The holidays are the best time of the year—spending time with our friends and families, enjoying too much food and keeping up with the nightly movements of the Elf on the Shelf. And gifts.

Most companies have corporate gift policies. These policies typically apply to both giving gifts to company clients and receiving gifts from suppliers like outside lawyers. In fact, out of the Fortune 500, 463 companies have gift policies noted in their publicly available Codes of Conduct. The values range from $25 (the limit set in place for federal employees) to $1,000 (the limit for companies with really big hearts). This means the mailroom is busy as holiday cards and gifts flood into and out of the corporate mailroom.

Before shopping for gifts this year for your favorite corporate client or opening a gift from that firm seeking your company’s business, we have put together a few simple rules will keep you out of trouble with the corporate ethics police.

1. Know the Rules

Some companies have strict rules against accepting any gifts from anyone. The typical policy prohibits either sending or receiving any gift that is lavish or otherwise unreasonable. Sending that gift to one of your company’s clients, in violation of that company’s rules, could land you in big trouble and force the recipient to report your misconduct. And your company could lose business.

Similarly, if you receive a gift that violates the company’s policies, return it to the service provider that sent it. That pie may look really good, but even sugar and bourbon-crusted pecans are not worth the headache of an ethics investigation if the gift violates a company rule.

2. No Alcohol

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