Office romance is something that more and more workplaces are willing to accept, despite the best intentions of companies that have a policy against inter-office dating.
If you’re in a workplace where it’s not frowned upon, showing your affection for someone when it comes to Valentine’s Day can be tough with such a large group around you, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be.
A perfect gift will tell them how much you appreciate their work ethic and attitude without making things awkward at the office.
That being said, if you have a special someone at the office, or you just want to gift something that is completely non-romantic to your coworkers, a gift that is a little something but not too personal or specific, here are a few great ideas for the office.
The Dos and Don’ts of Valentine’s Day Gifts for Your Coworkers
As mentioned earlier, whether office romances are prohibited or not is completely up to internal company policies, so you need to be careful when showing affection to your coworker.
Don’t
Do not make the gift about the holiday itself or get overly romantic about anything.
Stick to more traditional Valentine’s Day gifts like flowers, chocolates, and other sweets, and if you’re feeling particularly bold, a spa voucher.
These things are still perfect for coworkers who don’t want to get too serious with their significant other at work!
If you have a large group in your department where everyone works hard and deserves some praise, an office care package might be a nice way of showing them how much they mean to your team without going overboard with all the mushy stuff.
Don’t give gifts “to” anyone in particular – it should just be a general way of showing them your appreciation for their hard work, so it’s always better to group people.
This will also prevent anyone from feeling left out or hurt if they don’t get a gift themselves.
Do
Get the best quality you can afford – most times, when you buy something for someone else, it’s because you care about that person and want to see them happy. If that’s the case, then getting low-quality anything won’t make them feel good.
As previously mentioned, think about who would like what sort of gift when shopping around.
Knowing your coworkers well might not be easy when there are 50+ people in an office environment, but spending some time talking to them can help in the long run with appropriate gift choices.
If you want to show your coworkers that they are appreciated, then there are plenty of great Valentine’s Day gifts for coworkers that won’t break the bank and will make them feel good about themselves!
Best Valentine’s Day Gifts for Coworkers
When we started writing this article, we tried taking into consideration a wide variety of scenarios, including Valentine’s Day gifts for your office crush, as well as non-romantic gifts that you could give to any of your coworkers at an office party.
That being said, we tried including gift ideas that were both romantic and just plain old friendly for any occasion.
DIY Valentine Gifts for Coworkers
DIY gifts are always appreciated since they show that you took the time to create something special just for them.
From necklaces with their name on them to an inspirational message written on a coffee mug, you have a lot of options when it comes to DIY Valentine’s Day gifts that are perfect for your coworkers.
If you’re looking for some ideas for DIY Valentine’s Day gifts that you can make for your coworkers, check out the entries below:
1. Chalkboard Heart Frames – Coworkers Valentines
Do you have a coworker whose absolute favourite thing to do at work is decorate their desk or work space with pictures of their family, friends, and pets? Then make them a cute little heart-shaped frame so they can add one more! We love this adorable chalkboard photo frame by Crafts by Courtney because then your coworker can customize it by doodling on it however they please with a stick of chalk.
2. Mini Sock Pillows – Valentine’s Crafts
Are you a sewing enthusiast who would prefer to stitch simple projects for your coworkers than most other DIY projects you see? Make them little heart-shaped pillows by upcycling old brightly coloured socks! These are great things to have on your desk because you can tack a reminder paper right into the pillow and set in somewhere in sight so it won’t be overlooked. See how they’re made on Sas Does.
3. Valentine’s Day Gifts – Bath Bombs
If you ask us, everyone deserves a little bit of pampering on Valentine’s Day whether they’re in a relationship or not. After all, Valentine’s Day is about love, and that’s not just for couples; you can love yourself too! That’s why we like Arts and Crafts Family idea for making your coworkers DIY bath bombs! After a long day at the office, they’ll be excited to go home and take a nice relaxing bath. Bonus points if you put a silly pun on the label.
4. Pucker Up Valentine’s Day Gift
If your coworkers are anything like us, they probably usually have candy of some type sitting on their desk with a “help yourself” policy to go along with it. They’ll really appreciate it, then, if you get them something to replace whatever they have now when they run out! Instead of just buying them candy that they could easily buy themselves, however, Shaken Together Life suggests making them these delicious DIY lemon drops.
5. Stamped Muslin Candy Bags – Valentine’s Day Gifts for Coworkers
Have you bought some delicious Valentine’s Day candy in bulk that you plan to split up into little bags to give as a simple favor to each coworker, but you don’t want the packaging to look sloppy or low effort? Try making your own little muslin bags! Urban Comfort made these ones by custom stamping them with red ink and Valentine’s Day sayings and shapes.
