Christmas Gift for a Coworker Who Is a Friend

When a coworker has become a real friend, the Christmas gift has one trick: don't give it in front of everyone. At the office, give something small that matches what everyone else gets. Then, at lunch or after work, give the real one, the gift that says "you're not just someone I sit near." Below are ideas for both, for her desk and for life outside work, plus a few lines for the card.

First: the office gift and the friend gift

• At the office, if everyone exchanges something, hers should look like everyone else's. Nobody feels left out, and you don't put her on the spot.
• Privately, the personal gift. Coffee before work, Friday lunch, the parking lot after a long day. That's where she can tear up in peace.
• If your workplace has gift rules, follow them. Give the friend gift outside work hours and outside the building, and you're fine.

If your office does an exchange, these gift exchange ideas for friends work at work too.

For her desk

You both spend eight hours there. Make those hours a little better.

• A good insulated mug, the kind that keeps coffee hot through the meeting that never ends.
• The snack drawer, restocked. Her favorite snack, the one you know because she's stolen yours a hundred times.
• A plant that survives an office: a succulent or a cactus, built for air conditioning and Mondays.
• A nice notebook and a good pen, for the to-do lists that never end.
• Good headphones or earplugs, if her desk is next to the printer or the person who takes every call on speaker.

For life outside work

What really connects you is what happens after the laptops close.

• A voucher for a long lunch, a real one that doesn't fit in a lunch break.
• The outing you always talk about: the happy hour that gets canceled every Friday, the dance class, the beach on a Saturday. Give it a date.
• Something from her life, not the office. If she has kids, a dog or a favorite show, the gift goes there. It's how you tell her you know her beyond work.
• A "day off" kit. Pajamas, a face mask, her favorite coffee and a note: "For the first day of vacation. Do not check email."

If one of you is leaving the job

Sometimes Christmas lands on a change: a resignation, a transfer, a retirement. That year the gift has another job: making sure the friendship doesn't stay behind at the office. Give her a date to meet in January, with the place and time already set. If she's moving away, there's a guide to Christmas gifts for a long-distance best friend.

A print for her desk, or her home

We make hand-lettered word prints like the one in the photo: "Merry Christmas to the best part of my workday.", with her name above. We also make prints of Capy and Bara, two capybara best friends, for when the friendship has moved from the office into real life. Pick the color and collect it with Same Day Pickup at a store near you, or have it mailed free to any address in the 50 states. See the prints.

What to write

Thank you for making Mondays survivable. Merry Christmas.

I came for the job and stayed for you.

If I ever quit, you're coming with me.

My favorite person at work, and outside it too.

Thank you for the look across the meeting that saved my life. You know the one.

For the gift itself, here are eight free printable Christmas gift tags with Capy and Bara.