圣诞节送什么礼物给老板?

The holidays aren't just a time for giving presents to family members and loved ones. Young Yun, director of the Platinum Card Concierge Service for American Express, believes in showing appreciation to business associates and bosses, too. 'Recognition is a really important part of professional relations -- more so now since we're all being asked to do more with less,' she says.

During the holiday season, Ms. Yun orders about a dozen gifts for her business associates -- and helps American Express clients select and order thousands of their gifts as well.

It's important to choose a present that is neither too generic nor too personal. The first will disappear into the mound of gifts that show up at this time of year, and the latter could make the recipient uncomfortable.

'To show that there was extra thought put into it,' Ms. Yun tries to reflect the recipient's interests as much as possible. She keeps gift-giving in mind throughout the year, filing away tidbits she hears in conversations. If someone mentions liking wine, for example, she may get him a leather-bound wine journal embossed with his initials; if a person mentions liking a certain spa, she may arrange for a gift certificate there. 'People have a lot of information at their disposal,' she says, noting that she pays close attention to casual chats before meetings start so that she can pick up on people's likes and dislikes.

After hearing one of her bosses, an avid cook, mention that she liked the sauces at a particular restaurant, Ms. Yun arranged for a gift basket from the restaurant that featured some of its sauces -- as well as a sauce recipe from the chef. 'She was surprised that I remembered that she liked the restaurant,' she says.

If you haven't been filing away tidbits during the year, Ms. Yun suggests doing a little sleuthing via Google or social-network sites like Facebook to get a general idea of the person's hobbies or preferences. Associates who like to travel have received set of chic Luxe guides to various cities. Someone with a sweet tooth received sets of Vosges chocolates that featured bacon and other unusual ingredients, which she said was 'less typical' than a box of chocolates.

Ms. Yun cautions gift-buyers not to get too personal, however. People generally should not buy 'clothing, jewelry or anything overly extravagant' for business associates, she says. 'If you don't know them too well, you don't want to cross personal boundaries,' she says.

If she doesn't have much information about a gift recipient, she generally turns to food, since 'most people like to eat.' One plus: 'It allows the recipient to share it with their team, so it's not just one person getting a gift.'

Ms. Yun avoids anything that looks pre-packaged, instead placing orders with atypical purveyors such as a local bakery that's famous for cupcakes or another baked good. 'Flowers are OK' but not her first choice, she says, as the recipient can't share those with his or her colleagues as easily.

Gifts to business associates should always go to the recipients' workplaces, even if you have the people's home addresses. The gifts should arrive no later than Dec. 15, as 'many people take time off at the end of the year.'

One last thing Ms. Yun does before her gifts go out: 'I write down what I've given to everyone,' she says. When you go to a lot of trouble to come up with a thoughtful gift, she says, 'you don't want to repeat that gift down the road.'圣诞节不只是一个给亲朋好友准备礼物的节日。美国运通公司(American Express)白金卡贵宾服务部主管Young Yun认为，这也是向业务伙伴和老板表示感谢的时候。她说，让对方感受到我们的记挂，这其实是发展职场关系的重要环节——尤其是现在这个时候，因为要求我们做的事情更多，而可供支配的资源更少。

在圣诞节来临之际，Young Yun会订购十几件礼物送给业务伙伴，同时还帮助美国运通的客户选购数千种礼品。

选择礼品是有讲究的，既不能太大众化，又不能太私人化。太大众化会淹没在这个时节各式各样的礼品当中，太私人化则会让对方感觉不太舒服。

Young Yun说，要让对方感觉到你送的礼物是用了心思的。她会尽量按对方的兴趣爱好来挑选礼品。整整一年，她始终把送礼的事情放在心上，从交谈中寻找对方的喜好。举例而言，如果有人提到喜欢喝葡萄酒，她会送他一份印着他姓名缩写的皮面葡萄酒笔记；如果有人提到喜欢某个温泉浴场，她会送一张那里的消费券。Young Yun说，人们会无意中说出不少资讯。她很注意会议开始前的闲聊，从中发现对方喜欢什么，不喜欢什么。

有一次，Young Yun有个爱做饭的上司提到自己喜欢某家餐厅调的酱料，她就准备了一个该餐厅的礼品篮，其中包括一些餐厅自制的酱料，以及餐厅大厨提供的一份酱料配方。Young Yun说，她很惊讶我居然记得她喜欢那个餐厅。

如果你平时没有留心，Young Yun建议你通过谷歌(Google)或Facebook这样的社交网站做点准备工作，对收礼一方的兴趣爱好有个大致的了解。喜欢旅行的业务伙伴可能收到一套漂亮的介绍各个城市的Luxe旅行指南。喜欢甜品的人可能收到一盒Vosges巧克力，其中有培根口味和其他一些不同寻常的配料。她说，这要比一盒普通的巧克力“更新奇”。

但Young Yun给大家一个提醒，礼物不能过于私人化。她说，通常而言，不能给业务伙伴买衣服、珠宝或任何过于奢侈的东西。如果你跟对方不是很熟，就不要太越界。

如果对收礼一方不太了解，Young Yun通常会选食品作为礼物，因为大多数人都喜欢美食。这么做还有一个好处：对方可以跟团队成员共同分享这份礼物，送礼的心意就扩散了。

Young Yun避免选择那些看起来是预先包装好的食品，而是从有特色的食品供应商那里下订单，比如当地一家做杯形糕饼或其他西点很有名的面包店。她说，鲜花也可以，但不是她的第一选择，因为对方很难跟同事一起分享鲜花。

即使你有对方的家庭住址，送给业务伙伴的礼品也应该送到单位位址。礼物应该在12月15号之前寄到，因为很多人都会在年底休假。

在寄出礼物之前，Young Yun还有最后一件事情要做。她说，我会写下给每个人都送了什么。当你绞尽脑汁思考应该送什么好的时候，不要弄了半天，结果送了件以前送过的东西。