Gift Baskets For Corporate Clients

We have an office Christmas gift exchange but the gifts all seem to be from the same baking store, which had lots on sale. We decided to put together our gifts and bake a giant cake, after recalling having seen one another at the mall the past weekend.

Our office does a Secret Santa gift exchange every year. We don't allow gift requests, so it's pretty fun because you never know what you'll get. Plus, it puts less stress and everyone knows you don’t need that pressure during the holiday season.

We’re a saddle-making company, staffed only with women. Scorched Hides has done fairly well in a male-dominated industry. The owner, Olivia is a stern, matronly woman who has no time for anything but to manage the company she built decades ago.

Every year, we have a Christmas party where we open our Secret Santa gifts. Olivia delegated me to solicit gift basket ideas for employees as her way of saying thanks to the hardworking employees. I also hoped that this would lead to responsibilities other than making saddles in the near future.

In the breakroom, both Carla and Sheila were watching The Office gift baskets episode while eating their lunches.

“Oooh, I love this episode,” I said, joining them at the round table.

“Did you see the latest gift basket Old Nick sent over this morning?” asked Sheila.

She’s referring to the owner of Flame Seaters, one of our male-owned competitors who have been trying to woo Olivia for a long time. They would make an interesting pair, like a toothpick and an olive except Olivia isn’t attracted to his round appearance or his overtly grand gestures.

However, we think otherwise. He’s a sweet man and he means well. Why they never got together baffles us as they would be a perfect match.

Also, we may be a bit biased. He’s been sending impressive corporate gift baskets every week that include a little something for each one of us.

This year, spirits were especially high when we got together in the break room to open gifts. It seemed like a funny coincidence when the first few appeared to have a theme: baking.

Our Christmas office party has just started, with the holiday classics on the radio.

I told Sheila that I was in Olivia’s office just moments before, to discuss our vendor list as to who could assist with packaging and sending luxury corporate gift baskets.

Who knew trying to find edible corporate gifts would be so much more fun than making saddles?

Anyway, Olivia also wanted corporate gift baskets for clients sent out before Christmas as well. I asked her if we could send one to Old Nick and she looked at me incredulously.

“Now, why would we do that, Milly?” she said. “He’s our competitor, for goodness sakes.”

Sheila scoffs, “such a typical Olivia response.” I laughed, confessing that I had also hung up mistletoe in her office.

Someone called Sheila’s name and handed her a Secret Santa gift.

“Is it for me? Thank you!” She opens the foil wrapper to reveal a mixing bowl. She couldn’t hide her disappointment and sarcasm. “Thank you - it’ll go well with my seven other mixing bowls at home.”

Then came another baking gift...and another...and another.

“Really?” I whispered to Sheila as Jules from accounting opened yet another rolling pin.

“Hey, Milly, can you sign for this delivery?” asked FedEx Fred who popped his head into the breakroom.

Sure, I say, making my way through mountains of crumpled wrapping paper and various cooking ware.

“Looks like you guys are doing a cooking class in there,” said Fred.

I chuckle in agreement. “Yeah, and everyone got their stuff from the same store, too.”

I looked over at a couple of boxes as big as a copier paper box.

Scorched Hides would receive a bunch of Christmas cards and gourmet gift baskets from happy clients and vendors. The best luxury gift baskets had chocolate-covered strawberries with mini-bottles of champagne. That was pretty decadent. Of course, it came from Flame Seaters.

Olivia always ignores the unique corporate gift baskets from Old Nick but we always accept the deliveries.

The first box was chocolates from one of our marketing vendors. The second was from Flame Seaters.

Aww… he’s sending gifts almost every day this whole week. Old Nick is really trying for the win this year.

“Where’s Milly? Let’s go!” Sheila called.

Suddenly one person said to another, "Oh yeah, I thought I saw you in Baker's Boutique last weekend! They were having a big sale." It turns out, they weren't the only ones.

