This year, the American Nurses Enterprise celebrates the 130th Anniversary of National Nurses Week, recognizing "The Power of Nurses"—the impact that nurses make in our lives as well as appreciating the hardships and challenges they face every day.
When is Nurses Week in 2026?
In 2026, Nurses Week will be celebrated from May 6-12. Nurses Week has been officially celebrated in May since 1994, though the origins date back to the 1950s. Fun fact: it ends on Florence Nightingale’s birthday!
What are the best nurse appreciation week gifts?
A great nurse appreciation week gift is personal, intentional, and makes them feel valued. Digital gift cards are one of the most flexible gift options available; two key reasons why:
- Easy delivery: It’s time-consuming to deliver gifts in bulk to an office. Sending gifts to employees at home also requires additional planning, leading to potential delivery issues. Digital gift cards remove all of these challenges.
- Works for any budget: Whether you can spend $10 or $100, digital gift cards ensure that it all goes to your employees, not shipping and fees. They can be delivered for free, making the most of every cent of your budget.
Now, what gift cards are the best for nurses? Check out these great options to thank your nursing staff:
- The gift of relaxation: Nurses work hard, so a Spafinder or Bath & Body Works gift card encourages nurses to spend on self-care.
- Coffee or a pick-me-up: A gift card to a nearby coffee shop, like Peet’s Coffee, Starbucks, or The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, gives your nurses a treat to start their day.
- Make the late shift easier: Nurses can have tough commutes at odd hours. An Uber or Lyft gift card makes it easier!
- Maximize their time off: Give the gift of a fun vacation! Nurses can stay local with an AMC Theaters or Topgolf gift card, or go further with Delta Air Lines, AirBnb, and Hotels.com gift cards.
- Classic retail spots: A shopping spree is fun any time of year. Send your nurses a gift card to Macy’s, Famous Footwear, or Nordstrom Rack so they can find a trend they love.
If you’re ready to give gift cards for nurse appreciation this year, follow these four easy steps to seamlessly navigate the process, no matter the size of your staff. From budget and vendor choice to delivery options and personalization, we've got it covered.
Step 1. How much should you give for Nurses Week gift cards?
Nurse appreciation week gift card amounts depend on a few factors and the answer won’t be the same for everyone. Setting the right budget is an important factor, so 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 between $25 and $50 on employee recognition. Use these benchmarks to set a thoughtful and cost-effective budget for Nurses Week.
You can also look at gift card amounts in the context of the rest of your Nurses Week celebrations. If you’re offering wellness events, appreciation breakfasts, team activities, raffles, individual recognition, or community appreciation activities, gift cards just might be the right complement to the rest of the celebrations.
Remember that it’s not just the amount of money that makes the gift. It’s a gesture, and a gift card of any value can be very meaningful.
Step 2. How do I choose a gift card vendor?
If you’re sending gift cards for Nurses Week, choose a vendor that works with any budget and offers a variety of brands. Here are a few of the best options:
Branded gift card
Picking a branded gift card from a retailer (e.g., Target) can keep things simple and convenient, especially for small teams.
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.
Prepaid card
Using a prepaid card offers more flexibility for the recipient because they can use it to shop anywhere, but these gift cards have a few downsides as well.
- Fees: Prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards often have use fees, which diminishes the value of your gift and shifts the added costs to your recipient.
- Spending challenges: Lower-value prepaid cards or cards with low remaining balances are often difficult to spend. In many cases, recipients may not be able to use them for a purchase that exceeds the gift card's remaining value– meaning that sometimes, the full amount of your gift card won’t get used.
Gift card providers with the power of choice
Working with a provider that offers recipient choice, like Giftogram, can be the best of both worlds. As a leading gift platform for businesses, Giftogram offers your recipients the most flexibility by allowing your staff to choose the gift card they want from a wide range of choices.
Nurses and healthcare staff can select from thousands of popular gift card brands, including local stores, restaurants, retailers, and more.
Options include:
- Popular brand retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart
- Prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards
- Dining options such as Starbucks and DoorDash
- Small
- Donations to popular non-profit groups
With zero fees and multi-brand redemption options, Giftogram ensures that your nurses get to choose their favorite retail option, while you have a seamless and easy purchase experience.
Step 3. How do I pick the best gift card delivery option for stress-free Nurses Week appreciation?
Selecting digital or physical gift cards will depend on your needs and gifting goals. Either gift card delivery option has pros and cons, and a reliable gift card platform can simplify the process while staying on budget.
- Digital gift cards: Buy in bulk and deliver them instantly—no hassle, no lost packages. Just a smooth delivery to your nurses’ inboxes, with easy tracking.
- 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: Consider the time and resources needed for large-scale gifting or year-round campaigns. Physical gift cards may be less efficient to organize and manage for year-round campaigns or large-scale gifting, but they can work well for smaller teams and one-off gifts.
- Streamlined solutions: Platforms like Giftogram offer digital and physical delivery options, saving time and ensuring your gifting campaign runs smoothly.
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. This ensures that every Nurses Week, your staff would get the appreciation gifts they deserve — with fewer calendar reminders and leg work from your team.
Step 4. Add a personal touch to your gift cards for maximum impact
The presentation of your Nurses Week appreciation gifts matters. Personalization tailors your gift card and makes it more meaningful for your employees or team.
Customize a digital gift card
- Personalizing 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 digital delivery experience with colors 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 gift. An even better option is to enclose a gift card inside a customized greeting card that conveys your thanks and appreciation for your staff’s hard work.
- 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 physical and digital gift cards to all recipients on your list. You can personalize the look of your gift cards to match your branding, or use one of our Nurses Week designs.
Kick off your Nurses Week gift planning today!
It’s time to make this Nurse's Week unforgettable for your amazing team!
Giftogram simplifies 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.
Don’t have a Giftogram account? Create an account online today to get your Nurses Week gift cards set, or call us at (973) 887-1600 and we’ll place your order for you.
