A good Christmas package for your team is a balance between two things that don't always go hand in hand: giving something your employees genuinely appreciate, instead of a standard box of filler material — and doing so within what you can provide tax-free. This article covers both aspects: how to create a sustainable, high-quality Christmas package that doesn't feel like an obligation, and what the work-related expenses scheme (WKR) specifically allows for in 2026.
Our tips:
1. Start with a sustainable base, not with filler material
Many standard Christmas packages largely consist of filler products: things nobody really needs, but that "belong" in a package. Instead, opt for fewer, higher-quality items rather than a full box with little value. A good starting point: every item in the package should be something the average recipient would actually buy themselves. This not only results in a better gift but also less wasted budget on products that ultimately end up unused in a cupboard.
2. Combine something lasting with something consumable
A strong Christmas package doesn't just consist of food and drinks that are gone after a few days. A BloomsBox with living plants or lasting wooden flowers ensures that the package remains visible on your employee's (home office) desk for months after the holidays. That provides a good feeling for longer than a package that disappears after the Christmas break.
3. Locally and socially produced, with a story behind it
More and more companies are consciously choosing products from social enterprises instead of mass production. Our own BloomsBoxes are made in the workshop in Utrecht by people with a distance to the labor market. This gives a package a story that goes beyond "just another Christmas package," and it's something you can confidently share with your team.
4. Three concrete Christmas packages that meet all points
The Happy Xmas with Shampoobars' body bar combines all three previous points in one package: the wooden Christmas decoration stays (point 2), the body bar is consumable and therefore never the same gift twice (also point 2), and Shampoobars itself is a social enterprise — precisely the kind of origin that gives a package a story instead of just a checklist (point 3).
For a culinary approach: our gift sets with chocolate or cookies from social enterprises like Mesjokke and de Koekfabriek. Combine such a set with a BloomsBox with living plants, and you have both something lasting and something delicious to enjoy immediately in one package — without compromising on its origin.
Prefer purely plant-based and no-nonsense? The Nature 'Winter Wellness' combines air-purifying plants with care products in the same wooden Box — quality over quantity (point 1), without unnecessary filler material.
View the full range of sustainable Christmas packages for all compositions, or request a no-obligation quote for a custom package for 25 units or more.
4. What is tax-free: the WKR's free space in 2026
For the Tax Authorities, a Christmas package is considered remuneration in kind: it is not a separate, specifically exempt category. To still provide it tax-free, you use the free space within the work-related expenses scheme. For 2026, that free space is 2% of the first €400,000 of your total fiscal wage bill, and 1.18% of the amount above that. With a wage bill of €400,000, you can thus spend up to €8,000 per year tax-free on employee provisions. A Christmas package falls under this, along with other items such as a staff party or company outing, so it is not a separate pot solely for Christmas.
5. What if you exceed the free space?
If you exceed the free space, your employee does not pay tax on it; instead, you as the employer pay an 80% final levy on the amount exceeding the limit. This makes it worthwhile to make an estimate beforehand: add up all employee provisions for the year (not just the Christmas package) before determining the budget per employee, so you don't face a surprise afterward.
6. The separate VAT threshold that fewer people know about
Apart from the free space, there is a second, smaller threshold for 2026: the threshold of €227 excluding VAT per employee per year for employee provisions, gifts, and business gifts combined. If you stay below this amount, you can simply reclaim the VAT on the Christmas package. If you exceed it, that right lapses for the entire amount (not just for the part above it). When determining your budget per employee, this is therefore a second threshold to keep an eye on, in addition to the free space itself.
7. Three concrete Christmas packages that meet all the above points
The Happy Xmas with Shampoobars' body bar combines all three previous points in one package: the wooden Christmas decoration stays (point 2), the body bar is consumable and therefore never the same gift twice (also point 2), and Shampoobars itself is a social enterprise — precisely the kind of origin that gives a package a story instead of just a checklist (point 3).
For a culinary approach: our gift sets with chocolate or cookies from social enterprises like Mesjokke and de Koekfabriek. Combine such a set with a BloomsBox with living plants, and you have both something lasting and something delicious to enjoy immediately in one package — without compromising on its origin.
Prefer purely plant-based and no-nonsense? The Nature 'Winter Wellness' combines air-purifying plants with care products in the same wooden Box — quality over quantity (point 1), without unnecessary filler material.
View the full range of sustainable Christmas packages for all compositions, or request a no-obligation quote for a custom package for 25 units or more.
This article provides general information based on the WKR rules for 2026, not tailored tax advice. If you have doubts about your specific situation, consult your bookkeeper or accountant.