Top 14 Personalized Employee Appreciation Day Gifts that Leave a Lasting Impression

On Employee Appreciation Day, you have the perfect chance to show treasuring for your team’s dedication. One of the best ways is through giving them thoughtful, well-chosen personalized Employee Appreciation Day gifts. These tailor-made gifts stand out for such occasions as they show that you’ve taken the time to consider what makes each employee unique. 

It sounds convincing yet you haven’t known where to start yet? Don’t worry, because in this post, CustomAny has listed 14 practical personalized gift ideas for you to choose from. We’ve also divided them into specific groups for you to easily select the gift that is most likely to make your team feel seen, valued, and motivated. Let’s discover!

Employee appreciation day gifts by direct printing

When you are looking for something personalized to give out as Employee Appreciation Day Gifts, consider a direct printing method. This method works well on various materials and types of objects. It offers a premium result that stands out and lasts for long. 

With direct printing, you can make a lot of personalized gifts for employee appreciation day, such as:

1. Printed Mouse Pad

A mouse pad is one of the most practical gifts for corporate employees. Choose the material that is compatible with printing, then you can print exclusive artwork or thoughtful messages on it. We recommend printing fun or meaningful designs that reflect each person’s hobby. Besides, you should add their name or role to make it unique.

2. Desk Calendar

The next gift idea for your employee is a desk calendar. The calendar is exclusively easy to print with company logos, team images or workplace inside jokes. Remember to note each of your employees’ birthdays or milestones to make it even more personalized.

To make such Employee Appreciation Day Gifts require working with a third-party who is offering direct printing service. They will create high-quality, personalized items for your employees. However, since each item is customized in a different way, the cost should be considered when you are ordering these custom gifts for employees. 

Employee appreciation day gifts using Transfer stickers

When it comes to personalizing Employee Appreciation Day Gifts, there is one straightforward way is to use custom stickers. And transfer stickers (also called UV DTF transfer stickers or UV stickers) are high-quality stickers that we highly recommend. Why? You should customize things with this sticker type because:

• They adhere firmly on smooth, hard surfaces – and there a lot of such surfaces in mugs, bottles, wooden frames, or glasses,…
• They allow high-quality looks with full-color ink and glossy finish
• They have no-background, meaning only the design shows on the surface—creating the feel of direct printing
• They are easy to apply whenever you want, on almost whatever you like

All those reasons mean that transfer stickers offer a great mix of quality, convenience, and flexibility for you to create unique Employee Appreciation Day Gifts. 

With transfer stickers, there are some gift ideas you can personalize:

3. Ceramic Mugs

Ceramic mugs are a classic gift for your employees, co-workers or your boss, so adding a personal touch with custom transfer stickers can turn them into something special.

You can use transfer stickers to apply:

• Personal names or or catchphrase 
• Team slogans or inside jokes 
• Face photo or humorous portrait illustrations,…

The sticker design can be anything that is related to each team member. You just need to apply them onto the mug, turning it into something your employee uses everyday at work, reminding them that you spend time having it made just for them.

4. Personalized Water Bottles

Another gift option is reusable water bottles. A customized one with transfer stickers is not only useful or thoughtful but also easy to create. Our transfer stickers stick well to plastic or metal bottles, making them ideal for:

• Adding names/nicknames in your employee favorite color or related font style
• Including a small icon that represents their hobby (like a camera, book, coffee cup, or musical instrument)

It’s a functional and personal Employee Appreciation Day Gift that fits any workplace.

5. Desk Name Plate

How about making their office desk more fun and personal with decorating name plates? You should opt for wood or acrylic, which are the common materials for name plates and also compatible with transfer stickers. Then, print and apply transfer stickers onto them. Consider printed stickers that feature: 

• Employees’ team nicknames
• A version of their face in cartoon or sketch style next to the name
• Use colors of their favorites

6. Desk Plant Pot

Another great desk gift is a small personalized plant pot. For those Employee Appreciation Day gifts, you should apply transfer stickers featuring:

• A plant pun or wordplay related to growth
• Each employee’s name in different fonts
• Simple illustrations based on their interests

These personalized details will turn a normal plant into memorable Employee Appreciation Day Gifts.

