Holiday gifts for Coworkers....Help!!

ADN 2002 · Nov 4, 2001

Hi,

I'm still in school, but we do something that may work for you and your co-workers. We draw for our Secret Santa - what we do is put a slip of paper in a hat with our name and a couple of gift ideas within a certain price range and draw a name out of the hat. It's a lot of fun, and if someone doesn't want to participate for whatever reason, they just don't put their name in and don't draw one either.

Hope this helps! :cool:

justanurse · Nov 4, 2001

The two years I was CN in our CCU & then CCU/PCU so I kept it simple. I bought several sets of the crocheted (?spelling) ornaments: crosses year before last, snowflakes last year, and now I've even found snowmen. I put them into a nice card. The years before that we had secret pals and you got a gift from your "pal."

This year I'm in the float pool. Not gonna buy that many ornaments. I'll just get each unit a tub of popcorn. (Like the docs do.)

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Nov 4, 2001

Homemade cookies, small spice cakes, tins of homemade spice mixes, cocoa mixes, spiced teas, etc., decoratively wrapped make easy, inexpensive gifts with that personal touch.

Jenny P · Nov 4, 2001

We do the Secret Santa thing at my work, only we don't suggest gifts. We do keep to a low price range and then are creative in thinking up and giving gifts that we think would be perfect for each nurse. In the past, some of the younger nurses have put some of the older nurses names back when they couldn't think of an appropriate gift, and I've ended up with the same nurses' name 3 times-- and she with mine! There always seems to be lots of edible goodies (both store bought and homemade) ornaments, mugs, and candles; but there have been some really different ones also (amarilys plants and christmas cactuses, grocery store gift certificates (for the nurse going through a nasty divorce), and a few really wild ones,too. It all depends on the person whose name you're drawing.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2001

Why not adopt a child from the "Angel Tree" (charitable organization that benefits children of prisoners). If everyone on your unit gave $10 there could be a sizable donation. As a night nurse I rarely get the popcorn, etc. as the day crew eats it all up! OK with me as who needs the calories.

KatWright · Nov 5, 2001

I usually do something for each staff member. Laast year I ordered Christmas clutch pins (like a thumbtack with a back to it) 4 different designs, $4-5/dozen. I got them through Oriental trading company. One year I bought old Christmas postage stamps (Tree, angel, santa, holly) and framed them in a little frame that were small enough to be an ornament. Cute. Have fun with it.:)

CarolineRn · Nov 5, 2001

Kat, what a neat idea with the christmas stamps! I'd love to try that. One question, where do you find the stamps?

Kasey · Nov 5, 2001

I like the Secret Santa idea - & I like the list of 3 ideas to get them in the right direction.

Every year I end up getting some small token for all the clerical staff and nurses in our home health agency and there are so many that it costs a fortune even if you only spend a dollar and ends up to be a major project if you make something.

My idea for this year is to make my card (I do rubber stamping) and put a couple of Ghirardelli squares in the card. (We are talking about around 200 people here!)

Also, every year I seem to keep all my gifts in a box and save them for the next garage sale. That is awful but how many Santa mugs can you use when you don't even drink coffee.

One gift I did really like was a spoon covered with chocolate for stirring into coffee or cocoa and it was home made and decorated with a few little flowers - very cutes and maybe easy too.

I am a BSN student who should be working on homework right now and so why am I doing this????

ADN 2002 · Nov 5, 2001

That's a good idea, Kasey! I'm a rubber stamper also, but I don't have any Christmas stamps - I'll have to borrow my mother's. I like doing something like that for my nursing class; we have about 30 people.

ianurse · Nov 5, 2001

One thing that is suddenly popular at my facility is those little things that go on your pocket or waistband to hold stethoscopes. Perfect idea for one of my CNA's whose scope ends up lost at least 5 times a night!

codebluechic, ASN, RN · Nov 5, 2001

Snowman poop! Bags of miniature marshmallows tied with a bow.It gets laughs every time.