Gift ideas for Your Work or Office Exchange

Finding ideas for the office gift exchange can be a struggle. Different personalities, tastes, interests, and spending limits can make it tough to find that perfect something that is both unique and practical. It’s tough to be sure, but we’re here to make sure it’s not impossible! Here, we’ve gathered some of our favourite suggestions for the office gift exchange, all for $25 or less.

Scout’s Top 7 Office Exchange Gift Ideas Under $25

Modern Sprout Aloe or Cactus Hydroponic Grow Kits ($22.95)

A green pick for the plant lovers in your office or someone who could use a little pop of green on their desk or windowsill, Modern Sprout’s cactus or aloe hydroponic grow kits are the epitome of uncomplicated plant care. Complete with seeds, a nutritious soilless medium and carbon to feed your plant without the mess, a stainless steel grow pot, and a modern clay container to house your self-watering plant baby, Modern Sprout’s grow kits are a fun gift to create a little oasis in any workplace. An added bonus, the Chicago-based company donates a percentage of its proceeds to the Pollinator Partnership for ecosystem protection and partners with the Heartland Alliance to provide employment for Chicago’s most vulnerable residents, alongside a sustainable business model, so you can be sure you’re supporting a company that stands for positive change. Available in Healing Aloe, Prickly Pear Cactus, and Desert Rose Bonsai, Modern Sprout grow kits are available at our Leslieville location only. 

Photo courtesy of Modern Sprout

Mini Puzzles ($9.95–$20)

Puzzles can offer a fun little mental challenge at break time to get the mind thinking a little more creatively and stimulate problem-solving skills. Our mini bird puzzles from Kikkerland offer a 150-piece challenge and require very little working space, so you can solve it across coffee or lunch breaks or maybe if you’re on hold on the phone. For more of a novelty lunch theme, opt for our Areaware 70-piece puzzles with an average solve time of 20 minutes, perfect for while you’re sipping on a coffee or choosing to sneak in a short desk-side lunch break. Find selections of both options at both our Roncesvalles and Leslieville locations.

Photo courtesy of Kikkerland

Toronto Lines Tea Towel by Gotamago ($22)

Celebrate the city and offer up a practical gift for co-workers with our Toronto Lines tea towel by east-end illustrators Gotamago. Made of 100% cotton and hemmed on all sides with a loop in one corner to hang on a hook to dry, this screen-printed illustration of Toronto’s downtown core includes the CN Tower, the financial district, the Rogers Centre (or the Skydome—it’s an ongoing debate), the roundhouse that Steam Whistle calls home, Ripley’s Aquarium complete with the sharks on its rooftop, and more. For offices downtown, see if you can spot your building! Available for purchase at both our Leslieville and Roncesvalles stores, as well as online.

Photo courtesy of Gotamago 

Wild and Wolf Games ($18.95)

Featuring retro box designs, Wild and Wolf games are a fun party challenge. Classic Charades is a good go-to. Including 140 prompt cards that list titles of movies, books, TV shows, and plays to silently act out for the other players to guess, the game usually results in some hilarious gestures and features lots of content to play it over and over again. Sing It Back is another fun option for music lovers. In this game, read out a lyric from a well-known song written on one of 280 cards and have teammates identify the song’s next line by singing it back to you. Finally, for those offices where the water cooler gossip tends to circle around pop culture trends, opt for the Pop Culture Quiz game featuring 140 quiz cards covering topics ranging from popular movies, fashion trends, emojis, and more. Find Wild and Wolf games in-store at our Roncesvalles location or browse our selection online. (For our east end customers, you can always select free in-store pickup at our Leslieville location when shopping online.)

Photo courtesy of Wild + Wolf

Desktop Calendars ($22.95–$24.95)

Fun and practical desktop calendars from Made in Brockton Village and Dear Hancock make for the perfect office gift. Located in Toronto, Made in Brockton Village’s Soul in the City desktop calendar is printed on 100% recycled paper featuring 12 hand-painted watercolour cityscapes paired with a quote from an inspiring poet or author. Also printed on recycled stock paper but printed and designed in sunny California, Dear Hancock’s bunny easel calendar features the brand’s iconic rabbit hopping around a new museum each month for a touch of nerdiness to balance out all that cuteness. Both options are available at our Roncesvalles and Leslieville locations, with just the Dear Hancock bunny calendar available online.

Photo courtesy of Erin Torrance

Paine’s Natural Incense and Incense Cabins ($10.95–$18.95)

Made in Auburn, Maine and still sold in the company’s original package designs, Paine’s natural incense and incense cabins are 100% natural and sustainable. Their process begins with local woodsmen delivering balsam, cedar, and pine branches to the Paine factory, where they are ground down and dried. Once dry, it’s pressed in their incense molds and dried again getting packaged up. Each package has a stand. For the incense cabins, the incense is lit, the flame is extinguished, and the incense is set in the centre before replacing the roof, with the little billow of incense smoke coming out through the cabin’s chimney. It’s basically the cutest, coziest gift. Paine Products are available at both of our Leslieville and Roncesvalles stores, as well as a selection online.  

Blue Q Socks ($13.95–$17.95)

Always a gifting favourite whatever the season or occasion, our Blue Q socks are another fun and practical option for the holiday office gift exchange. The company aims to spread happiness with humour—something that is reflected in every one of its designs and we can attest to from all the giggling customers we see at the sock displays in our stores. Blue Q also donates a portion of the proceeds from each pair of socks sold to Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization that dispatches medical teams to help save lives in conflict zones, natural disasters, and health epidemics through medical care. Choose from women’s ankle and crew, or men’s crew sock styles available at both our Roncesvalles and Leslieville locations, as well as a selection available online.

Photo courtesy of Blue Q

Need an even more specific suggestion? We’ve got more ideas in store, so come for a visit in Roncesvalles or Leslieville and we’ll be happy to help or direct you to another local store that might fit the bill!