21 retirement gift ideas for coworkers
Updated October 4, 2026
Someone's retiring, the party is in two weeks, and you've been volunteered to sort out the gift. With retirement gifts, thought counts for more than budget, which means a bit more work for you.
Most retirement gifts commemorate the job: the plaque, the pen set, the thing with the company logo on it. But the retiree is leaving the job. The gifts that land hardest are the ones aimed at the next forty years, not the last one, which is why the list below leads with the one thing every coworker actually has to give: what they remember.
The ideas are grouped by what lands, starting with the sentimental ones, because twenty years from now nobody looks back fondly at the golf balls. Prices are rough guides.
Sentimental gifts (the ones they keep)
A Story Den tribute board $19 or $29
The whole team records two-minute memories, and each one becomes an illustrated card with a voice message. It's the group card, except people tell stories instead of signing their names, and the retiree can replay everyone's voice whenever they like. See what a finished board actually looks like. The more people join, the better it gets. Start a retirement board.
A memory jar about $10, plus effort
A nice jar, blank cards, and one instruction to the team: "your favourite memory of them." It costs almost nothing, but someone has to collect the cards.
A framed team photo with signatures $30 to $50
Print it large, leave a wide mat for everyone to sign, and frame it properly.
A video montage of messages free to about $50
Collect short phone videos from the team and stitch them together. It takes an afternoon and always gets a reaction.
A custom illustration of the team or office $40 to $80
Plenty of artists on Etsy will draw the crew from a photo. It's personal and worth framing, and nobody else will give them one.
Experiences (the ones they talk about)
Dinner with the team $200 and up, split
The farewell dinner is a cliché because it works. Book the good place.
A weekend away $150 and up
A night or two somewhere they can drive to, now that their schedule is finally free.
A class in their hobby $50 to $150
Pottery, cooking, photography: the thing they've always wanted to try finally has room in the calendar.
Concert or game tickets $80 to $200
For the fan. Buy the good seats; it's a milestone.
A national park pass about $80
For the outdoors type, a year of trips in an envelope.
Hobby gifts (the ones that get used)
Golf gear $30 to $100
Personalized balls, a good glove, or a round paid for by the team.
A gardening kit $25 to $60
Good tools and seeds, with a note: "may your next chapter bloom."
An audiobook subscription about $60 to $120 a year
For the reader whose commute is about to become a hammock.
A proper coffee setup $40 to $100
Slow mornings deserve better than break-room coffee.
Practical gifts (the ones that earn their keep)
Good luggage $100 to $200
Retirement means travel. Get the bag that survives it.
An e-reader $100 to $150
It holds a whole library and fits in a carry-on.
A restaurant gift card any amount
Everyone uses one. Pick their favourite place.
Noise-cancelling headphones $150 to $300
A splurge the whole team chips in for, for the traveller. Worth it at 30,000 feet.
Funny gifts (the ones that get laughs at the party)
A retirement survival kit $20 to $40
Gag gifts in a box: an oversized remote, a "do not disturb" sign, emergency nap supplies.
A day-of-the-week clock about $25
The classic joke gift, now that every day feels the same.
A custom bobblehead $60 to $100
Made to look like them, ideally mid golf swing or mid eye roll.
The short version
If you're organizing and short on time, go sentimental, and among the sentimental gifts, pick the one with everyone's voice on it. Not sure what that looks like? Here's an example board. A Story Den retirement board takes a minute to set up, and the team does the rest.
Stuck on the card message? What to write in a retirement card for a coworker