Thrifty but Not Ugly: Cheap Gifts for Work

Whether you wear a suit to work for a large-scale organization or a smock and matching hat to serve ice cream with three of your coworkers you are likely to encounter the inevitable holiday gift dilemma. Be it Secret Santa, Elephant Gift Exchange, or even the need to appear more thoughtful and generous than you actually are by gift wrapping trinkets for your coworkers, you are most surely plagued by what scent of Wal-Mart cologne to purchase the man living three cubicles away from you.

With the current economic recession, cheap holiday gifts for coworkers are more often than not necessary; even in industries where the employees are earning three-figure salaries. Afterall, avoiding foreclosure takes precedence over impressing coworkers with lavish gifts. On the other hand, tokens of appreciation during the season where caring and sharing go hand in hand is often expected to maintain the morale in an office otherwise concerned with layoffs, health care reform, and flying orange monkeys infected with the H1N1 virus.

It is important to remember that even when shopping on a budget, it is not necessary, desirable, or even a good idea to purchase cheap fragrances from the discount store, fake jewelry on sale for $9.99, or pastel colored figurines from the Dollar Tree with "Jesus Loves Me" plastered all over. These items will more than likely end up in the dreaded re-gift closet to torture some other poor sap. Cheap holiday gifts for coworkers do not have to cause doom, gloom, and dread and can in fact be fun, humorous, useful, and possibly even thoughtful. Continue reading for six cheap gift ideas for work:

1. Something inappropriate and sexual.

If you work with a group of prudish people lacking the ability to laugh, continue to number two (unless you are planning on turning in your notice and want to stir things up)! Ideas for this include a man-thong, a cheap vibrator or dildo, whip and chain, or edible undies. This is a particularly good gift for an Elephant exchange, you may be surprised how many people "steal" this gift!

2. Cookie Basket

Preheat oven to 350. Bust out your inner Betty Crocker and bake baby, bake! Ingredients for cookies can be found at your local discount store, recipes can be located all over the internet, and plastic wrap and colorful baskets can be found at the Dollar Tree. One can never go wrong with sweet treats, even Grumpy George who never smiles will appreciate delectable treats (just check to be sure he's not diabetic)!

3. Socks

Because the dryer eats them. Yes, I am serious. Everyone can use an extra pair of socks...or six. It may not be glamorous, but a good bag of Hanes socks will definitely be of use to anyone, no matter their age, gender, or temperament. If your coworker happens to be one of those people who prefers stinky feet and sticks them bare in their tennis shoes, they can at least make puppets. Socks are the hot, multi-functional gift of the season...get them while they're hot!

4. Bubblewrap Roll

Everyone loves Bubblewrap, it's contagious! Why limit the popping to the occasional breakable gift when it can be the gift in and of itself! Purchase it for less than ten dollars at Staples or Home Depot in the shipping section and you are in for a night of popping bliss.

5. Pain Medication

Hold on to your britches, I'm not talking about anything illegal. I'm meaning Ibuprofen, Advil, Tylenol, or Midol. Bonus points if the Midol recipient is a man. In all seriousness, everybody gets a headache from time to time and that ache always seems to occur when pain pills are a 15 minute store trip away. Even if the givee has a medicine cabinet full of drugs, one cannot have too much pain medicine on hand and it will surely come in handy...one day.

6. Magnetic Poetry

Everyone enjoys a good poetic phrase on their fridge! Most magnetic poetry can be found for around $20, but you could be thrifty and create it yourself. Find a set of words from the World Wide Web, print them on cardstock, cut, laminate, and attach to magnetic tape and you're one gift goddess (or god).

Finding cheap gifts for your coworkers need not be a daunting task. Cheap gifts need not be horrendous and unusable. If none of the above ideas suits you, the option of a giftcard is always available. Afterall, no one is going to frown over free money, even in denominations of just five or ten dollars!