A farewell gift for a colleague: ideas that actually feel personal

First things first: where is your colleague going?

A good farewell gift starts with the question of what comes next. Someone retiring is in a completely different chapter than someone leaving for a new job or moving abroad. For a retirement the gift may look back on the working years, for a new job something for the future usually works better. Settle that first and half the options rule themselves out.

1. The memory book from the whole team

Still the gift that gets kept the longest: a book or box full of personal contributions from colleagues. Anecdotes, photos from team outings, that one quote from a meeting that never died. It costs next to nothing but does take organising. Appoint one person to collect everything and guard a deadline, or half the contributions will arrive after the farewell drinks. A shared document or an envelope going around the office both work.

2. A portrait or team drawing from a favourite photo

A drawing of a good photo turns an ordinary moment into something that lasts: the leaving colleague themselves, or the whole team together on the photo from the last outing. It is personal without getting awkward, and it will hang in someone's home or at the new workplace.

A local illustrator can do this, allow for a longer lead time and ask for a quote up front. We do it with AI and are open about that: upload the photo on our farewell gift page, see a free preview in different styles and only pay when you all love it. A handy detail for a group gift: the whole team can look along before anyone has spent a cent.

Pick the style to match the recipient. A caricature suits a team that laughs a lot, a graphite portrait or black-and-white drawing suits a more formal goodbye or a retirement. Names and a date go in easily through the editor.

3. An experience instead of an object

Colleagues who already have everything are not waiting for another object. A dinner for two, a workshop that matches a hobby or tickets to a show give something that does stick: an evening to look forward to. Extra strong when the experience connects to something they always talked about at work. You know how to find the colleague who brought up wine every Monday.

4. The inside joke, finally made real

Every team has one: the running gag that has lasted for years. A gift that cashes in that joke usually costs little and scores high, precisely because nobody outside the team understands why it is funny. One warning: the joke carries the gift, not the other way around. Pair it with something sincere, so the goodbye is more than a laugh.

5. Something for the next chapter

For a retirement: something for the hobby there is finally time for, from garden tools to a course. For a new job: something for the new workplace, like a good thermos or a plant for the new desk. It says without words: we wish you well with what comes next. That is a warmer message than most farewell speeches.

6. In doubt? Gift them the choice

If you do not know your colleague's taste well enough, do not gamble but give a choice: a voucher for a good place near their new address, or a gift card that lets them have something made from a photo they pick themselves. More personal than an envelope of cash, without the risk of a miss.

Practical: budget, timing and the card

• Budget: let everyone chip in voluntarily and anonymously, without saying a target amount out loud. Nobody joins under pressure and the gesture stays sincere.
• Timing: hand over the gift at the farewell drinks or on the last working day, not in the rush of the final meeting. A moment of attention is part of the present.
• The card: have everyone write down something concrete. One real memory says more than ten times good luck.
• Personalisation: names and a date make almost any gift more personal, from an engraving to a drawing.

Wondering what a drawing from a photo costs? We simply list all our prices on the pricing page, including VAT and without surprises.

Frequently asked questions about a farewell gift for a colleague