How can you get your employees and work team into the holiday spirit this season? If you get them branded gifts, what would go over the best and make them feel appreciated for their hard work throughout the year?
At Integra, we’ve been answering questions like this for almost 20 years. We have good news for anyone asking themselves similar questions: Your options for absolutely epic holiday gifts for your crew are as close to limitless as you could get.
Gone are the days of cheap pens and gaudy Christmas cards. The promotional world has been evolving for decades, and you can brand more cool, personalized, actually usable gifts than ever before. Let’s take a look at some of the best gifts out there to have your office, warehouse or store buzzing with that fun, festive winter spirit.
Customized Drinkware
Your employees drink some combination of coffee, tea, water, soda and maybe even a glass of wine or can of beer every single day. A lot of that drink-having goodness happens on the premises of your business, even.
And let’s be honest…nobody likes doing dishes all the time because there aren't enough in the house or office, right? Plus, we’ve come to understand that protecting the earth is a net positive and that landfills could use a bit of a break.
So the bottom line is that just about everybody loves a nice, fancy new cup or bottle they can tote around with them for infinite hydration. Fun fact: Roughly 69 percent of Gen Z humans use a reusable water bottle in their day-to-day life. And that’s just one generation and one type of drinkware!
Does this sound like a good fit? If so, let’s explore some of the options you can choose from to make this gift truly special:
- Mugs: It’s a staple. A classic! People love mugs, and a great deal of us collect the nice ones. If you work with a printer who can create fun or classy — or both, because who says classy can’t be fun!? — branded mugs, you’ll be blown away by how many different ways mugs can be customized and made special.
- Tumblers: Available in almost uncountable styles with a range of accessories like lids, straws, straw covers, keychain holders and straps, tumblers allow any gift giver to customize and personalize to their heart’s content.
- Bottles: We’ve already made the case for bottles with our stats on water, but keep in mind that you can get pretty fancy with simple water bottles. From plastic to stainless steel, various thicknesses, internal capacity, color, shape and cap or lid type, you can really build a stunning bottle before you even brand it.
- Glassware: Elegance is the name of the game with etched glass, giving each employee a stunning gift they can cherish for years to come. With options that range from wine glasses to champagne flutes to beer mugs and beyond, you can select the size, shape and design for each piece before you even get into the etching itself.
- Koozies: Admittedly, this one runs the risk of falling a bit flat. But a budget is a budget, and if you’re scraping by in the expendable income department, you may need to go with lower-cost employee gifts — especially if you have a huge team. Koozies can give you the best of both worlds: low cost that allows you to “spoil” everyone for Christmas. The trick here is to design a fun, unique koozie. It won’t do to slap your logo on and call it a day, not if you’re really trying to compete with the legendary Mr. Claus. Prove that you put effort in even if you didn’t necessarily put excessive funds in. Work with your printer or print broker to come up with something fun. If you have a strong company culture, consider leaning into an inside joke or team mantra.
Wondering how quickly you can get your promos printed and ready for your holiday event? Click below to try out our timeline calculator for an estimate.
Wearable Swag for the Giving Season
You can really go all out with this one, and you’re likely to find great gifts even if you want to keep spend low. If you’ve saved a sizable budget for end-of-year holiday gifting, the world is your flying sleigh.
Some of the most popular and well-received apparel for spreading Christmas cheer within a workplace include:
- T-shirts
- Sweaters
- Hoodies
- Jackets
- Gloves
- Scarves
- Socks
- Earmuffs
- Hats
The list goes on and on. You can customize just about any kind of wearable in existence, which means adding your brand, fun slogans or even a holiday spin.
Think about your region and how cold the area gets throughout the season. If you think your employees would enjoy some warm winter swag, by all means add to their cozy wardrobe so they can snuggle down during cocoa season. Looking for something that can be worn all year, regardless of the season? Hats and t-shirts — as long as they have a great design — are unquestionable classics!
Helpful hint: Remember that some of the top mistakes companies make with promotional products can apply with festive gifts as well — dating the apparel, for instance, runs the risk of making people less inclined to continue use after a year or a few years.
Technology Presents for All
In today’s hyper-connected, highly technological world, the vast majority of us have been asking Santa for some kind of tech device every year for ages. Why would corporate gift giving be any different?
If you really want your gifts to stand out — and we’re talking employees bragging to friends and family about their swagged up company presents long after the New Year champagne has run dry — you may want to venture into some of the top technology-centric promotional items, such as:
- Bluetooth speakers: If you’ve ever set foot in a store that sells the latest technology, you know how many shapes, sizes, colors and capacities exist in the world of speakers. Pair that with the fact that just about everyone has their own smartphone or computer at home and oftentimes in the office, and you have a whole crowd of employees who would be thrilled over a new speaker with a sleek appearance.
- RGB lights: Whether it’s a light bar, a pair of tabletop lights or some kind of accessory your team can add to their work stations, RGB lighting tends to go over well for anyone with a laptop, Mac or PC. They don’t have to keep these lights at the office, but can take them home to deck out their home offices or game stations. Whatever the use, the gift will be a fun, unique one that most people won’t be expecting.
- Phone stands: On the lower end of the pricing spectrum and the higher end of the usefulness scale, phone stands come in handy by…well, freeing up the handies. In all seriousness, you can almost never have too many. If you have one at your desk and in your home office, you might want one for your nightstand, or to prop your phone up when you’re belting out your Jingle Bells shower tunes. And with the right customization, you can get quite a bang for your buck with promotional phone stands.
Promotional Home Goods for the Holidays
“Home goods” is a fairly broad category, with items that can suit a variety of personalities and preferences. The trick here is to select something useful so that everyone enjoys the product and it doesn’t fall too far into a specific niche — especially if your team is large and diverse.
Some great home goods for your Christmas gift-giving included:
- Cutting boards
- Wine openers
- Candles
- Oil diffusers
- Planters
- Towel sets
- Blankets
The list goes on. Dream it up, and you’ll probably be able to put your brand and logo on it, slap a holiday tag somewhere and make your whole team’s season.
Which Promotional Gifts Make the Most Sense for Your Team or Clients?
So you probably came to this piece looking for great gift ideas for the holiday season, hoping to spoil your team or clients with presents that add value to their lives while showing your company off. It’s a noble quest, trying to find the perfect Christmas present, and our Santa hats off to you for going the extra mile.
Hopefully you have some awesome plans in the making and know exactly what you’ll be sending down the chimney this holiday season. But if you’d like to keep browsing, check out part two of our gift giving guide, where we discuss gift bundles with smaller items in larger quantities.
No matter what you choose, if you’d like someone to source the products from your wish list and get them branded just how you want them, Integra would love to help. Click below to get started on your gift giving mission.
And while we can’t guarantee that anyone will leave milk and cookies out for you, we’re positive your employees will be thrilled to tear off the wrapping paper and dig into their new merch — with or without Integra’s involvement. Ho ho ho!
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