What to gift your company’s partners this Christmas?

The last few weeks before the holiday season are always a stressful period in business. Everyone is busy thinking about hitting targets and preparing end-of-the-year presentations, trying to survive on caffeine while remembering that a well-deserved break is around the corner. Thinking about giving gifts to business partners tends to escape the priority lists in most cases, but it’s still an awesome gesture to honor your relationships. The internet is full of basic ideas, boring postcard templates, and cheap mainstream mugs, and they all convey the same message: “we’re sorry we didn’t have time to think this through, but happy holidays anyways”. However, there are ways for your corporate gift box not to land in the trash or the communal kitchen on the 6th floor of an office building. We collected some ideas for you to stand out, be remembered, and leave a lasting impression on all your addressees.

1.   Anything personalized

If you have more time before the deadline and access to manufacturers that are able to create custom packaging you can’t really go wrong. Depending on how many packages you wish to send this Christmas, you could reach out to local sellers with handmade ware, or create your own designs and send them to production to be featured on items of your choice. The gift itself depends on your niche too, but we recommend looking for something that they will happily store in the office for people to look at or use. Without claiming completeness, here’s a short list of what we’d love:

• – Quality coffee with custom designs on the packaging
• – Salt and pepper holders with the company’s logo or colors
• – Name tags or post-it holders with unique designs
• – Custom box of sweets with your own designs on them

2.   Something they will actually use or see often

You will want to be remembered for being thoughtful and considerate, but also for the sake of business. If the items you give your partners are stored in their space and remind them of your company in an elegant way. This does not mean you have to put your logo on anything and everything, because most probably, they won’t use it. Getting a beautiful piece of art with a message that is remotely connected to your company or your partnership could however be greatly appreciated. Further ideas include:

• – A whiteboard they can write on or stick their notes to
• – A set of boxes they can store pens or office supplies in
• – Engraved spoons to stir their coffees with
• – A comfortable set of cushions for their home office
• – Ice cube makers or custom/unique ice trays

3.   Something that makes them laugh

Laughter always creates the best memories. Try to let loose of your creativity and think of something unique that will make them smirk whenever they look at it. It might be a picture designed by a creative artist, a funny shaped box, or an odd set of facemasks, the success is guaranteed. Don’t forget to keep it professional though, keep in mind that things you find funny are not always funny to other people. Try to establish reasonable boundaries, and you should be good to go!

Now that you hopefully have some ideas forming in your heads, let’s discuss some things you better avoid

1.   Things that they’re used to

We have already mentioned that you probably don’t want to spend your firm’s money on some mainstream gifts that receivers will just throw into the trash. If your budget doesn’t allow you to splurge on costly items as partner gifts, you can still go creative with designing your own postcards or video messages.

2.   Handmade things

We would, however, advise you against handmade items. As easy as it seems, it can get extremely difficult to paint, sew or draw aesthetically. Most of these projects are super fun as a team-building event, but don’t let it ruin the Christmas spirit by forcing employees to be professional in something that is not within their expertise.

3.   Promotion

There are lots of companies that send branded calendars, mugs or pens as Christmas gifts to their partners, and this is one of the reasons why we don’t recommend you do the same. These items are usually heavily equipped with logos and slogans that are irrelevant to the companies that receive it. We encourage you to try and think about what your targets would be happy to get rather than your own benefit.

4.   Previous gifts you no longer have a place for

We hope that this goes without saying, but repurposing previously received gifts is not the way to go. “They won’t even realize” is a sentence you often hear when people decide to spare themselves the thinking process, but it never turns out to be true. If giving gifts is not on the top of your list this year, we recommend you go with something simple rather than thinking of lazy alternatives.

We hope you found some inspiration from this article and will find the preparations less of a burden. IseeQ wishes you a merry Christmas and happy holidays!