The end of the year is a traditional time for employers to give gifts to their employees. While it is customary to think of gifts as having no tax consequences for the recipient, the IRS does not treat all gifts the same.
Nontaxable gifts: Fruit baskets, hams, turkeys, wine, flowers, and entertainment tickets to a show, sporting or other event (but not season tickets) generally are de minimis (nontaxable) fringes if they are of nominal value and given infrequently.
Taxable gifts: Gift certificates (“cash in kind”) are wages subject to FIT, FITW, FICA and FUTA, even for de minimis items—e.g., a gift certificate for a turkey is taxable, even though a turkey is not. Cash gifts of any amount are taxable as wages.
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https://www.aipb.org/docs/How_to_withhold_on_bonuses_gifts_prizes_and_awards.pdf