10 Special Employee Anniversary Gifts to Mark Milestones
10 Special Employee Anniversary Gifts to Mark Milestones
It’s always cause for celebration when an employee marks a work anniversary. Whether they’ve been with your company for one year or ten years, it’s an opportunity to share just how much they’re valued. For that past year or more, your team has used their skills, expertise and care to make a difference for your organization. Hard work like this shouldn’t go unnoticed, and a meaningful gift can make all the difference.
Looking to find the perfect employee work anniversary gift? Read on to discover a few key things to keep in mind, and some work anniversary gift ideas to get you inspired for outstanding gift-giving.
Why Employee Anniversary Gifts Matter
Appreciating your team members with thoughtful, impactful gifts can make a substantial difference for your business.
Employee gift-giving — especially for work anniversaries — is an incredible way to mark milestones, celebrate your employees, and share your appreciation. This can help you create a more positive and loyal work culture — one where your employees feel that their work and contributions are valued. Employee gift-giving is also a great way to boost morale and employee retention, helping you to create a more cohesive and engaged work culture.
What to Keep in Mind
Personalize
When possible, personalize. Adding a personal or custom touch to your gift is a simple and effective way to help your team members feel even more valued and connected. Personalization doesn’t have to be complicated, too — it could be as simple as adding a handwritten note to your employee celebrating something that they accomplished this year. Or, if you know a few of their interests or hobbies, this can be a great starting point for picking out the perfect gift.
Make it Memorable
Another way to make it count? Think about how to make your gift memorable. Beyond simply a gift card, a memorable and unique employee gift will be more likely to stick with them over time. Go beyond the generic gift card, and really consider what will resonate best with them.
Consider the Setting
It’s also a good idea to consider where you’re gifting. Depending on your employee, they might enjoy a group gathering where they can be celebrated by their entire team at once. Or, if you know that they prefer a more personal approach, consider taking them out for coffee or lunch. These specific celebration moments can be a great opportunity to share your employee’s anniversary gift with them and thank them for their hard work for the past year.
Celebrate Milestones
Each time your employee celebrates an anniversary at your company, be sure to know which anniversary that is. If it’s a milestone — maybe their 5th, 10th, 20th, or even 25th year working at your business — it’s likely a good time to celebrate in an extra-special way. That could look like celerbating your employee with an anniversary event in your office, or really surprising them with a gift that goes above and beyond.
10 Memorable Anniversary Gifts for Your Employees
1. Gourmet Gift Box
Pick out a gourmet gift box filled with their favourite goodies, whether that’s sweet or savoury. We love the power that employee appreciation gift boxes have to bring a smile to people’s faces — there’s a reason why we’re in the business of gifting! Beyond just the gifts themselves, it’s also about the experience of unboxing and slowly discovering all of the goodness inside a gift box.
Our locally sourced gift boxes make the perfect gift — they’re loaded up with delectable treats like chocolate, cookies, crackers, and tons more. Sure to inspire delight, pick out a gift box filled with gourmet goods that you think your star employee will love.
Looking for something even more customized? We love working with businesses to create unique and memorable custom gift baskets. If you’re looking to stock up on some go-to gifts, customizing gift baskets gives you more freedom to choose treats and goodies that best fit your brand, and even add your own business branding to make it stand out even more. We’re specialists in all things gift giving and also have extensive expertise in helping clients create a custom gift that fits their budget, creating themed gifts for each year, and making gift giving easier by delivering to each employee’s home on the week of their anniversary. Get in touch — we’d love to help you craft the perfect employee anniversary gifts.
2. Spa Gift Basket
Your employees work hard. And, one of the best ways to show that you value all of their hard work is to give them a reason to slow down and take a break. A spa gift basket filled with home spa-style goodies — like a candle, a blanket, or some herbal tea — can help encourage a moment of relaxation after a busy workday.
3. Thoughtful Gift Card
While gift cards can have the reputation of being impersonal, there’s still a way to make them into something more considered and customized — it just requires a little extra thought! Pick up a gift card based on your employee’s interests, or from a place you know that they love. If they’re a movie buff, try picking up a gift card to a movie theatre in the neighbourhood, or try grabbing one for a restaurant you heard them mentioning that they wanted to try. Just a little bit of personalization can go a long way to show that they’re valued.
4. Unique Experience
Giving an experience as a gift can be extra memorable — it’s just a matter of choosing the right experience that you know your employee will love. But, it can be as simple as picking up tickets to a museum or art gallery, a crafting workshop they mentioned they wanted to attend, or even lessons if there’s a class you think they’d enjoy.
5. Reading Material
For avid readers, consider gifting a book. Maybe it’s a novel from an author that they love, a nonfiction book on one of their favourite topics, or a coffee table photo book for them to flip through. If you’re not sure, you could also go for a gift card to a local bookshop so they can pick out their new favourite read themself.
6. A Subscription
A gift that keeps on giving — really. Consider one of the many subscription gifts out there, where you can sign up your employee for a subscription to receive something new in the mail each month. Search around and see what sort of subscription gifts are available locally — maybe it’s a subscription to a selection of cheese from your local cheese shop, a fresh flower subscription, or a magazine subscription — there are countless options out there.
7. Extra Vacation Day
Here’s a gift idea that they won’t exactly be able to unwrap, but will likely be much appreciated. Try offering your employee an extra vacation day as a meaningful way to say thank you — the gift of time. They’ll be able to use the vacation day exactly as they see fit, whether that’s extending an upcoming trip or even just taking a stay-at-home rest day.
An extra vacation day is a gift that we’ve provided to our employees here at SaulGood, and one that’s been very well-received. We asked one of our employees, Isaac, his thoughts on offering an extra vacation day as a gift: “I believe an extra vacation day as a birthday gift is a fantastic way to show appreciation to employees. It not only recognizes their contributions but also gives employees a chance to relax and celebrate their special day without the pressures of work. I think it's definitely a gift that more employers should consider.”
8. Cozy Hoodie
Share the gift of warmth and comfort with a hoodie. If you already have hoodies with your company logo, this can be a great way to celebrate your employee while also gifting them something that reminds them of their working relationship. Pair the hoodie with any other company swag for a branded corporate gift.
9. Mug for Coffee (or Tea!)
A classic mug or a to-go tumbler can be a great way to say a simple thanks. If you have a team member to celebrate who loves starting their day with a hot cup of coffee or tea, then you’ll know that this is a gift that they’ll truly use. You can help make this gift stand out even more by choosing a higher quality mug or tumbler, and even potentially personalizing it based on their favourite colour.
10. A Gift of Their Choice
If you aren’t sure what’s just right, consider simply letting your employee choose. Share with them a shortlist of a few gift options — from Bluetooth speakers to a wireless charger to a gift box of goodies — and let them pick their favourite. Sharing a list of pre-approved gifts is a great way to make sure that your employees stay within budget, while also offering them some inspiration. If you aren’t sure what the best gift for an employee is, letting them choose might be just the thing.
