Who’s ready for Employee Appreciation Day 2025? This year, this special corporate holiday falls on March 7, 2025, which is right around the corner. Remember: Taking the time to recognize and appreciate your team is important for ongoing employee satisfaction and engagement.
In fact, an extensive study by the University of Oxford’s Said Business School found happy workers to be 13% more productive. With that in mind, showing your team you appreciate them can increase employee job satisfaction, and may lead to greater results and profits for your company.
While it often doesn’t generate as much fanfare as other holidays, Employee Appreciation Day provides an excellent opportunity to recognize your team members’ hard work and dedication and let them know you appreciate the intangible things they add to your office just by being themselves. While verbal appreciation and recognition are both important and should be utilized, incorporating promotional products can add an entirely different element and powerful avenue to expressing gratitude.
Employee Appreciation Day gifts provide a physical reminder to team members that they’re valued at the company and the position they’re in. Words can come and go and be easily forgotten, but a quality, well-thought-out promotional item will be used regularly.
In this blog post, we’ll share a few of our favorite creative Employee Appreciation Day gift ideas to show your team how much you care.
Personalized Thank-You Gifts
Begin your employee celebration by giving each employee a personalized thank-you gift. These could be items like custom-made mugs, engraved pens, or personalized desk accessories. Consider customizing each piece to have their individual names alongside your company logo. This will make your employees feel valued as an individuals since you invested resources and took the time to get a gift specifically for them.
Branded Apparel & Casual Day
Elevate the sense of belonging by gifting employees branded apparel like T-shirts, hoodies, hats, or jackets. Not only does this create a sense of unity, but it also turns your team into walking ambassadors for your company. Apparel is an especially great Employee Appreciation Day gift for large companies, where it’s easy to feel isolated or unimportant.
When you wear a Packers shirt — we’re proud to be based in Appleton, just south of Green Bay. Go Pack Go! — out in public, the general consensus to everyone around you is that you’re a Packers fan. You associate yourself with their team, their brand, and their business as an NFL organization. It’s the same exact concept with corporate branded apparel. When one of your employees wears your brand out shopping, they are advocating for your company to everyone around them.
To make the gift of apparel more engaging, declare a casual day where employees can wear their new branded attire. It fosters a sense of community and pride in being part of the team.
Recognition Certificates and Awards
Utilize Employee Appreciation Day 2025 as the perfect opportunity to distribute recognition certificates or host an awards ceremony.
In a study done by Quantum Workplace which surveyed over 600,000 employees, they found when employees believe they will be recognized for their efforts, they are 2.7x more likely to be highly engaged.
Highlight specific achievements and contributions, or honor an employee of the month, making employees feel applauded for their unique strengths and efforts. Personalized plaques, trophies, medals, and certificates are something employees can share and display proudly for years to come.
Team Building Activities or Giveaways
If a team-building activity isn’t right for you and your team, add your top 15 performers into a hat and pick names for prizes at a special employee appreciation lunch or dinner. Prizes for the winners of these activities or drawings could include premium branded options such as branded game sets, hard shell coolers, or a JBL bluetooth speaker.
Planning team-building activities, giveaways, or a fun event is one of the best ways to celebrate Employee Appreciation Day. Put on a scavenger hunt, an escape room challenge, or even have a chili cook-off. Any activity you choose could be catered specifically to your business or industry. To make it extra fun, you can and reward participants with fun promotional products that enhance collaboration and team spirit.
For Remote Workers – Branded Tech Accessories
If you’re looking for some Employee Appreciation Day ideas for remote workers, acknowledge the tech-savvy nature of hybrid and remote work with branded tech accessories.
Making employees feel welcome and appreciated when you’re not all in the same space — or even the same country — can pose extra challenges. A calculated promotional products campaign can be a great way to show you haven’t forgotten about them and you appreciate all they do on a daily basis.
Consider sending high-quality headphones, webcam covers, or custom laptop sleeves to use while working from home. These items enhance your remote team’s home office, allow them to connect with their teammates, and serve as consistent reminders of your appreciation.
Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day 2025
Employee Appreciation Day goes beyond simple recognition – it fosters a positive company culture, boosts morale, and strengthens the bond between employees and the company.
By investing in thoughtful and personalized branded merchandise and promotional products, employers can create a lasting impact and show employees that their contributions are truly valued.
If you’re looking for Employee Appreciation Day gifts or simply want to show your employees how much you care all year long, we’re here to help. Strategies Ltd. brings decades of experience and will help you find the right branded merchandise for your team.
