Holiday Gifts Are Great. So Are the Unexpected Ones

We love holiday gifting. November and December are our busiest months, and there's something pretty special about seeing businesses take the time to thank their clients and employees at the end of the year.

But I've also developed a soft spot for the gifts that show up when nobody is expecting them.

A promotion. An award. A new employee. A big win. A work anniversary. A referral. Or sometimes just a we appreciate you.

Holiday gifts say, thank you for being part of our year.

An unexpected gift can say, we noticed you today.

There's room for both.

There's Something About the Unexpected

Part of what makes an unexpected gift so fun is simply that you weren't waiting for it.

There's no holiday on the calendar saying today you're supposed to appreciate me. Someone noticed something worth celebrating and took the time to acknowledge it.

I've been reading Robert Cialdini's Influence, and something that caught my attention was his discussion of giving in a way that's personalized and unexpected.

It immediately made me think about what we see in gifting all the time.

Sometimes being noticed is the gift.

The box, coffee, note or little surprise is just the way you let someone know.

And there are a whole lot of days between the holidays when someone deserves to be noticed.