Give Employee Savings a Seat at the Holiday Table

The gift list is only part of the holiday budget. A November paycheck might also cover groceries for a house full of cousins or a hotel room for the trip home. By the time December arrives, some of the biggest holiday purchases are already paid for.

In The Penny Hoarder’s 2026 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 77% of respondents said rising prices would change how they shopped for holiday gifts (1). For HR teams, that raises a practical question. When someone is comparing prices on a purchase they’ve already decided to make, will they remember to check their employee perks?

A well-timed reminder can give them a reason to do just that. What makes the message worth opening is the connection to something on their list.

Bain & Company found that more than 90% of consumers surveyed planned to shop on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or during another major sales event (2). By then, someone shopping for headphones may already know the model they want and which stores carry it. A general invitation to “explore your benefits” leaves them to figure out whether their perks can help with that purchase.

A mid-November email can answer that question before the sales begin. Highlight a relevant shopping offer and introduce the BenefitHub browser extension, which alerts members to available savings as they browse participating retailers. Give the email one clear action: Add the browser extension. A direct link to the installation page lets employees set it up before they have a cart full of gifts and one eye on the clock.

For someone hosting Thanksgiving, the biggest purchase that week might be sitting in the grocery cart. According to ABC7 Chicago’s reporting on PwC’s Thanksgiving forecast, turkey and cranberries were expected to cost more this year, while butter and cream cost less (3). Someone planning dinner for eight has good reason to compare prices across the whole list.

That’s a timely opening for a small feature on your benefits portal. Try “Hosting this month?” with a direct link to grocery offers available through your program. If your program has dining offers, those could be a better fit for the employee picking up dinner the night their guests arrive. In either case, employees know what they’ll find before they click.

In a Michaels survey conducted by Morning Consult, 65% of the 2,502 U.S. adults surveyed said they wanted a less commercial holiday season (4). Think of a family recipe written out by hand, or an afternoon set aside to make it together. What someone remembers about a gift may have little to do with what it cost.

Holiday perks communications can reflect that. If your program includes offers on craft supplies, feature them while employees are planning handmade gifts. For those putting holiday dollars toward travel and experiences instead of boxes with bows, employee perks may offer savings there, too. A hotel near a relative’s home or tickets to a show with an old friend could be just what someone is looking for.

People have different traditions, and some will treat December like any other month. An invitation like “Planning a movie night?” gives employees an idea they can use over the holidays or on a quiet Saturday in January.

Among respondents in the Michaels and Morning Consult survey who started holiday preparations early, 49% said they did so to spread expenses across multiple paychecks (4). A December roundup could reach those employees after they’ve booked the room or bought the gift.

For HR teams planning seasonal communications, we suggest a short sequence. Give each message one action and link directly to the place employees can take it.

BenefitHub provides promotional materials that employers can share with employees ahead of the holidays. A seasonal piece can give you content for your next employee newsletter. A flyer in the break room can reach people who spend little of their workday in email.

Employee perks are one part of a broader approach to financial well-being. During the holidays, their value can be as specific as a lower price on a hotel room or savings on groceries for a family dinner. A timely reminder matters because it reaches someone while they can still use it.

As you plan your next employee update, start with a purchase employees may already have in mind. If you’d like a seasonal resource to share, your BenefitHub team can help you find one that fits.

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