6. Valentine’s Day Tic Tacs – Valentine’s Day Gifts
Are your coworkers exceptionally difficult to shop for or new enough that you don’t know them very well yet? Go with a safe idea that will brighten their day with the though, even if it’s not all that personalized this year. The Idea Room suggests buying packs of mints and replacing the store labels with Valentine’s Day-themed labels that you designed yourself (or you can use the printout from their website).
7. Takeout Candy Boxes – Valentine’s Day Gift
Confetti Sunshine has another printout project for you, just in case you don’t quite have time to design your own! They suggest giving Valentine’s Day candies, like message hearts, to each coworker in a little seasonal takeout food-style box! If you have a little more time on your hands, try using their printout as a template but creating your own custom design.
8. Love Potion Bubble Bath – Valentine’s Day Crafts
Have you worked in a very small place for many years and you know your coworkers well enough to know what they’re allergic to? Then you might be safe to make them a different DIY pampering tool than the bath bombs: bubble bath! We can’t get over how cute Sugar Cloth‘s idea to package their DIY bubble bath recipe up like little love potions is.
9. Valentine’s Party Poppers – Valentine’s Day Crafts
Setting off loud noises in your office probably isn’t the greatest idea, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still make everyone a fun little Valentine’s Day-themed party “popper” without the bang! Check out how At the Picket Fence put together these cute little bundles that your coworkers and pull with each other, enjoying the surprises each person gets inside.
10. Peppermint Infusion Bags Valentine’s Day Gifts
Are your coworkers big tea people who love nothing more than relaxing with a warm mug while they go over their final reports in the late afternoon? Then help them feel extra cozy on Valentine’s Day by making them some refreshing heart-shaped mint infusion bags, just like Homeoloy Modern Vintage did here! These little DIY tea bags made from coffee filters and crushed candy cane are so cute and easy that we’re considering just making some for ourselves at home for fun.
11. Notepaper Treat Bags – Coworkers Valentine’s Day Gifts
Are you hoping to make your office Valentine’s Day really hearken back to the cute afternoons you have in grade school where everyone set a treat on the desk of each person in the class? Then White Gunpowder‘s idea for folding adorable little bags out of notepaper, filling them with candy, and sealing them with a Valentine’s sticker is the perfect thing for each of your coworkers.
DIY Valentine’s Cards for Coworkers
Valentine’s Day cards have always been a classic gift idea, but in this day and age of digital everything, they’ve seemed to become a lost art.
If you want to go the more traditional route with your Valentine’s Day gifts for coworkers, you can always get some personalized cards or print off a few pages from Microsoft word and pass them around the office.
You could even handwrite something special inside each card if you wanted to get creative.
Here are some ideas that we had:
12. Handmade Heart Cards – Valentine’s Day Craft
Many people forget that you just can’t beat a classic and that an overly complicated greeting card isn’t necessarily better than one that’s simple, elegant, and to the point.
That being said, if you want to gift your coworker a Valentine’s Day greeting card without having to waste a lot of time on supplies complex design, go ahead and try a simple pink greeting card on which you glued a big hear heart.
All you’ll need is some pink cardboard, some red paper, a stick of glue, and a pen to write your Valentine’s Day message on the inside of the card.
Of course, you can work with other colors as well, although the most popular ones on valentine’s Day are pink, red, and white.
Because the card itself is so simple, we recommend that whatever message you plan on writing on the inside should also be simple.
However, if you’re out of ideas as to what you can write, you can always try the all-time favorite “Will you be my Valentine?“.
13. Felt Heart Card Valentine’s Day Gift
If you liked the previous card idea but would like to try something with a bit more texture, you could always try something similar to the picture above: a simple Valentine’s Day greeting card with a felt heart stitched onto it.
You’ll need the following supplies:
- Some glossy colored cardboard
- Some colored felt
- Some colored yarn
- A pair of scissors
- A stick of glue
As you can see from the illustrations above, as far as the colors are concerned, it’s recommended that the cardboard, felt, and yarn are all of typical Valentine’s Day colors: pink and red.
All you have to do to make this Valentine’s Day card is follow these simple instructions:
- Fold the cardboard in half with the glossy side on the outside
- Cut out different-sized felt hearts and stitch them together
- Glue the felt hearts to the outside of your greeting card
- Write a cute Valentine’s Day message on the inside
The idea is pretty simple, but you can’t deny that it looks great, and your coworker will appreciate receiving one of these.
14. Heart-shaped Greeting Card – Valentine’s Day Craft
Instead of making a card and sticking or stitching a heart onto it, another great idea for Valentine’s Day is to make the greeting card itself heart-shaped.
All you need is some glossy red cardboard, a pair of scissors, and a pen to write down whatever text you’d like.
