Every winter season,  everyone wonders the same thing,  should I give a gift to my boss?   Everyone appreciates being recognized and remembered for the their work and your boss is no different!  Be careful though!  Although there are really no set rules about giving a gift to your boss, generally each office will have its own set of gift giving traditions. 

If you are new to the office and you give your boss a gift and no one else does, you may embarrass your boss and cause resentment among your coworkers who will see this as an attempt at ‘bribing’ the boss.   If you are unsure of your office’s traditions on giving a gift to the boss, then ask two or three collegues what the gift giving etiquette is for your office.

If coworkers do exchange gifts with the boss,  then by all means get him a gift.  Make sure that your gift to the boss is of a non personal nature and is nothing too expensive or you may upset coworkers, the boss, or worse, the boss's spouse!  Again,  ask around and find out what types of things people traditionally give in your office. 

If giving the boss is not a tradition in your office, then a card expressing your good wishes and thanks for the job he is doing is perfectly appropriate.   If this doesn’t seem enough,  then perhaps it is up to you to start a new office tradition.

Try to get your coworkers to all pitch in $5 each and go together on something as a group.  This way there is no misunderstanding on anyone’s part and it is a great way to build goodwill between you and your boss.   Again,  make sure that it is not some of too personal nature,  unless you know of something very specific that he has been hoping for – again,  best cleared through the spouse!

Another tradition to start is a gift exchange.   There a a couple of ways to do this.  First draw a name of a coworker and this becomes the person you purchase a gift for.  This way each gift can be a little more personalized.  The giver can be kept a secret if you wish.   Be sure to set a maximum (and minimum) price limit. Or, each person brings a wrapped gift and then people take a turn choosing a gift.  Either method, this way everyone gets a gift and no one is left out.