In December the task usually reads: thirty people, twenty euros each, one week. Six ideas with the arithmetic for teams from five to thirty.
Gift ideas for colleagues, sorted by budget
A present for colleagues has two constraints private gifts do not: the amount is the same for everyone, and it must not be too personal. Six options, sorted by budget per head.
- Up to 15 € each. A café or bookshop card, good coffee, sweets from a local maker. Works when the team is large and the gesture is symbolic.
- 15 to 25 € each. An escape room for the whole department: for a team of five on a weekday that is 12 € a head. Here the present turns into a shared evening.
- 25 to 40 € each. A workshop, a tasting or dinner. Requires a date that works for everyone.
- 40 € and up. Individual gift cards for a place each person chooses. The only option where taste cannot be guessed wrong.
- No budget at all. A day off, an early finish before the holidays, or the right to choose the format of the next event.
- A donation in the team's name. Works when the team proposes it, and never when management decides alone.
The second option is ours, and it has one practical advantage. Thirty separate presents have to be wrapped, handed out and explained; one shared evening takes one booking.
For the team, not the shelf
One room per team of five
- A weekday room before 18:00 is 60 €, which is 12 € a head
- Book three rooms or more at once and you can get an individual offer
- The team agrees the date; a gift card fixes no time
What it costs for a team
The price is per room rather than per person, so the size of the team becomes a number of rooms.
- 5 people: one room, 60 € on a weekday before 18:00, so 12 € each.
- 10 people: two rooms, 120 € on a weekday or 160 € on a Friday evening.
- 20 people: four rooms, 240 € on a weekday, and at that size an individual offer applies.
- 30 people: two addresses in one slot, or one address across two consecutive slots.
The nine rooms sit at three addresses: Meierovica bulvāris 14 takes up to 22 players at once, Jeruzalemes iela 2/4 up to 15, Miera iela 61 up to 11. There is more on splitting a large team in the Christmas party piece.
Individual cards or one shared event
This is the real decision, and it is not about money. Both have their place.
- Individual cards suit a team that is spread out, works remotely, or is half out of Riga in December. Everyone picks their own time and company.
- A shared event suits a team that already works together and needs a reason to meet outside meetings. Here the present is also the occasion.
If the team is new, or two departments have just merged, the shared format gives more. Why that happens, and what to ask of it, is covered in the team building piece.
How to get a colleague gift wrong
Five things somebody does every December.
- A present that comments on the person. A gym membership, a diet book, deodorant. Even as a joke it reads wrong.
- Uneven amounts. If one person gets 50 € and another 10 €, that is remembered all year.
- Compulsory attendance at the weekend. An event that takes someone's Saturday is not a present.
- A fixed date nobody agreed on. By December half the team already has plans.
- Alcohol as the only option. Part of the team does not drink, and there is no way to defer it.
One last argument for the card: it cannot be handed over wrong. The person chooses the room, the time and who to bring.
When to buy
A card can be arranged on any day, including the last one. What runs short in December is not cards but slots: evenings and weekends fill faster than usual, because every other company is after the same hours.
In practice that means two things. If the present is a shared event, book the slot as soon as you know the date. If the present is cards, tell the team to use them in January rather than putting it off to spring.
Collecting the money without souring anything
Half the trouble with office presents comes from the collection rather than the choice. Four rules keep it calm.
- One amount for everyone, stated up front. "Give what you can" ends with some people covering others.
- A deadline with a date on it. Without one the money arrives on the last day and the booking is made too late.
- An easy way to opt out. Somebody has their own December expenses, and that is not a matter for the group chat.
- One person in charge, not a committee. Three people agreeing on a present takes a week and ends in mugs.
If you are collecting for a shared event, reverse the order: book the slot first, announce the amount second. In December, time is the scarcer resource.
A present for the boss
Different rules here, and one of them matters most: it must not look like an attempt to curry favour. So keep it to things with a clear price and no personal edge.
- A shared event for the whole team, where the manager is one of the players rather than the guest of honour.
- A mid-range gift card they use with their own family.
- What does not work: personal items, an expensive present from the whole department, and anything that comments on their habits.
When to plan the team event
December evenings are the one resource in this story that runs out before the budget does. Three practical points.
- Pick the date before the amount. Once the slot is booked, everything else adjusts around it; the other way round does not work.
- Look at weekdays before 18:00. A room there costs 60 € against 100 € at the weekend, and more slots are free.
- Confirm the head count two days ahead. A sixth and seventh player cost 10 € each, so a late addition is fine as long as it is not a surprise.
Questions people ask
What does it cost per colleague?
For a team of five, a room on a weekday before 18:00 costs 60 €, or 12 € each. In the evening and at the weekend the room is 80 € and 100 €.
Is there a discount for a large team?
Book three rooms or more at once and you can get an individual offer. The terms are on the corporate events page.
Can several people use one gift card?
Yes. The price covers a room with five players; each additional player is 10 €.
How many people can play at once?
Up to 22 at one address and up to 48 across all three. A larger group is split into two consecutive slots.
How much time should we set aside?
The game is 60 minutes, or about an hour and a half with the briefing and a group photo. Book any table for after that.
Start with two numbers: how many people, and how much per head. Together they decide whether this is one booking or a pile of separate cards.
