To Gift or Not to Gift?

Today, on my lovely day off, I began my holiday shopping. Before I dragged myself out into the cold and down to the holiday shops in Union Square, I made a list of everyone I needed to shop for. The usual suspects were there: Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Granny, Boyfriend, Friends.

As I shopped, I realized that I forgot to include my bosses on my list. Last year, I bought my two bosses a hand soap and lotion set from a small boutique. I spent about $20 of each of them. They gave me $500 cash. I cried when I opened there card and found five $100 bills.

This year, I don't expect to get $500 cash at all. Last year, my old bosses only had to give me a gift. My two bosses now are direct managers to nine people in our department. I highly doubt they'll shell out that much cash.

I plan on buying them each a little something. They are great bosses and I want to show them that I appreciate that. But, some people have told me that you should never "gift up," meaning you shouldn't or don't have to give your boss a gift.

What do you think?