We looked at all the presents from the gift exchange. All but two items were from Baker’s Boutique.

“There’s a big box from Old Nick,” I said, hoping to perk up the mood that suddenly gpt gloomy.

Carla got up to retrieve the box. Inside, there were mini baskets each with a luxury scented candle with a fun trinket hidden in the wax. The ladies clamored in excitement and took a basket from the box. The Christmas party was saved thanks to Old Nick.

One of the unique corporate gift baskets I can remember was this ginormous tub of gourmet cookies and chocolates from Sweden. Whoever at Flaming Seaters thought of such extravagant corporate gift ideas deserves a big kiss from me. I’m a sucker for European sweets.

This gave me an idea to brand Scorched Hides corporate gift baskets with logo when we send them out.

I make sure to keep a mental note as soon as this party is over.

We left our baking tools at the office and came back the next day with ingredients. The more experienced bakers took charge and showed the rest of us the ropes.

Carla started the mixer, slowly adding eggs, sugar and cream into the bowl. Sheila was working on the crust and filling for three different types of pie.

I was stuck cleaning up and putting things away.

“With all this baking, we could come up with unique client gift ideas that are personalized corporate gifts for clients,” I said, hoping to show Olivia how well I’d completed the task as I wiped a rubber spatula onto a dishtowel.

“Yeah, luxury corporate gifts give a nice touch that any client would remember,” Carla agreed, tasting the brownie batter.

A huge delivery just came. It was a single gigantic box, the size of a washing machine. FedEx Fred said it was for Olivia only.

“Wow! I wonder what that could be,” I said. “It’s freaking huge!”

I turned the oven on so that it’s ready for Sheila’s pies and cakes.

“Hey! We should be baking, not eating, Carla,” Sheila chided. Her face and apron were already covered in raspberry goo and powdered sugar.

I signed for the box and asked him to just leave it by the storage closet near Olivia’s office.

We ended up with three cakes, four batches of cookies, and a pie--enough baked goods for everyone to come close to a sugar coma. No one did any work that day. We even gave a plate of goodies to FedEx Fred since we see him every day.

Without fail, Flaming Seaters sent this year’s best luxury gift baskets to the whole office. Soft and fluffy bathrobes with fragrant salt bombs with lavender-scented lotions. Old Nick sure went all out.

We didn’t want to be seen as scrooges either and sent unique gift baskets for him. Besides, it’s Christmas. Carla had already spiked the leftover eggnog from the Secret Santa party and all of us were feeling a bit tipsy.

“Hey, I don’t think Olivia ever opened that huge box we got today. Let’s go see what it is,” I said.

Both Carla and Sheila followed me to the storage closet, past the various gourmet gift baskets and noticed the box was opened.

It was empty inside but we heard someone giggling and smooching noises coming from Olivia’s office. Imagine our shock when we see Olivia kissing Old Nick under the mistletoe. Aww…

"I've never baked anything in my life," someone said and about half the office agreed. The other half decided this could not be tolerated.

“We can all learn how to bake, you guys!” Carla insisted.

There were still a lot of murmurs and hesitation among the staff. Everyone can tell this was gonna be difficult.

Olivia called all of us to the warehouse.

“Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you all,” she said, her eyes tearing up a bit. “There are Christmas gift baskets for office staff to enjoy!”

We were all amazed to see a miniature bobble-head version of ourselves sitting on a saddle. It also included a framed photo of the whole staff, happy and smiling from last year’s Christmas party. We each took a turn to hug the boss.

It was also the boost we needed to deal with the cooking ware fiasco in the breakroom.

“It could be something simple and we can pass it to our office neighbors with gift baskets for office staff,” someone else suggested.

“Yeah! Everyone will say it's the best office gift baskets they have ever gotten,” Sheila replied, looking pleased.

All the ladies agreed.

“I can make my famous brownies,” said Carla. “We all just need to bring the ingredients to make them.”