Yeah, I really didn’t mean to rain on your parade at all, either. I was sincere when I said enjoy that PDA.
Although I myself wouldn’t have enjoyed that particular gift; I would much rather have had a check! But I’m kind of crass that way. And I hate PDAs. A gift I liked, I’d have been neutral about, still wondering why it wasn’t a check. I just don’t understand corporate giving, unless the staff is actually emotionally close, as it sounds like it might be in several cases here.
What? She didn’t divide the profits equally? All you got was a lousy PDA?
What kind of Commie do you work for, anyway? 
My boss once sent me a card for x-mas… It was typed.
With a space left in the name spot, so he could write my name in.
It came with a reminder that I had to come in early to work for the next week.
Wanna trade?
Any corporate execs lurking out there that can answer this one?
OK, well, I dunno how it goes in really big companies, but in the small company I work for they could only give out X amount of cash as a bonus, or else we (the employees) would have to declare it and pay taxes (or so the office mgr says). On really profitable years (not this one folks) like say a year or two ago, we got the X amount bonus ($500), plus various gift cards, corporate logo jackets and lawn chairs, and munchie baskets.
In other words, they could give us actual corporate gifts, and write it up on the books one way, and extend the bonus amount without going over that cash amount limit.
YMMV of course.
Christmas stuff in our office is generally organized by us, the employees.
We’re economically depressed here. But, our supervisor is understanding. She doesn’t buy us extravagant gifts, but she does allow us to do pretty much anything we want, and she participates with us.
We do an office potluck, and a Secret Santa. It’s always fun. And on the day of the potluck, we really accomplish nothing except stuffing our faces and admiring our gifts. Oh, we turn our computers on and pretend to work for a little while, but after a little bit, we just hang it up and start eating.
It’s actually pretty nice. A slow, relaxing day, deadlines set aside, good food (as cheesy as potlucks might seem, there’s some damn good cooks in my office!), and petty crap set aside.
I appreciate it!
I’m glad someone’s boss is managing to be generous! My first two years, we got damn nice bonuses. Then, last year, we got zero bonus, no Christmas part for the office (although my immediate boss had a potluck at her house for just our team, which was actually a lot of fun), and a gift basket in January with some not-very-good food items, as the new partner realized that morale had sunk to an all-time low (but what kind of a gift is pasteurized processed cheese food?). This, after we had just moved into swanky new office space and apparently spent something like $1100 for each office door in the new space. How can you spend $1100 on a door? I would have happily traded my gift basket not to have the managing director chasing everyone around the office for months to make sure we didn’t smudge the walls or spill on the carpet.
This year we’re having a party, but I’ll be totally shocked if we get bonuses at all. I don’t mind potluck parties; I think they’re more relaxed and intimate, and I love to cook anyway. I’d happily forego the party, though, if the partners would stop pestering us about billing at every goddamn staff meeting. Do they think I’m holding off on the billing just to torture them or something? The way they behave about money makes me want to puke, especially since I bill something like 8 times my salary every year. Even if it costs double my salary to employ me, what with benefits and admin/IT support and all, that’s still a helluva profit margin. And I really get tired of having guys who probably earn in the mid-to high-six figure range every year nag us about cash all the time. Just let me work like a human being, and treat us with respect! That’s better than a stupid cocktail party.
Well… I missed the Christmas party.
We keep getting e-mail inviting us to a wonderful division wide x-mas shindig.
$68.00 per person, and a cash bar.
Uh, I do not make enough money to afford it. I groused to a coworker who informed me that only the really new employees and the stupidvisors attend it.
In all of the other units I worked for, we had a lunch out. The employer allows us 2 hours paid off for this. However, my stupidvisor cannot spare the time off to partake in some holiday cheer and will not allow us slags to have a fest without her (She is the epitome of “It’s all about ME!”)
Sooo, I will bring treats for those of us working on Xmas Eve, we’ll order a pizza in.
But, huhzzah! I am finally eligible for a bonus.
The bonus comes next week. So neener. 
Even though we pay taxes on that, too…
Put a sign up on her office door that says “Ebenezer Scrooge, Supervisor”
[sub]Then maybe arrange for a manager or VP to see it. [/sub]
This year we are getting a $50 gift card from Target. Not great but…
…the company did inform us that on January 1 they will be making a bonus contribution to our 401k plans that equals 5% of our salary. And effective next year they are increasing the match on our contributions from 25 cents on the dollar to 50 cents on the dollar. Now that’s more like it.
Phouchg
Lovable Rogue
It’s nice to hear your boss appreciates your work so much, ** Olentzero**. That’s a pretty nice gift. 
I’m really not expecting any kind of a holiday bonus. We had major layoffs earlier this year, and my bosses fired two of my coworkers in the last seven weeks. At this rate I’ll be happy if I’m still employed in January.
Being as the cafe I work for isn’t all that big, nor do we have tons of employees, I think my boss is okay. Last year we had a dinner at a nice BBQ place, and we each got $50 in an envelope.
Only three jobs I have held ever gave holiday gifts. One place we got a frozen turkey each year. And at the other we got $20 at Hanukkah(it was a Jewish deli) But hey, I don’t care what the occasion is, a present is a present.
I get Christmas Day off without pay. Also New Year’s day without pay.
But I have a job. This is a good thing.
Olent, it sounds like you work for some wonderful people.
We used to get the frozen turkey, now we get a $20 Am Ex gift check. Or is it cheque?
I’ve always done what I can for my department, but it’s often out of a manager’s hands. At my last job, we had a nice big Christmas party paid for by the company, and I took the entire I.S. department (25 people) out for lunch on my own tab. My bosses, the president and CEO (who happen to be married to each other), gave me three chocolates in a felt bag and a Christmas card. We won’t even discuss the bonus they gave themselves while leaving the other two officers (myself and the CFO) out.
It might be worthwhile to consider where “blame” ultimately lies when you get less than joyous treatment at the holidays.
However, I hope everyone manages to have a happy holidays, regardless of how things go at work.
[mumble-grumble] Can’t wait til I don’t work for the government any more. All our office is doing is having a lunch at a restaurant - costs about $30 a head for us and gifts are given only by each other.
My wife and I decided not to go since we couldn’t fathom paying $60 for a stinkin’ lunch.
Her boss knows she’s a self-centered witch, but cannot do anything to change it. And heavens knows, were my stupidvisor ordered to take us to lunch, well, that would be a truly hellacious lunch. I could guarantee you she would bitch and whine the entire time. So maybe it’s not such a bad thing.
She will (of course) be off Xmas Eve, so we’ll party then.
(associated grouse: I was supposed to work from home Xmas Eve, but my partner “forgot” to tell me he’s off that week, so I have to be in office. Dammit. And it’s too late to take it off. Asshat.)
We’ll probably get Christmas Cacti again this year.
One of the bosses gives them out every year.
Because my fiance and I work at the same company, we now have about 10 of these things around the house.
They just won’t die! As a matter of fact they keep flowering
every year, whcih makes my mom jealous because her Christmas Cactus has never re-flowered.
Ironically, the only place I’ve ever worked that gave Christmas bonuses (the entire rest of my career has been spent working for a non-profit organization, the federal government and now the state, so no bonuses are expected or given) was by far the worst place I’ve ever worked. I’m thankful every day that I was able to get out. A Christmas bonus in no way makes up for being crappy to your employees the rest of the year.