Your employees do a lot (hopefully)!The last thing you want to do is make them feel unappreciated or unwanted (see above picture for realistic scenario), but you're having trouble finding a way to let them know how vital they are to the company. A gift is always nice, but here are some other ways to boost their morale:

• Feed them - This is probably an obvious suggestion, but it's a fact of life that people like food. It can be little snacky things, lunch, dessert, or even candy. Just make sure that your employees enjoy the kind of food provided.
• Encourage fitness FREE - Whether it be an optional walk, exercise perks with insurance, workout equipment (like a yoga ball instead of a desk chair), or on-site fitness classes, keeping healthy and fit encourages employees and improves workplace energy.
• Send Thank You cards FREE - It may be a little old-fashioned, but Thank You notes for a job well done go a long way. At times, employees can question whether what they are doing makes a difference at all, so a hand-written note validating them will boost their morale and make them feel valued.
• Have a work-from-home day FREE - If it is feasible for your line of work, hold a work-from-home day once per month or quarter. Email, Slack, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, Basecamp, and other programs make it much more possible to keep employees accountable and productive.
• Celebrate with employees FREE - Knowing a little about each others' personal lives is inevitable when working side-by-side every day, so when an employee achieves something great (running a marathon, having a baby, graduating an educational program, buying a house...), find a way to celebrate with them. This acknowledges that they are more than just their office title.
• Hold a Staff Appreciation day - This can be simple or elaborate, but having a designated day to show appreciation to your employees can mean a lot. During the day, you can provide lunches/smoothies, games, encouraging notes, gift cards, awards, and/or other things.
• Recognize birthdays and work anniversaries FREE - Even if it's just with a hand-written card, acknowledge your employee's day of birth and work anniversary. Some people may not have many friends outside of work, so this little gesture can be really meaningful.
• Customize the appreciation to the employee - Every person has different interests, so figure out those interests and reward each employee accordingly. Does your employee like to read? Get them a book or Kindle gift card. Do they like sports? Get them merchandise from their favorite team. Do they love music? Give them concert tickets. You get the idea. This will add a supremely personal touch to the appreciation you'd like to show.
• Beautify the workspace - Add flowers, books, pillows, wall art, or more color to the workspace to increase comfort and decrease stress. This simple change will allow your employees to see that you care about their work environment.
• Ask employees their opinions FREE - It is the worst feeling in the world to feel unheard. Battle this by asking the opinions of your employees. This can be what they think about staff appreciation ideas, work culture, marketing plans, consumer reports, products, or even benefit plans. And you need to actually listen and consider their thoughts; the point is to make them feel like they are being heard.
  

If a gift or award is the way you want to go, here are a couple of items deserving of a shout-out:

It was my second week of work. A man came into our shop--dusty work coat, roughly trimmed beard, tough bleached jeans--and walked up to the counter. My two other coworkers were hard at work, so it was up to me to help him out. I may not have known much about how to make awards yet, but I knew how to be nice to people! So, I walked up to the counter, smiled, said “Hi!” and waited.

He proceeded to tell me about a stellar employee of his, one of those who hadn’t ever missed a day of work, did overtime when needed, and labored to the best of his ability. He was also an employee who was about to retire. So with pride, yet sadness, the man in the shop explained that he wanted something to show his employee the appreciation he deserved.

He first noticed an engraved hammer attached to a plaque on our wall and thought that might be the ticket, but he wanted something bigger, grander.

I decided to give him a tour. I’m not afraid to say I was playing it off like I knew things I didn’t. Although, I did mention that I was new and might not have the expertise he was looking for. But I was determined. I showed him plaques and trophies and acrylic awards and resins while we made small talk.

But then, what did his eyes behold but a nearly two-foot-tall column trophy. This was it. The item. The largest trophy he could muster for his beloved employee. But how to customize it? What topper to embellish it with? To the catalogs we went, flipping through pages and pages of potential toppers. Unfortunately, most of what we saw were for sports. We needed something for construction.

“What about a hammer on top?” I suggested. His eyes lit up. “I think that’ll do it!” he exclaimed. So now we game-planned.

Pick out the base. Check. Choose the ornaments. Check. Buy a hammer. Check. Decide on a plate engraving. Check. Engrave the hammer. Check. Attach the hammer to the base… That was harder than we thought it would be. But, eventually, with glue, a screw, and patience, check.

The finished product:

Over three feet of delicious wood, metal, and plastic made for an appreciated employee at his time of retirement. Happy sigh. These are the stories that make my job fun.