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Gift giving is fun, right? You get nice things, you give nice things. Everyone's happy. Sadly, the whole dilemma of gift giving causes a lot of people stress this time of year. As a student leader, should you give your advisor a gift? How much should it cost? What about other advisors? Your fellow officers?
How far up the student affairs food chain do you go? Should you give something to the Dean? What if you get a little something from your advisor and you are totally broke and can't reciprocate?
I think, as a general rule, no one expects gifts from their students. We know you're broke, and this is an expensive time of year. You should be buying things for your family, friends, and that girl you've been sleeping with. Really, don't blow $10 on a Starbucks gift card for me.
I think nice hand-written cards are especially nice (yeah, nicer than that Facebook posting on my wall that says "Ho, ho, ho, Fat Boy!"). Write your advisor and your fellow leaders each a holiday card – yes, "holiday card." (Don't send a Christmas card to your Jewish advisor.). In the card, write a nice note about how much you enjoy working with him/her and a kind wish for a happy 2008. If you want to get really fancy, get a print made of a photo that he or she will enjoy – maybe one of the group, or of you and your advisor. In the world of digital photo sharing, an actual PRINT has become something special, and you can get those for about 20-cents at your local drug store.
If you are determined to spend money on an advisor or a fellow leader, then make it something cheap and personal. Don't go and blow a bunch of money on an Olive Garden gift card when you can put that photo print in a cute, cheap frame. Make it personal, and get creative. Those are the very best gifts.
This year, our company took all the money we would have spent on holiday cards and small gifts, and we bought three llamas for deserving families in poor countries via Heifer International. It's a really cool charity, and people enjoyed the gesture. Maybe you can give a small monetary gift to a local charity (or your school's foundation) in your advisor's name. They would think that was really thoughtful.
If you're going to spend money on anyone in your student leadership world, spend it on some vastly under-appreciated person, like your advisor's secretary, or the little dude who cleans up your student activities office every night. What about your mail carrier, the lady who works in the coffee shop downstairs, or the guy at the print and copy shop who saved your ass 10 times this semester.
