seasonal pressure, but is it tasked with making and delivering personalized gifts to millions of children around the world in one night? We didn’t think so. (Unless you work for UPS or FedEx.) Santa knows that stress is a part of life — and that it’s no excuse to stop being grateful.
3. Give Gifts People Want (And If You Don’t Know, Ask!)
Santa doesn’t play a guessing game when it comes to gifts. He travels around and meets one-on-one with children to ask them what they want. If he can’t meet with each child, he has other ways of finding out gift wishes, like consulting with parents and reading mail. He pays attention.
Great presents don’t need to cost much, but they do need to demonstrate that you understand what coworkers or employees would appreciate, writes blogger Kathryn Hawkins for IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals).
Hawkins gives an example of a coworker who was “constantly losing umbrellas.” His gift? A dozen cheap collapsible umbrellas. He loved it!
“Homemade foods and gift certificates will often be appreciated as well,” Hawkins writes. Not only is food practical, it’s communal and meaningful.
4. Deliver Gifts Personally
You might not have a sleigh and reindeer at your disposal, but you can and should distribute workplace gifts personally, just like Santa.
Delivering gifts personally is especially important if you’re in charge of gift distribution for a large company and giving the same (or similar) gifts to all employees. A personalized “thank you” makes each gift unique. If company leaders are unavailable, ask direct supervisors to share gifts in person with a big smile, a handshake and a few words of appreciation. Even two words — “Thank you!” — will make your gifts more meaningful and convey your gratitude more strongly.
5. Don’t Expect Anything In Return
Santa appreciates a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, but he’s just as happy to share gifts with children who don’t or can’t set out a treat for him. He knows that true gratitude is altruistic, not because it’s nice to show gratitude but because it feels great! There’s a reason for that: gratitude is good for physical, mental and social health.
This holiday season, share the joy of gift-giving like Santa and watch gratitude and happiness spread around you! Santa is also an inspiration for building a thriving culture of workplace gratitude — check out our recent blog “What Santa Teaches Us About Workplace Gratitude.”
To learn more about the art of workplace gift-giving, click the image below to download our FREE Ultimate Guide to Employee Gift-Giving today!

About gThankYou, LLC

Turkey Gift Certificates and Turkey Or Ham Gift Certificates by gThankYou! are two of America’s favorite employee gifts and can be redeemed for any Brand (Turkey or Turkey Or Ham), at virtually any Grocery Store in the U.S.
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