Could you suggest a good gift for my Christmas office party?

For a room full of people you don’t really know, you can’t go wrong with an Amazon.com gift card.

I’m pretty anti-gift card, but when you really have no idea who will end up with the gift, that could be the envy of the night.

You can put together a gourmet food basket. You can get a cute basket from the 99 Cent Store or you can get an equally cute basket from Target or Trader Joe’s or Whole foods from anywhere from $5 to $20 bucks. Save yourself some money and get a cute basket from the 99 Cent Store.

Then go to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods or Williams Sonoma and put together some items that most people like: coffee and a nice coffee mug, herbal tea bags selection, pasta sauce and dried pasta, fancy olives, flavored olive oil, fancy vinegar, gingerbread mix in a box, interesting salsas, fancy cocoa mix, some mulling spices, or dip mixes, some fancy cookies or chocolate covered nuts or chocolate covered espresso beans. I don’t mean that you should fill the basket with every one of these items, pick 4 or 5 and then wrap the whole basket in that clear clear cellophane, which you can get on a roll, also at the 99 Cent Store.

You can do the same thing with a few items from Starbucks.

You can also fill the basket with a few interesting kitchen items, like a pot holder, a silicone spatula, a small sized mesh strainer, a cute wind up kitchen timer, some wooden spoons, a whisk or a ladle, some cute dish towels. Just a few items that anyone could use. If you feel like spending a little bit more, you can also put these items into a wooden salad bowl or a glass or metal mixing bowl.

A puppy.
Definitely your best option. Who doesn’t like puppies?

You can make a funny calender pretty easily. Put in pictures of classic cars like the AMC Pacer, Ford Pinto, or the old Dodge Dart. I’d find it pretty funny at least

iTunes gift cards
Christmas ornament (you indicated this is a Christmas party, so I’m guessing you’re all of a Christmas ilk)
Gourmet cookies or other baked goods
A collection of salsas
A book (a current bestseller)

Thanks everyone for the great ideas!
I finally decided on a nice bottle of wine in a wine bottle holder like this, and an asortment of Christmas gourmet cookies.

Will keep @Kardamom great basket idea for a family member or a close friend.