What is reasonable and a good idea for staff holiday gifts to the AL staff?

I donated to the holiday pool 150.00 is that enough or should I give more or maybe bring in food or candy for staff my husband is in mc 3 to 4 months now

I bought 500 pieces of lindt chocolates and put them in individual bags of 20.

Most places will limit gifts to $25.00
Many want gifts "pooled" because there are a lot of people caring for residents that you do not see or are not even direct hands on care but their services are needed just as much as the CNA and nurses you see each time you visit.
A fruit tray, a tray of sandwiches that you bring to the nurses station would be nice, a large box of candy or cookies.
If you do this bring one for AM staff and at some point bring another for PM staff.
If there is anyone that is particularly nice, helpful a nicely written note to both the person and the Supervisor or HR. A note like that would go into the employee file and might be mentioned during an annual review or if the person wants a better time off schedule. Given to the employee she/he can use it when applying for another job or if they want a raise or a promotion.

One of the kindest things that you can do is
Greet each employee when coming to visit, say good bye when you leave. This is not just CNA's, Nurses but the person moping the floor, the guy that is spreading salt on the walkway so you don't slip, the person from kitchen that serves lunch or brings snacks. It is amazing what a smile and a greeting can do for someone's day.
Say "please" and "thank you"

Ask the administration what the rules are. My mother's memory care place said ZERO gifts, tips, etc. because ethically it could appear that you're buying better care for your loved one.

I ordered a big cookie crate from Cheryl's Cookies. It's a variety of flavors, and they are all individually wrapped. I considered Cookies by Design and Edible Arrangements. Lots of great places to order from.

strugglinson: Perhaps a basket of citrus fruit would be acceptable.

Years ago when i was a nurse aide patients family would bring in candy.

we called it nurse bait 😺

Last year we bought 50 $2 lottery tickets and my Mom was still up to using her embroidery machine and made small Christmas tree decorations.

This year my Mom moved to Skilled Nursing (she has ALS). I went to Hobby Lobby and got an assortment of Christmas tree ornaments (50% off!) so each aide/tech/nurse will get a star ornament and then one other.

I plan to go to Krispee Kreme doughnuts and lattes/coffees for the Christmas eve and Christmas day crews

The facility that my husband is in, memory care, the facility asked for $365 for the year! A dollar a day. They say they all divide it up. I thought that was a lot and gave $250.

I am going to provide a couple cases of sodas and flavored waters.

At my late husband's nursing home, we were not allowed to give any individual gifts. Several families of residents chipped in to provide pizza and salad meals for the staff (on all shifts), along with fresh fruit. We included vegetarian pizza for those who didn't eat meat. Some of the staff were Muslims so they ate no pork and appreciated the vegetarian pizza. It was also possible to hold drawings (where all staff had an equal chance of winning) for gift cards to stores, restaurants, and movie theaters.

This is a hard one that you don’t want to go over board on. I bought a fruit for a fruit basket and put it in the break room. One patient is helped by so many that it was hard to single out individuals.

I once tried to give the ED at moms Memory Care Assisted Living facility the gift of a costume jewelry necklace that fit her wardrobe perfectly. She returned it to me a few days later saying she was not allowed to accept ANY gifts from residents or their family members.

I used to give out the giant boxes of Russell Stover chocolates to the special caregivers at moms Memory Care. They were $9.98 at Wal Mart in 2022.

Here it is......$23.99 not including shipping 😑

https://www.russellstover.com/assorted-chocolates-holiday-big-box-20-oz?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAmsurBhBvEiwA6e-WPNwFdfTsTwLdEBIGu6NRRACCdEjU0BnzOUafzsxnsbsXtvKvEVO-_RoCP5QQAvD_BwE

To the rest of the staff I'd give out a Christmas tin of butter cookies here:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sam-s-Choice-Butter-Christmas-Cookies-12-oz/154183440

Or a big Christmas tin of popcorn here:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Holiday-Popcorn-Tin-Christmas-Camper-Design-21-Ounces/2108477101

I'd also contribute $$$ to the pool.

Cater something for them - pizza, sub sandwiches, Italian... is always appreciated.

Gift cards for nearby restaurants are nice to give.

Healthcare workers are constantly washing their hands so quality hand lotion is always a good choice too.

Any kind of delicious food should be fine.

I am retired HCW and I can tell you we are all suckers for food!! Pizza, cookies, bagels, you name it! But I always appreciated a nice fruit basket too.. some don't eat the sweets and lots of carbs, so those are great

My mother's MC/ALF has a fund that we contribute to.

I also try and bring treats in once a month.

My mother is not easy AT ALL to care for, so I try and do something nice for the staff. I want them to know that I appreciate their efforts.

We will do the same as we did last year , order a large tray of soft pretzels from Philly Pretzel Factory with dips, mustard , cheese etc . We pick it up and drop it off at FIL AL .

I am a baker so I made up a cookie tray to put in the break room. Where I worked the client usually sent the Nurses food. One had cookies sent to us every year. Candy was another thing.

Food is king.
Subs, pizza, pop, cookies.

Goodies to eat for all shifts.
Most ALF have a fund you can contribute to as well, but make the mistake of suggesting amounts, which generally ends up simply offending folks.