Christmas time is a great time to appreciate your employees. It can be tricky, but it can also really show some appreciation and understanding at a time of year which sometimes puts people in hard financial situations. Personally, I am not a fan of giving employees turkeys or cheese balls. I think that as an employer a gift that would actually show some appreciation and help employees out at Christmas is either a generic gift card or a cash bonus. It can get expensive doing this for all employees, but even if it is just $50 it makes a huge difference. Think of all the food or toys someone could get at Wal-Mart with $50.
There are some employers out there who go the extra mile and set up a "Christmas Angel" type program for employees that have had a rough year and probably won't be able to have Christmas without a little help from coworkers. The idea is that employees nominate other employees who might need some assistance and then an anonymous card is hung on a tree with the age of the employees child and some ideas of gifts that one could buy for the child. Employees come together and make Christmas happy for these people who might not otherwise be able to provide Christmas for their families due to major medical expenses and catastrophies. This program is one of the coolest things I've heard about at a workplace and I think it is a fabulous idea.
The thing you do not want to do is set a precedent of giving generously to your employees so that they expect a $1000 bonus each year and begin assuming that they will receive it to cover their holiday expenses and then one year suddenly the company decides to no longer provide that bonus. If the bonus is going to be significantly less or completely different, it would be a good idea to get the word out early in the year that the budget is tight and employees should be prepared for smaller or fewer bonuses. Being up front and honest is always better than a surprise that puts someone in a financial bind and a grumpy mood.
Remember, small tokens of appreciation like a handwritten Christmas card from a supervisor are appreciated alongside any other kind of gift that a company might want to provide for its employees.
"The way you see them is the way you treat them and the way you treat them is the way they often become." Zig Ziglar
