Every fall, HR and office managers planning a holiday gift program end up debating the same question: turkey or ham? Both have been corporate holiday staples for generations, and both work — but they solve slightly different problems. Here's how to think about the choice. 

The Case for Turkey 

Turkey is the default for a reason: it's the centerpiece of the single biggest food-focused holiday of the year. A gift turkey delivered in the two weeks before Thanksgiving lands at the exact moment a family is planning that meal, which gives it a kind of built-in relevance that's hard to replicate. It also scales well operationally — turkey sizing tracks fairly predictably with household size, which makes bulk ordering and distribution planning more straightforward. 

Turkey tends to be the stronger choice when: 

• Your distribution is timed around Thanksgiving specifically 

• You have a workforce with a wide range of household sizes, since turkey sizing (10/14# up through 20/24#) scales cleanly 

• You want the gift to double as the actual holiday meal, not a supplement to it 

The Case for Ham 

Ham has two advantages turkey doesn't: it's less date-locked, and it requires far less cooking know-how. A spiral-sliced ham works for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or no occasion at all — which makes it the better choice for companies that want to run an appreciation gift program outside the Thanksgiving window, or that want one program to cover both Thanksgiving and Christmas without picking a side. Ham is also lower-effort for the recipient: a spiral-sliced ham with a glaze packet needs a warm oven and not much else, versus a turkey that many households are cooking exactly once a year and may not feel confident about. 

Ham tends to be the stronger choice when: 

• Your distribution date isn't tied specifically to Thanksgiving week 

• You want a gift with a longer shelf life and more flexible use 

• You're gifting to a workforce where ease of preparation matters — not every household wants to manage a whole turkey 

• You're running an Easter or spring appreciation gift, where ham is the more natural centerpiece than turkey 

What About Doing Both? 

A growing number of companies split the difference by letting employees choose between turkey and ham at signup, or by running two separate programs — turkey at Thanksgiving, ham at Christmas or Easter. This adds a small amount of complexity to ordering and sizing, but it also means every employee gets the gift they'll actually use, which tends to drive better sentiment than a one-size-fits-all program. If you go this route, the main planning consideration is making sure your supplier can handle mixed orders without turning your sizing sheet into a spreadsheet nightmare. 

The Real Answer: It Depends on Timing and Your Workforce 

There's no universally "better" gift — the right choice depends on when you're distributing, how much prep effort you want to ask of employees, and whether you're trying to serve one occasion or several throughout the year. Thanksgiving-timed programs lean turkey. Programs that need flexibility, or that run around Christmas or Easter, lean ham. Programs trying to please everyone often end up offering both. 

We Supply Both — And Can Help You Decide 

Loewy Foods offers "Grade A" turkeys in four sizes and a full range of hams — semi-boneless, half semi-boneless, half spiral-sliced with glaze packet, and boneless — so you're not locked into one option before you've thought through timing and workforce fit. One VP of Operations who ordered 500 gift hams for an Easter program told us their employees were extremely grateful, which is a good reminder that the "right" gift isn't always the Thanksgiving default. 

If you want help thinking through which gift — or which combination — makes sense for your team, request a quote or call 847-714-0202.