Simply fold the cardboard in half and start cutting the heart shape starting from the folding point, just like you would do if you wanted to make some paper Christmas decorations.
On the other hand, you can also use a scalpel or a cutter to make cutouts of the text on one side of the card, just like they did with the word Love in the illustrations above.
The card looks amazing, although it’s a design that you would use if your intentions were romantic, so if you don’t want the person receiving it to get the wrong idea, try going with a different design.
15. Lovely Envelope Card – Valentine’s Day Craft
There used to be a time when sending love letters was the most romantic way of expressing your feelings towards someone, but that time has long gone.
Nowadays, it’s much simpler to just send a cute Valentine’s Day card to express how you feel about the person you’re interested in.
However, you can combine the best of both worlds if you mix the two elements: a Valentine’s Day greeting card that has a lovely envelope attached to one side.
This particular idea is perfect for those of you who like origami or papercraft since it involves folding and gluing.
Follow the steps illustrated above to make your envelope greeting card, but feel free to tweak up the design however you see fit, like changing the shape of the envelope or using other colors for the greeting card instead of red, such as pink.
If you want to get creative, you can even put a very small gift inside the greeting card’s envelope, since everyone likes surprises.
16. Bubble Wrap Greeting Card – Valentine’s Day Craft
If you like playful and whimsical ideas, then this next DIY Valentine’s Day greeting card will be up your alley: a bubble wrap greeting card.
However, despite the name, bubble wrap isn’t a part of the card itself, but it is used to make the unique bubble heart on the front of the card.
To make something similar, you’ll need the following things:
- Some bubble wrap
- Glossy cardboard
- A pair of scissors
- Acrylic paint
- A paintbrush
Start by folding the cardboard in half to make the base of the greeting card, then take the scissors and cut the bubble wrap into the shape of a heart.
Once you have your heart, cover the bubbly side with a layer of acrylic paint, then press it against the front of the greeting card so that it can leave a bubbly imprint on it.
As far as colors go, you can pretty much use any colored cardboard and acrylic paint for this project.
However, we recommend that you use colors that contrast with each other, such as bright red acrylic paint over pink cardboard or yellow paint over white cardboard, as illustrated above.
17. Holding Your Heart Card Valentine’s Day Craft
This entry is a bit more on the creative side but, if done right, it can show your coworker how much they mean to you, especially if your intentions are 100% romantic in nature.
All you’ll need is some glossy white cardboard, some red crafting paper, a pair of scissors, and a pen.
Start by folding the white cardboard in half, place your hand over the folded cardboard, and use a pencil to outline your hand like you used to do on paper when you were in kindergarten.
Then use the scissors to cut out the cardboard so that when you unfold the cardboard, it looks like a pair of hands that are holding something.
As for the pop-up heart, follow these steps:
- Cut ten red hearts
- Fold the hearts in half
- Add glue to one half of a heart and lay a second heart on top
- Continue until all half hearts are stuck together
Once the pop-up heart is done, simply glue it to the inside of the hold hands card.
We liked this particular idea because, thanks to the card’s design, there’s no need to bother with writing any Valentine’s Day messages on the inside.
Not only that, but if the person receiving this card is a fan of the Twilight series, they will find the card to be somewhat similar to the cover of the first book.
DIY Valentine’s Decor for Coworkers
If you and your office crush share the same workspace, you can decorate it in the spirit of Valentine’s Day.
This is a great way to add color and creativity to your coworkers’ workspace while still sticking with the seasonal theme.
There are a ton of ways to get creative and personalize their space for Valentine’s Day:
18. Pinecone Flower Wall Art – Valentine’s Day Gift
Flowers have always been a popular gift choice on Valentine’s Day, but if you think that traditional bouquet might be too much of a cliche, then you can go ahead and try something a bit different but still has a floral theme: pinecone flower wall art.
To make this floral wall decor, you’ll need to have some pinecones, a wooden board, some acrylic paint in the colors of your choosing, a branch, a pair of very sharp scissors, a paintbrush, a glue gun, a length of silk ribbon, and a pair of garden pruners.
Long story short, you’ll be painting the pinecones with acrylic paint so that they can look more like flowers, and that’s why we recommend that you use colors that are common in everyday flowers, such as red, pink, or violet.
Once you’ve created this wall decor, you can gift it to your coworker, or if the two of you share the same office space, you can go ahead and hang it on the wall yourself so that both of you can admire it.
For detailed instructions on making these pinecone flowers follow this dedicated guide since it includes:
- Step-by-step instructions.
- Illustrations of each step.
- A video tutorial that can help you out.
19. Felt Flower Wall Art Valentine’s Day Craft
If you like the previous idea but like working with more delicate materials instead of having to go into the nearby woods to look for pinecones, then we suggest that you try making this next DIY Valentine’s Day decor: a felt flower wall art.
