Owning a small corporate entity, working with half a dozen people and servicing a number of clients, I needed to start thinking about how I was going thank everyone for their efforts. It was time for giving and showing my appreciation. I wanted to give offerings that would mean something and maybe start a tradition. Bonuses in the form of cash was something I had considered but dismissed because I thought it lacked warmness and I wanted to show people that I had put some thought and energy into my offerings. To add to my anxieties it was early to mid December and I didn't have a clue what I was going to get each person nor where I was going to go! Hence the gift dilemma. What I needed was a plan and a starting point. I knew what I didn't want. That is, I didn't want to get the same gift for everyone, I didn't want to spend too much money and I didn't want to look too cheap. My first thought was the shopping mall. I reasoned that going to a shopping mall would give me options, their would be lots of variety to choose from at any budget. What I didn't envisage was all the walking and time wasted. I managed to find 1 gift and it only took me 2hrs! Clearly this wasn't going to work. Back to the drawing board. My next point of call was the trusty Internet. I typed "GIFTS" into my favourite search engine and was confronted with a plethora of options. Where was I going to start?! I then threw in a couple of extra terms to narrow my search. Presto, I suddenly have a set of meaningful results. Five minutes later I find a gift hamper site that I am comfortable with and start planning my gifts. I first checked through the site to make sure they: 1. were reputable 2. were contactable by phone 3. didn't have any major gotcha's 4. had secure online payments Ten minutes later I find myself selecting gifts from a range of hampers online. Twenty minutes in and I am at the checkout paying for all my gifts. Hit the submit button... browser processing... order confirmed.... that's what I like to see.. My gift dilemma all sorted. Back at work after the holidays and I'm confronted with smiling faces and many a thank you. PS. I used a company I found online called Gifts Made Easy that can be found at http://www.giftsmadeeasy.com.au