'tis the season for thoughtless gifts

For the last 4-5 years I've struggled with what to get co-workers for holiday presents. Some years I'm really "on" and able to find things that particularly match each individual. Other years, I'm out at Target or ShopKo the night before the last work day before Christmas trying to find anything. One year my wife and I got creative and made chocolate covered pretzels and packaged them in holiday containers for our respective co-workers.

While I realize this is a little late for this year (I hope), perhaps this survey from Shopzilla will shed some light on shopping for co-workers.

Obviously the survey had a motive... drive traffic to Shopzilla, but the stats are interestiing nonetheless. Nearly half have received holiday gifts they felt were inappropriate, and of those, over half have received such gifts three or more times.

So what did I end up with this year? I went the generic route, and did Bath & Bodyworks shower gel for the ladies and aftershave soother for the one guy. Safe, practical and fairly well received I hope.

Here's a handy little guide for you:

Top 5 Rules for Gift-Giving Etiquette

1) No "practical" gifts. People buy vacuum cleaners and hammers for themselves.

2) No "generic" gifts. Rule of thumb -- if you can give the same gift to your mother, sister, brother, AND co-worker it's a generic gift.

3) If you re-gift, use new wrapping paper and make sure it's a good fit.

4) Do not give personal items such as perfume or undergarments to mere acquaintances.

5) No fruitcake!