Easter Gift for Employees 2026: 12 Original Ideas That Really Work
From sustainable choice gifts to local Easter boxes — concrete suggestions, a suitable budget per employee, and tax information. Invoiced, no credit card, delivered within 10 business days via a choice portal.
An Easter gift for employees typically falls between €10–€35 per employee. The most appreciated options in 2026 are choice gifts (employees choose for themselves), sustainable local products, and personal gestures with a short message. Avoid standard Easter packages — 68% of employees experience them as "straight out of a box." Cadeo offers 1,200+ options that employees can choose from themselves, within any budget, and can be ordered by invoice.
Easter Gift for Employees 2026 — 12 Original Ideas That Actually Work
Which Easter gift suits your team, what budget is appropriate, what works and what doesn’t, and what about the tax rules? A practical guide with 12 concrete ideas for HR and office managers.
Sweet spot budget: €15–€25 per employee. Choice gifts via a choice portal score highest (95% redemption). Sustainable and local products (Tony's Chocolonely, Marie-Stella-Maris, Dille & Kamille) work better than generic Easter packages. Avoid standard catalog boxes — 68% of employees see them as generic. For 2027, content and order need to be live before March 1. Ordering by invoice is possible from 1 gift, net 30 days, no credit card required.
Why Give an Easter Gift?
Easter is, after Christmas and year-end, the biggest moment in the Netherlands to thank employees. Unlike Christmas, it is more accessible: the budget is lower, expectations are more personal, and there is more room for originality. For HR and office managers, it is also a chance to give a “between-the-big-Q4-gifts” treat that really lands — precisely because expectations are lower than around Christmas.
The numbers underline that: from our analysis of 200+ Cadeo Easter campaigns, a personal Easter gift is appreciated on average 3.2x more than a generic Christmas hamper of the same value. The reason? Expectation management and the feeling that real thought went into it. Also see our guide to Christmas gifts for employees to align your seasonal gifts well.
Budget per Employee — What Is Common?
Small Gesture
Flower bulb, chocolate egg, local treat. Good for large teams or as a “between” gift.
Standard (Sweet Spot)
Small choice gift, sustainable Easter box, personal gesture. This is where your Easter gift lands best.
Extended
Choice portal with Easter theme, experience gift, local gourmet box.
The WKR free space for Easter falls within the annual 2% over the first €400,000 of your payroll. An Easter token of €20 per employee fits within this space for almost any company.
12 Original Easter Gift Ideas for 2026
Choice gift with an Easter theme
Let employees choose for themselves from 1,200+ options via a choice portal. No mismatches, no reselling on Marketplace, and a 95% redemption rate.
Sustainable flower bulbs in your own branding
Dutch, local, and literally grows along with the season. Popular with remote teams that want something tangible to receive at home.
Local Easter bakery box
Bread, eggs, and sweets from your own region. Each location can have a different gift — that makes it more personal, not more complicated.
Chocolate from a Dutch maker
Tony's Chocolonely, Chocolatemakers, or a local chocolatier. Fairtrade and recognizable — far from generic box chocolate.
Personal Easter card + choice gift
Handwritten card above a generic product. Always works — especially if the card comes from the direct manager.
Easter brunch voucher
Restaurant or delivery service; the employee chooses when to use it. No time pressure, but still an experience.
Garden set (seeds, soil, pot)
Spring feeling, sustainable, reusable. Also works as a team gift to grow together at the office with colleagues.
Gift card for a weekend getaway
As an Easter kickoff for spring. Higher budget, but suitable for, for example, anniversary-plus-Easter combinations or small teams.
Sustainable mug + tea/coffee package
Office use, no disposables. Combine it with a local roastery for extra impact.
Digital experience voucher
Workshop, online tasting, museum. Works well for remote and hybrid teams without logistical hassle.
Family gift
Something for the employee’s whole family: board game, picnic kit, or a child-friendly Easter package. Highly appreciated by parents.
Branded choice portal
The most scalable option for 50+ employees. Your brand, their choice. Order by invoice; employees enter their own address.
What Works and What Doesn’t — Data from 200+ Cadeo Easter Campaigns
Works well
- Choice freedom (95% redemption rate)
- Personal message with the gift
- Sustainable or local products
- Budget €15–€25 (sweet spot)
- Recognizable Dutch brands
Doesn’t work
- Standard Easter packages (68% "generic")
- Chocolate without context
- Obvious supplier branding
- Below €10 often feels obligatory
- Gender-stereotyped (pink/blue)
For years we ordered a standard Easter package, but the feedback remained lukewarm. Since we started working with a Cadeo choice portal, employees pick something that suits them — and we get spontaneous thank-yous in Teams.
HR manager, mid-sized IT company (400 employees)Easter Gift Tax — How Does It Work?
Easter gifts fall under the Work-Related Costs Scheme (WKR). The free space in 2026 is 2% on the first €400,000 of payroll, and 1.18% above that. An Easter gift of €20 per employee fits within this space for almost any company, provided you haven’t already reserved all your WKR budget for Christmas.
WKR at Easter: Easter gifts count toward your annual free space. Plan your Christmas and Easter gifts together: reserve about 70% of your WKR space for Christmas and 15–20% for Easter. Read the full explanation in our WKR Tax Guide.
How Do You Order an Easter Gift from Cadeo?
Give us 7–10 business days for delivery. We invoice net 30 days — no credit card, no prepayment, even for a first order. For 50+ employees, you get a dedicated account manager who puts together your choice portal or gift in your own branding.
• December 2026: briefing and budget finalization.
• January 2027: put together the choice portal or gift.
• February 2027: place the order (no later than 2 weeks before Easter).
• March 2027: delivery to the office or employees’ home addresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Budget €15–€25 per employee is standard. Choice gifts, sustainable local products, or personal gestures score highest in employee appreciation.
No, it’s not required — 60% of the most appreciated Easter gifts do not have an explicit Easter theme. The timing and the personal message make it “Easter.”
Between €15 and €25 per employee for standard gifts, and €25–€50 for extended choice portals or experiences.
At Cadeo, at least 7–10 business days for standard orders. For choice portals with personalization and your own branding: 2–3 weeks.
Yes, Easter gifts fall within the annual free space of 2% over the first €400,000 of payroll. A gift of €20 fits within almost any company.
Yes, Cadeo invoices standard net 30 days after delivery. No credit card, no prepayment, even for a first order.
