On another thread, @Marilyn mentioned she received a nice watch at retirement - nice!
Thought it might be fun to hear what others experiences/parting gifts were, if any.
Might be helpful to slightly describe your employer - big corp, education, non-profit, health care, etc - and how long you were with them.
I retired from a mid sized D1 university after 25 years in a small dept in the college of medicine. I insisted to not have a “going away” but they insisted I would.
It was potluck lunch. I cried as I insisted on going around the table and sharing a bit about my connection with each person and why.
They gave me a fairly expensive piece of glass - which i absolutely dislike! It’s so not me and SO IS the taste of the two who I know picked it out. I played along and of course was appreciative of the gesture - dang, I so dislike it though!
I retired from my last employer after 12 years. The first 9 were in one department and the last 3 in another. It was very weird because it was in January 2021 -during Covid so I never saw most of my coworkers in person during the last 9 months. I did go into the office for a few hours a week , but typically only saw my director. He and my boss arranged for people to say goodbye on a zoom, which was really nice. I also got several emails and a few phone calls from people I worked with.
My director presented me with a gift- a very generous gift card for Athleta! I was so floored by that- the biggest thing was figuring out what I would spend it on!
I worked in a school district. Our policy was the team of the retiree planned their retirement party. I had worked in the district for 30 years minus a month (and that came up in my farewell speech so many times that the superintendent actually bought me a 30th year gift the next day!).
For retirees, the district always gave a small brass seiko mantle clock, with a little brass engraved thing on it. The clock is very cute, and the little plaque fell off several years ago, leaving me with a plain clock.
My team collected gift money from the 130 or so people who attended my retirement party. They gave me $1000, and a $300 gift certificate to the Coach Store. Some people apparently contributed later, and that was put towards a gift card to my nail spa.
I have to say, my team planned a fabulous party for me, and invited so many people who had worked in the school in my career. Funny…there were 8 speech language pathologists in the room. I quipped that there was a quorum and there must be something we could vote on.
My husband retired from his job, and he got a lucite thing with the company name and his name and his years of service. Honestly…I’m not sure what he did with it! His team did take him out to a nice lunch. He was a VP of the company. Frankly, I was surprised the company couldn’t come up with something better than a lucite thing!
I worked for multiple government agencies during my career. I retired during COVID, and I got a bottle of wine and some other little things. My organization did have a small party (had to be small - bc COVID) for me, but I retired from a place that wasn’t “my people”/was not my career field so I was not expecting much.
My H worked for a federal agency, in the same department for 30+ years. He also retired more or less during COVID (they were staring to tell people they had to come back to work). He got nothing. They talked about a party, but it never happened. Quite some time after he retired he did wind up getting some “memento” from the agency.
I retired from a small college. I had been with them for 7 years. My colleagues had a lunch for me & another employee who was leaving to go to grad school. They apparently took up a collection, and they were so generous … I got a gift certificate to a wonderful gallery, as well as some beautiful glasses made by one of our students. The gifts were great, but in all honesty, my favorite thing was the many notes I received from staff, students and alumni.
I slipped out quietly with an all-afternoon lunch with my boss and three co-workers. The gift was my freedom. The company had honored me with every paycheck. Any parting item would have felt very odd.
H was 45 years with the fed govt. The year he was retiring, D and I were able to attend a rare open house and his coworkers made sure to tell us how they had enjoyed working with H & would miss him.
They had a small lunch for him (I wasn’t invited). He got a framed poster of someone surfing in sunset that many coworkers signed (like a yearbook).
The best thing is he got a pension & subsidized federal medical insurance for his & my life.
Small consulting firm, under 40 employees. We have a standard “retirement” gift - it’s always great luggage, a leather passport holder with matching leather luggage tags, and a large $ value gift card for a spa. And we do a cocktail/appetizer happy hour party.
We threw a retirement party for H and he got a few gifts, including a folding stool that has a zippered pouch and some printing about retiree 12/31/2012 from my sister. We’ve given a few relatives who retired tshirts—“retired doctors make the best grandpas.” I didn’t get anything from anyone when I retired. It was fine—I was and am happy anyway, which is the best reward!
I know it’s a weird take but I know I will find a retirement gathering ( which my firm has in the afternoons ) they will likely have when I go somewhat depressing. It will feel so odd to leave and have them go back to work.
I had a co-worker who on her very last day (we had already had a get together for her a few days before) quietly slip out of the office and on her way. I saw her and quietly walked to the elevator and gave her a quick hug without words. I knew that heading out quietly was her preferred way to exit.
Husband was a metallurgical engineer quality manager; last position was in a wheels factory. They presented this plaque to him at his retirement party. And yes, it is quite heavy.
My final job was as a City library manager, and I received a clock with a plaque showing my years of service. DH worked for the same city for 32 years so was eligible for not only the clock, but a really cool city street sign with his name and years of service on it. (Such as Puletski Parkway, or Smith Street, or Bunker Blvd). It’s really a nice gift. The clock…eh, it got downsized when we moved.
I LOVE the street sign idea. I wonder when my big boss retires if we can’t do that. The traffic division (they make the signs) is part of our department. He has a very unusual and long name. “Last name Way” would be awesome. I actually wouldn’t mind one myself, and I hate “things” for retirement, years of service, etc.
when H retired after 32 years of teaching, he got a clock with the years of service. He put it straight into the donation bin. They had a city-wide luncheon with the admin, but he skipped it. He went out to lunch with some current and former coworkers.
I’m not there yet, but I have I DO NOT want any kind of luncheon, party, etc. or gift.
As I mentioned, I was pretty clear that I did not want a gathering - I don’t even particularly like celebrating my bday with loved ones! But the dept did plan something small and simple and named it a department lunch”pretending” it wasn’t for me. I got through it. And I think I realized a bit afterwards - maybe because we were a small team - that it might have been as much for them as it was meant to be for me - a closing of sorts.While on the one hand it’s a little annoying they didn’t honor my wishes, it was not the end of the world to suck it up and show my appreciation for them - as coworkers and people.
Law firm. One retiree got a very expensive hunting bow. Another received a top line weber grill. Another got a Rolex watch. And a fun party with lots of heartfelt speeches. Spouses were very much a part of the gift selection process. All gifts very centered on recepient’s personal interests.
