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You're hearing the carols and seeing the blinding bright lights everywhere. The air is thick with the chill and the palpable festive atmosphere. Indeed, Christmas is in the air. It's the season to eat, drink, and be merry, to spend time with friends and family, and, of course, to give and receive gaily wrapped presents.

A Christmas Nightmare

Receiving presents is easy enough. No matter how many times you say you're older and wiser, you'll still find yourself transported back to when you were a little kid, giddy with excitement as you tear off the bright Christmas wrapping to see what Santa, or at least, mom, dad, and grandma , brought you this year.

Giving presents, on the other hand, is another story. True, it's a piece of cake buying gifts for the people you know best. You always have an idea what the members of your family want or what your nearest and dearest friends need. But what happens if you're buying business gifts for your colleagues at work, or, even scarier, your boss? It's quite daunting, to say the least. Daunting enough to be the nightmare before Christmas.

Take the Plunge

If you could, you'd probably skip giving the people at work business gifts altogether. But then, that would be so un-Christmassy of you. Besides, it's for the sake of workplace camaraderie and very basic human decency. Indeed, it's best to get it over with and just shop for those business gifts in good faith. No one's going to scoff about it ' at least, not to your face.

The Three P's of Business Gift Giving

When you're out shopping for business gifts, there are a few things you ought to consider. First, business gifts should imply professionalism. This doesn't mean that you should put in a bulk order of staplers. It's always safe to go for something that can be used at work, but not the usual multitude of office supplies. Consider a cute paper weight or a little handcrafted wooden box that your colleagues can use to store paperclips or rubber bands in.

Second, business gifts should be personal enough to be friendly, but not too personal to cross the boundaries of office relationships. You don't want to seem like you're trying to gain popularity points from your colleagues or kissing your boss' backside. A personalized mug, an engraved pen, or an embossed business card case make very good business gifts.

Lastly, business gifts should have panache. Don't go for tacky, flamboyant designs. Instead, choose something elegant enough to be notable without being too formal and detached. Gifts in tasteful chrome, leather, or wood keeps you on the safe side without looking too generic.

Indeed, picking presents for the folks at the office can be a harrowing experience that'll consume a lot of time, a gargantuan effort, and plenty of imagination. However, if you focus and keep in mind that you're giving business gifts because it's the right thing to do, you'll find that it really isn't so bad. You might even find yourself looking forward to it next year.