You’ll need a wooden board, some pompons, some colored felt, a lace ribbon, a pencil, a paintbrush, acrylic paint, a glue gun, and a pair of scissors.
This DIY decor is made in almost the same way as our previous entry, only instead of having to hand paint pinecones, you’ll just have to cut the felt up and shape it into flowers; other than that, the process is pretty much the same.
One advantage of this DIY project is that felt is very malleable and easy to work with, and you can go ahead and make any type of flower you’d like, from daisies to roses.
If you find this idea to be exactly what you were looking for, go ahead and check out this detailed guide on making felt flower wall art. It has everything you can ever ask for, including detailed steps, illustrations, and a video tutorial.
20. Ribbon Heart Valentine’s Day Gift for Coworkers
If you’re looking for a decor idea that looks cute but doesn’t seem too romantic, then you can go ahead and try your hand at making some ribbon hearts since they’re not only easy to make but can also be used to decorate your office space on Valentine’s Day.
The best thing about these ribbon hearts is that they require very few supplies to make, all of which can be found in the average office supply inventory:
- Colored paper
- A glue stick
- Red ribbon
- Scissors
Another great thing about these ribbon hearts is that, since they require so little time to make, you can go ahead and make several dozen of them in just a couple of hours.
You can then decorate the entire office in ribbon hearts, making them ideal party decor.
Check out this detailed guide if you want more information on how to make these cute Valentine’s Day ribbon hearts.
21. Pebble Heart Wall Decor Valentine’s Day Gift
When we were little, we all used to have this fascination with shiny pebbles and river rocks that we’d find on the ground and would sometimes pretend that they were some type of jewelry.
Well, even as an adult, pebbles can be used to make some very nice-looking decorative objects, such as this pebble heart wall decor that you can gift to your coworker on Valentine’s Day.
This wall decoration looks pretty simple and elegant, and you can give it to them so that they can take it and hang it at home, or you can even hang it on one of your office’s walls.
To make this cute wall decor, you’ll need a relatively big wooden board, plenty of pebbles (preferably the same color), some ribbon, spot glaze, some red acrylic paint (pink will also work), a paintbrush, a pencil, a pair of scissors, and a glue gun.
We won’t go into details as to what you need to do to make this pebble heart decor since we have a dedicated article covering that topic with detailed instructions and illustrations. You even have a video tutorial that you can follow at the end if things aren’t clear enough.
22. Valentine’s Day Coworkers Gift – Slime
Do you have a coworker with fidgety hands who’s always squeezing stress balls or playing with little knick knacks on their desk? Then make them something else to amuse themselves with while they concentrate! We recommend this hilarious red glitter slime in a heart shaped case, which you can learn to make on Growing a Jeweled Rose. Your coworker will feel like they’re a kid playing with sparkly Silly Putty again!
23. Valentine’s Day Gift – Heart Snow Globe
Are you still intrigued by the idea of making your coworkers something seasonal that they can keep on their desks to amuse themselves when they’re on hold on the phone with clients? Then check out these DIY Valentine’s Day snow globes by Whipperberry! We think the cutout heart pattern in the middle is completely adorable and they’re surprisingly easy to make.
24. Painted Wooden Coasters – Valentine’s Day Gifts
Perhaps your coworkers are very conscious of putting their glasses and coffee mugs on coasters throughout the day because the office just got lovely new desks and no one wants to be the first to leave a drink ring on the surface? Then try making them all adorably painted wooden coasters like these ones from A Bubbly Life! Consider painting they and their spouses’ initials of the initials of their kids if you know them very well, or stick to just a few cute hearts on the surface of each.
25. Valentine’s Day Gift – Succulent Planters
Maybe your coworkers are big on desk plants, cultivating a few little green friends across the surface of their desks? Add to their collection by giving each person something new but low maintenance: a succulent! We love the way Vitamini Handmade painted little buckets pink and filled them with white and pink rocks for the succulents to nestle in, just to really give the plant a seasonal feel.
Best Valentine’s Day Gifts for Coworkers: Closing Thoughts
Our guide has come to an end, but we hope that we’ve provided you with plenty of ideas for Valentine’s Day gifts that you can gift to your coworkers during this special occasion.
Remember to keep things simple and not go overboard with the romance – after all, we’re talking about a shared workspace here – but do show that you care.
The best thing about these gift ideas is that they take very little time and effort to make; after all, who has time to make flower crowns when deadlines are looming?
We hope you enjoyed reading our article and got inspired! Now get back to work because your coworker is probably waiting for those spreadsheets, or maybe he or she would like some help!
The post 25 DIY Valentine’s Gifts for Your Coworkers appeared first on DIYs.com.
