I never thought that I would need to do a post on this topic, since simple things like not giving winter-themed gifts in spring should be fairly obvious common sense. Unfortunately, after seeing some of the gifts people have chosen to give over the last few months, especially during Easter weekend, I am forced to conclude that this common sense may not be as common as I thought.
There are some things you simply should not do when giving out gifts to employees or clients and chief among them is making assumptions about their lifestyles that may not be true. For example: Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are winter holidays that are normally celebrated by people from different religions without any overlap. Christmas ornaments would be quite useless for those who don't celebrate Christmas.
It's far simpler to just select seasonal and holiday neutral gifts, like "seasons greetings" cards instead of ones that are designed for specific holidays. Committing those kinds of social gaffes can have serious implications for your business. At best, they may simply be amused and think you are out of touch with their needs. At worst, they may get offended, resulting in loss of business or strained workplace relationships.
