How to buy the right holiday gift for your boss
By Elif Armbruster • Bankrate.com

Several years ago, I was working for a big publishing house in New York City. My fellow editorial assistants and I decided to buy a Christmas gift for our boss: a large, spiffy water gun (it was the glow-in-the-dark kind that shoots long-range). We figured the next time she got mad at us, she could simply fire away at her plants, instead of letting her rage loose on us. The upshot: Our idea of a gift did not go over very well. We weren't fired, but we were never treated quite the same and, within a year, we had all moved on.

What went wrong? Obviously, what we thought was funny, our boss didn't -- at least not in a work setting. This woman, after all, was the editorial director of a huge company, not a casual friend of ours. While it was embarrassing, I did learn a big lesson from our error in judgement: Be careful with seemingly small gestures around the people who can make or break your career.

So you don't have to learn from your mistake like I did, we have some tips on buying holiday gifts for your boss. Follow this advice and when you come back to work after New Year's, the big cheese will be happy to see you.

First of all, remember that you are under no obligation, as an employee, to get your boss a gift, and that no gift is certainly better than the wrong gift. "Sending a holiday card is enough," says Marjorie Brody, a business etiquette consultant based in Jenkintown, Pa., and author of "Professional Impressions: Etiquette for Everyone, Everyday." Even if your boss buys you a gift, you don't have to reciprocate. "All you need to do is send a nice thank-you note," Brody says.

Should you wish to do some shopping, however, first ask around among your co-workers about general gift-giving practices. Some companies forgo exchanging gifts entirely, while others organize secret Santa or grab-bag situations where each person (bosses and gofers alike) spends the same amount for an assigned person.

If you're part of a group that answers to the same person and no one else is buying a gift, you should skip it too. As Brody says, "People may think you are brown-nosing and your boss may wonder what you are trying to make up for." On the other hand, if you have your own boss and have developed a special relationship with that person, a gift is fine, but don't embarrass yourself or others when giving it. "Put the gift on your boss's desk early in the morning or at the end of the day without drawing attention to yourself," advises Ann Marie Sabath, author of "Business Etiquette: 101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm and Savvy." "Some people don't have the money to buy their boss a present, and if they see you, they may feel inadequate."

As far as spending goes, don't overdo it. The sad truth is you probably make less money than your boss; therefore, the gift you give should be smaller than the one you might receive. "You are not expected to spend the same amount," says Sabath, suggesting that $10 to $20 is enough. Elizabeth Smythe, a 30-year-old advertising manager in Boston, provides a good example of how to reciprocate. Last year, her boss bought her a beautiful scarf that she imagined cost well over $100. Since she and her boss got along well, and she knew she loved to cook, she in turn bought her a $15 bottle of olive oil. It wasn't nearly as big a gift as the one she received, says Sabath, "But it was an appropriate and thoughtful gesture."

Other suitable gifts include a book, a CD, or a magazine subscription, geared, of course, to your boss's interests. Sabath also recommends tickets to the local movie theater or a sporting event (again, provided you know the taste of the person you're shopping for). Before you offer alcohol or sweets, be sure no one in your boss's family suffers from alcoholism or diabetes, and stay away from gifts with religious connotations, as not everyone celebrates Christmas or Hanukah. And save the water gun for your niece or nephew.

Elif Armbruster is a freelance writer based in Maine.

-- Updated: Dec. 1, 2004.