Farewell Gifts from the Leaver

You're leaving people behind and want to let them know how much you've appreciated them!

Wow! They're blessed to know you.

We're here to help you with some farewell gifts ideas below.

Goodbye Gifts for Colleagues

One Group Gift

Getting just one goodbye present for the whole workplace is an economical choice.

The risk is that as there is turnover at work, you and your gift may eventually be forgotten, and people may not care for items in the workplace as they would their own things.

Also, nobody will feel personally attached to your gift.

However, if you feel that the least you could do is get the place:

• a new coffee-maker then by all means go ahead - you would still look very generous and you will be leaving on a good note!
• a clock that says "It's 5 o'clock somewhere" will add humour and will make people smile every time they look at it.
• a pot plant that would improve the atmosphere of the workplace, just make sure someone is responsible enough to water it. Call it the Money-Tree!

• A symbol of good luck or prosperity for the office (like a golden Waving Cat, or horseshoe) adds a bit of fun and is like a blessing of good fortune for everyone and the business.
  

The group gift for work should be politically correct to improve the chances of more people appreciating it.

Farewell Favours

If you don't want to get one 'impersonal' work-place gift, try a small favour for each person, such as:

• fridge magnets with a goodbye message or phrase that you use often
• small hardy plants: great for a better office environment, and you can have fun thinking of the right plant for each person
• home-made printed stickers with message
• cupcakes with individual names on them

• tiny packets of coffee beans/jelly beans(/breath mints?!?) with individual names on each packet
• personal tea bags? personal mugs?
  
• picture frames with photoshopped (or cut and pasted) heads (of yourself and each colleague) on top of celebrity snaps
  
• stress balls with your own humorous message
• personal round tuits for everyone - for people who can never "get a round tuit" [around-to-it] at work
  

Messages may just be a 'goodbye and thank you' with contact details.

Of course, feel free if you have the budget, to go to the extra time and expense of much more personal, individual gifts for colleagues.

Can you get away with a sense of humour? Try these funny gifts!

Kids' Going Away Gifts

Goodbye Favors for Children

Do you work with children? It's hard not to love them!  As you know, kids just love, love, love presents.  Anyone working with kids knows to stay away from food in case of allergies or parental/dentist disapproval, so some suggestions:

• get each child to write something nice about every other child, then put these together and write up the individual list for every child of what the others have written about them.
  Add your own inspirational phrase.
  Give these out on your last day in personalised envelopes.
• books, such as Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss, Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, or the Fond-Farewell.Com selection of farewell books.
  
• notebooks or laminated bookmarks with your message and their name on them
• personalized stationary
• recycled craft ornaments
• create colouring books by printing out photos of the children rendered to outline, or by drawing the art yourself and printing it.  The captions can be really encouraging and improve each child's self-worth.

The key is making each child feel special, and the fact you 'see' them is reflected in your gift.

Check out the Fond-Farewell Gift Shop designs,

then click one to find your small favors here.

Parting Gifts for Loved Ones

Help Them Move On

Feel guilty about leaving? Or are you 'in-tune' with their sadness?

Ease the pain of your leaving:

• buy your parents some dance lessons
• give your friend a membership to the local classic-car-lovers association (or anything with regular meetings)
• get them some inspirational biographies to read - the more tragic some life events in them, the more perspective they will have on you leaving
• subscribe them to something they can get passionate about, to keep them busy!
  

The idea is to get the focus off you and onto another interest they have.
Even better is an interest that involves other people.

Or, Indulge Their Grief

So give them reminders of YOU, and really sentimental ones!

Try:

• photo gifts (see farewell gifts for friends and family).
• a diary/note pad/advent calendar with messages for every day, of how much that person means to you. Pictures, sketches, or tiny favours (e.g. chocolate, painted pebbles etc.) will really make it special.
• jewellery or pins - engraved with a message, or a locket with photo.
• anything home-made - if you are a family leaving, get your young children to draw pictures for their grandparents.
  If you have skill such as sewing or carving, make something that uniquely comes from you.

Still stuck?

YOUR Farewell Gifts and Favors!

Do you have a great idea to share? Let us know and we'll put your idea here.
You'll be helping so many other people!


Farewell cakes! from Zoe

I am going to buy 3 or 4 big containers of dessert at Costco, then make an assortment plate of desserts for each of my guests and wrap it in cellophane, with a beautiful ribbon, then make a beautiful label that says, "Tanya's Deserting Us!".
Tanya (the one who's moving) will hand these to her guests as she hugs them goodbye.

The Workplace Cosmic Lotto from Jim

I work with a great group of people in a fairly large department, but am pursuing another opportunity and will be parting ways with the company. On my last day (a Friday), I am going to bring 80 quickpick lottery tickets on individual slips for Saturday's drawing, and send out an email about how I hit the lottery by having the opportunity to work with such a great group, and to come by my desk for a lottery ticket so hopefully I can return the favor.