7. Scented Desk Oil Bottle

Giving scented desk oils is like helping your employee to create a calming workspace. To make these gifts personalized, you can add a small transfer sticker on each bottle featuring the employee’s names, initials, short affirmations or the scent’s meaning.

8. Personalized Snack Box

Consider small boxes filled with your employee’ favorite snacks. You can custom these boxes with a custom sticker with text like:

• “Thank you for …!”
• “Best part of the team – [Name]”
• Department-specific messages

All these details we’ve mentioned above can easily transform simple items into meaningful Employee Appreciation Day Gifts. Besides, ordering custom printed transfer stickers from our website is a straightforward process by adding your custom design, choosing the suitable size and quantity  that you need. You are also supported by our experienced design team until you get the custom sticker as you wish.

You may want to read: “How to apply Transfer Stickers Properly“

Employee appreciation day gifts using DTF transfers

Similar to UV DTF transfer stickers, iron-on DTF transfers are a great choice for Employee Appreciation Day Gifts, especially for fabric surfaces. These iron-on transfers give a vivid, professional look that lasts through frequent use and several washings. 

Here we have some custom ideas to use as Employee Appreciation Day gifts:

9. Custom T-Shirt

Custom T-shirts are classic gifts – They’re great for casual Fridays, team outings, etc. Giving these shirts as Employee Appreciation Day gifts will show your appreciation in a useful way. And the best part? You can personalize them easily and affordably with DTF transfers.

Let’s print iron-on DTF transfers with:

• Company logos
• Employee names or job titles
• Motivational quotes or inside jokes from your workplace
• …

Then use a heat press or just your household iron to apply them onto plain T-shirts.

10. Custom Baseball Cap

Baseball caps are practical and easy to wear. You can apply DTF transfers on the front panel for logos, initials, nicknames, roles or artwork with more creativity.

This makes a fun and wearable Employee Appreciation Day Gift that feels personal.

11. Laptop Pouch

For laptop pouches, you can apply DTF transfers featuring team names, departments, or simple icons and illustrations that reflect each person’s role. These add a little personality to something people use every day, which is what makes your Employee Appreciation Day Gifts memorable.

As the personalizing method of using DTF transfers requires you apply the prints, it will suit best when you’re ordering small-to-medium quantities — like when personalizing for each team member.

Besides, not all materials are compatible with the DTF transfer applying process, so you need to check the surface material first.

When you order iron-on DTF transfers from our printing service, feel free to contact us for any assistance you need, whether it is determining if the material is compatible, design, editing or applying instructions and tips.

Employee appreciation day gifts: Other methods

There are way more methods to create employee appreciation day gifts like debossing, embroidery, or engraving. 

Consider these personalized Employee Appreciation Day gifts:

12. Debossed Premium Notebook

You can turn a practical notebook into a premium gift by embossing it, giving it a subtle but classy look. These gifts are great for daily use and Works well for executive teams or team leads. Remember to choose the design that shows your extra care for your employees.

13. Embroidered Tote Bag

Embroidery will make an everyday canvas tote feel more special. You can include names, company logos, or fun icons

14. Engraved Keychain

Small but meaningful, keychains make versatile Employee Appreciation Day Gifts that can be kept for years. They are also very compact to put in a gift box and easy to give to your employee at an event. 

Keychains can be engraved with employee names or work anniversaries, working well for all departments, regardless of role.

These personalizing methods give your Employee Appreciation Day Gifts a polished and thoughtful look; however, they are more complex and often make the gift result more expensive than the methods we’ve talked about earlier. So take these notes into consideration when choosing the best Employee Appreciation Day Gifts.

Last thoughts

You’ve explored 14 thoughtful and personalized Employee Appreciation Day Gifts and finding the right one may not be a difficult task anymore. The key is to choose the most suitable ideas that show your real appreciation and care for your employee yet can be personalized in an effective and affordable way. 

When adding personal touch to the gift, don’t forget you can order printed custom UV DTF Transfer stickers or custom iron-on DTF transfers right at our website.