Keeping your team motivated often hinges on one simple factor: feeling recognized and appreciated. But finding the perfect employee gifts—especially for a large or varied team—can turn into a time-consuming, budget-worrying, logistical headache. Fortunately, gift cards solve many of these common challenges by offering an easy, flexible way to show you value your employees.
At Giftogram, we’ve helped thousands of businesses streamline their employee gifting programs, making sure every recipient can choose something they truly want. Ready to skip the stress, stay within budget, and still make each person feel appreciated? Follow these five easy steps to seamlessly navigate employee gift-giving with gift cards, regardless of the size of your recipient list.
Step 1. Set the right gift card budget for employee gifts
First things first: how much is the right amount to spend? Finding the right gift card amount is essential for gifts that make employees really feel valued and appreciated.
Overpriced employee gifts strain budgets, while underspending on employee gifts risks sending the wrong message to your valued employees.
Finding the right budget is unique to your team size, culture, and needs. But occasion matters too. We took a look at our data to see the average budgets for employee gifts for holidays, birthdays, employee appreciation gifts, and more.
| Employee Gifting Occasion | Most Popular Amount | Other Popular Amounts |
|---|---|---|
| Holiday Gifts | $50 | $25, $100 |
| Employee Birthdays | $25 - $50 | under $25, $50-$100 |
| Work Anniversaries | $25 - $50 | under $25, $100+ |
| Employee Recognition | $25 - $50 | under $25 |
Most businesses spend $50 on holiday gifts, while birthdays and recognition events typically range between $25 and $50. Use these benchmarks to set a thoughtful and cost-effective budget for your team.
Step 2. Choose the right gift card
Selecting the right gift card is key to meaningful employee gifting. Whether you choose a specific branded gift card or a prepaid Visa or Mastercard, the right gift card assures your employees receive a gift they will value and enjoy.
Gift cards for merchants, retailers, and brands
Retailer or brand-specific gift cards offer a personalized and meaningful experience. They provide a gift that aligns with your recipient’s interests and shows your employees you know them and care about them.
Not sure what to choose? Here are the top 5 most popular gift card brands chosen by Giftogram gift card recipients:
- Amazon gift card
- Prepaid Visa or Mastercard gift card
- Starbucks gift card
- DoorDash gift card
- Walmart gift card
Need more ideas? Check out our list of the 10 most popular gift cards picked by employees.
Take note! Retail and brand-specific gift cards have some risks:
- If you purchase a gift card for a brand the employee doesn’t like, your gift sends the wrong signal — your employee doesn’t feel known or appreciated at all.
- If the gift card is limited to a specific retailer that doesn't suit the recipient’s needs, its value is diminished, and so is the value of the gifting experience.
- Larger retailer gift cards, such as Amazon or Walmart, provide convenient, usable options yet may lack the personal touch of a carefully selected gift card.
Prepaid Visa or Mastercard gift card
Prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards are very popular gift card choices. These cards arrive preloaded with a fixed spending amount and are ready to use, offering great flexibility for where and how your recipient can spend your gift. As long as the retailer accepts the Visa or Mastercard brand, your recipient will find your gift useful for something they need or want.
While these gift card choices offer universal appeal, they may not be ideal for all gifters.
- Prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards often have use fees, diminishing the value of your meaningful gift and shifting the added costs to your recipient.
- Lower-value Visa and Mastercard gift cards or cards with low remaining balances can be difficult to spend if the purchase amount exceeds the gift card’s balance. This can cause complexities at checkout and prevents recipients from spending the full amount of your gift.
Giftogram gift cards
Giftogram is a leading gift card platform for businesses. It offers your recipients the most flexibility by allowing your employees to choose the gift card they want from a wide range of choices.
Your employees can select from thousands of popular gift card brands, including the most popular restaurants, retailers, and more.
- Popular brand retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart
- Prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards
- Dining options such as Starbucks and DoorDash
With zero fees and multi-brand redemption options, Giftogram ensures your gift perfectly suits your recipient’s preferences.
Step 3. Pick the best gift card delivery option for stress-free employee gifting
Selecting digital or physical gift cards will depend on your business’s needs and gifting goals. Either gift card delivery option offers pros and cons, and a reliable gift card platform can simplify the process while staying on budget.
- Digital gift cards: delivered almost instantly via email and are perfect for last-minute gifts or off-site employees.
- Physical gift cards: delivered via mail or courier, adding an element of surprise for recipients.
When deciding on digital or physical gift cards, consider the scale of your gifting campaign.
- Efficiency matters: Physical gift cards may be less efficient to organize and manage for large-scale or year-round campaigns. They can work well for smaller teams and one-off gifts.
- Streamlined solutions: Platforms like Giftogram offer physical and digital delivery options, saving time and ensuring your gifting campaign runs smoothly. This gives you flexibility throughout the year to pick the option that best suits your needs.
An ideal gift card platform enhanced with integration and automation tools simplifies sending employee gift cards at scale. For example, Giftogram’s automation tools help you set up employee gifting and appreciation initiatives that run automatically, ensuring your employees get the right gifts at the right time—with fewer calendar reminders and less legwork.
Step 4: Add a personal touch to your gift cards for maximum impact
The presentation of your gift matters. Personalization tailors your gift card and makes it more meaningful for your employees or team.
Customize a digital gift card
Personalization of digital gift cards is simple. The right gift card platform lets you include a personal message with your email delivery along with your custom company logo, unique and festive designs, and a delivery experience aligned with your brand.
Customize a physical gift card
When giving physical gift cards, get creative with colorful gift packaging or add a small physical gift or piece of company swag for a personalized touch. An even better option is to enclose a gift card inside a customized greeting card that conveys your thanks and appreciation.
Several online gift card platforms provide the tools to include your company logo or brand design on physical gift cards. For example, Giftogram lets you create a completely custom physical gift card design with a unique image and a personalized greeting card enclosure to send with your Giftogram physical gift cards.
At Giftogram, we know how much personalization matters in making your gift meaningful. We give you all the tools you need for gift card customization, branding, imaging, and integration, so you can send custom digital and physical gift cards to all recipients on your list.
Step 5: Track and monitor your gifting spend
As your gifting program grows, it’s crucial to track spending and streamline tax season. Giftogram’s dashboard and reporting tools let you see every gift at a glance, filter by date or campaign, and export detailed reports. This visibility simplifies budgeting, justifies expenses, and helps you plan future gifting more effectively.
Giftogram also eases tax compliance by automating W9 collection when recipients reach the $600 threshold—helping you meet 1099 requirements. Compared to buying random gift cards from retailers, a centralized, data-driven platform saves time, improves oversight, and reduces tax headaches—all while showing employees they’re valued.
Now what?
Showing your appreciation for employees is essential, but it’s not always easy. At Giftogram, we simplify your gift card journey with a platform that makes gifting easy for you and personal for your recipients. We’ll help you deliver physical or digital gift cards, personalize them for each employee, and give your employees the most options for choosing a card they’ll love.
Take the next step toward stress-free gifting by scheduling a demo. Or, sign up for a free account with no obligations, fees, or commitments and try out Giftogram today.
