My boss is sending me out tomorrow to purchase gifts for our holiday party next week. He said he wanted me to purchase real gifts and some gift cards. I only have a $400.00 budget and there are about 75 people at my work.(we don't have to provide for everyone...most of it will be a raffle)
Please give me some unisex ideas of gifts that I could go purchase. I really love to browse, but I also have work to finish so I can't be out too long!

There are some really close stores within walking distance of my work including:
Burlington coat factory
Marshalls
Target
Shoe city
Dollar tree
Costco
Tillys
Vans


Starbucks
Jamba juice
Coldstone
McDonalds
In n out
Taco bell
el pollo loco
Panda express
togos
Rubys
Subway

WOW! I never really realized how many stores were in one intersection! LOL



Thanks in advance!

__________________
-Kristi

You could get all 75 people a $5 gift card to Starbucks or Jamba Juice.
~~Sorry, I overlooked that it will mostly be a raffle. I think then several $50 and $25 gift cards to several of the places you mentioned would be fun~~

__________________
John 14:1
GO GATORS!!
GO BEARS!!
Check out my pictures!! Just click below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gotjenks/

I think everyone should be provided for, not a raffle. While it's too late, if you had more time, you could do moreand cleverly.

I don't like giving gift cards, but I think with the time constraint, that might be your best bet.

dl

I agree that it's really too late to do much....

I'd go with gift cards to a fast food place for everyone. Everyone loves a free lunch!!!

yeah I tried to tell my boss gift cards, but he is also giving money and other things too. We are also providing the spaghetti factory.
he said I had to go and buy gifts along with gift cards. Any ideas?

__________________
-Kristi

Wow unisex is hard. Shoe stores maybe socks. Dollar Trees picture frames, candles. Costco dinners like pasta and sauce or fruits and cheese or coffee and creamer or tea and sugar. Maybe you can have half female and half male that would make for better gifts. Unisex is hard to come by you could wrap the female in pink the male in blue or with tags then people could give to their spouse or something. Otherwise it's just crappy unisex generic things that people don't really want. I like the GC idea best myself.
And it's hard to pick fast food type stuff for people. Maybe reusable coffee cups and stainless steel water bottles?
Or books? Cookbooks?
Hats, gloves a wallet?
An experience?

__________________
The political system is broke and it's a joke.

For prizes, I think you need to decide how many and the price point you're going after - do you need 10 prizes at $40 each, 4 $100 prizes, or a variety of different prize levels. When we've done door prizes at work parties, we allow the winner to choose from the prizes so the first winner gets the best choice.

Once you know what you're going for, then, I think you'd want to go with universal-appeal type things, or things that people could re-gift - sought-after brand names, etc Personally, I'd go with electronics and a smaller number of prizes so that people can feel like they've really won something.

A few ideas: Ipod shuffles (~$60), headphones, binoculars, North Face gloves, Godiva or Lindt chocolates, a nice bottle of wine (if you cand do that at a company event)

cj/

__________________
I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

It will take some work, planning, and counting, but you could do a Christmas mug filled with individual packets of hot chocolate, cider, coffee, tea, crystal light,stir in coffee flavors/creamers, etc, and a candy cane.

Walgreens has mugs 3 for $2....the counting part comes in for the boxes of packets. Some will have 8, some 10, some 20 depending on what you do. I've done this in the past and it's male/female gift easily. I added 2 or 3 Hershey kisses also.

You could do this with candy canes and Christmas candies as well.

dl

Lottery scratch tickets.

__________________
If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

imo, if I was given lottery tickets, I would consider it a fast, tasteless, thoughtless, and most of all, worthless gift.

dl

Unless you won big money. lol

I would go to Costco and pick up some of the Christmas gift baskets. If they still have them they are probably marked down. They have so many different kinds. You could also get some great gift cards there. I saw Jamba Juice where you get 2 $25 cards for $40. They also have ones to the movies and local attractions that cost less then the face falue. This would be very fun to shop for if you had more time.

Well, that changes my plans on what I was going to get for you.

It's a raffle, how "slow, tasteful, and thoughtful" can it be? As someone else pointed out, the worth depends on whether they win.

__________________
If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

Thanks all for the ideas! I ended up getting a few travel chairs from sports authority at $8.99/ea. A dart board, board games, cookie towers, jelly belly tins, electronic hand held games, cooler seats for outdoors. Probably more, but I can't think of it all now. It was a huge cart full of lots of stuff so everyone will win something with cash and gifts combined!

__________________
-Kristi

Marshalls usually has a great selection of gourmet food and drink products at good prices. Things like holiday themed cocoa and coffee, chocolates, gourmet pastas and sauces, cookies etc... They even have Harry & David food products - or at least both my Marshalls and TJ Maxx did this week - not expired and about 1/3 off their normal price. They also have a great selection of mugs, travel and otherwise. Those stainless steel water bottles etc..

__________________
Meddle ye not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crispy, and taste good with Ketchup!