Christmas gift ideas for colleagues they will actually use

The best picks are small, useful and easy to hand over at your desk. Browse the full range on our gifts for colleagues page, or start with these five:

• For the whole team: the Merry and Bright bauble mug (£5.99), a bold 450 ml mug with a red handle. It is easy to buy several at once.
• For your desk neighbour: the Christmas coaster set (£6.99), four MDF coasters in a Ruby the Reindeer, Jolly Santa or Melting Snowman design.
• For the planner: the Forest Bee A5 notebook (£7.99), with gold foil page edges and a ribbon marker.
• For a colleague who works from home: the Caramel Waffle tube candle (£6.99), with about 55 hours of burn time.
• For your manager: the Celtic Knot notebook with pen (£9.99), in brown faux leather with a coordinating pen.

Each one feels chosen rather than grabbed, and none of them leaves your colleague feeling they owe you something big back. Doing a group draw instead? Our Secret Santa gifts page has its own picks.

A mug is the safest gift for a colleague, because nearly everyone drinks something hot at work. Choose one that says something about them.

The No Rain, No Flowers mug (£5.99) has a cheerful yellow handle and an uplifting message. It is a kind choice for someone who has had a tough year. For the colleague who shares cat photos every Monday, the Crazy Cat Lady mug (£5.99) comes in a gift box with a window, so there is no wrapping to do.

Big tea drinkers will like the Blue Moon print mug (£5.99), which holds 500 ml. The Midnight Hare mug (£9.99) shows a moon gazing hare under a starry sky and suits a quieter colleague who loves nature.

Want a small laugh at the bottom of a cup? The Peekaboo Ghost mug (£10.99) has a little ghost hiding inside, and your colleague only finds it once the coffee is gone. It suits the team joker, and it is still fun long after December.

Choose a notebook for the colleague who always takes notes in meetings. A5 is a handy size: big enough for real notes, small enough for a laptop bag.

The Moon Phase velvet notebook (£7.99) has a soft velvet cover with gold moon phases and 200 lined pages, so it will last well into the new year. Do they like something bolder? The Red Circus Stripe notebook (£7.99) has a vintage NOTES label, a ribbon marker and an elastic closure. The Western Lucky Charms notebook (£7.99) is blue and covered in horseshoes, cowboy boots and cacti, for someone with a playful streak.

For a gadget fan, the LCD wipe screen notebook (£11.99) has a reusable screen on its cover for short notes. Inside are 80 lined leaves for the notes worth keeping. For a close team, the notebook with strap (£11.99) carries a message such as Waves in the same sea, a gentle way to say you like working together. Both of these are standard dispatch, so order them a little earlier.

Yes, as long as the candle is for their home and not their desk, because a lit flame is rarely welcome in an office. That makes a candle a thoughtful choice for a colleague who works from home, or one you know well.

The scent matters more than the jar. The Cold Brew Coffee scented candle (£9.99), from the Brunch Club range, suits the person who always does the coffee run. The Solar System Cedar tube candle (£7.99) pairs a space design with an earthy cedar fragrance, so it is good for someone who likes fresh scents more than sweet ones. For grey January afternoons, the Blue Pastel Skies peppermint candle (£8.99) gives about 55 hours of burn time.

For someone with a sweet tooth, there is the Caramel Waffle candle from our top picks. If you would rather skip the wrapping paper, the Orange Print candle (£9.99) has a wooden lid and comes in a matching cylinder gift box.

Festive mugs and Christmas-scented candles suit the colleague who wears the first Christmas jumper of the year. The Christmas lidded mug (£12.99) comes in Winter Puppy, Winter Snowman or Red Christmas House, and its lid is handy at a busy desk. For more fun, the Christmas shaped mug (from £10.99) comes in two shapes: a 500 ml Santa Claus, or a dolomite Christmas pudding with a lid. The fir tree mug and snowflake spoon set (£12.99) pairs an iridescent white tree mug with a matching spoon, a gentle choice for a hot chocolate fan.

Candles bring the season home. The Christmas glass candle with tree (£12.99) has a small tree on its wooden lid and comes in three scents. The Christmas pudding scented tube candle (£8.99) has a nostalgic print and burns for about 70 hours. The Snow Day candle (£8.99) is decorated with snowflakes and smells of fresh cotton and coconut. Every gift in this section is same-day dispatch, so these have the latest Christmas order date.

Spend about what you would on a round of coffees, and spend the same on everyone in the team. Equal gifts avoid awkward comparisons. A small budget also means nobody feels they have to give something bigger back.

Most gifts in this guide cost about that much. Three examples: the Blue Moon print mug (£5.99), the Moon Phase velvet notebook (£7.99) and the Caramel Waffle tube candle (£6.99). For more ideas in the same price range, see our small gifts on a budget.

A gift for your manager is the one people worry about. A gift from just one person can look like you are trying to win favour, so a team gift that everyone chips in for often feels more comfortable. Keep it useful and neutral, such as a notebook with a pen.

After that, choose by personality, not job title. Think about what you see every day: the colleague with the huge mug, the full notebook, the cat stories. A gift that shows you noticed means more than one that costs more.

Order same-day dispatch gifts by noon on Thursday 17 December, and other gifts earlier, as shown below. Every product page shows the expected delivery dates before you pay.

Type of gift	Last order for Christmas
Same-day dispatch gifts	noon on Thursday 17 December
Standard dispatch gifts	noon on Wednesday 9 December
Personalised gifts	noon on Tuesday 8 December
Personalised gifts marked "Next day available", with paid next day delivery at checkout	noon on Tuesday 22 December

If you order a same-day dispatch gift by noon, Monday to Friday, it leaves our partner's warehouse that day. Nearly every gift in this guide is same-day dispatch. The two exceptions are the LCD wipe screen notebook and the notebook with strap, which are standard dispatch.

Tracked delivery costs £3.95. In-stock gifts travel free to the UK mainland when your order comes to £45 or more. Personalised gifts are made to order and have their own delivery charge of £4.95.

Gifts that aren't personalised can be returned within 14 days.