Gifting is a big part of company culture. It can help build relationships with your team and keep up team spirits. Plus, it is customary to send colleagues gifts during special occasions like office Christmas parties, birth or wedding announcements, and even birthdays.
Receiving gifts can make a person’s day. The gift doesn’t really have to be a big purchase. Even something as small as a bar of chocolate or a slice of cake can be the difference between a decent and a disastrous day. Gifting can be confusing, especially when you’re giving a gift to someone you know professionally.
To avoid making a faux pas, we’ve made a handy list of ideas for gifts you can send to people you know professionally, be it employees or employers, or clients. So what can you gift to your professional contacts? Let’s find out!
Gift Cards
One of the safest things that you can give to anyone in this day and age is a gift card. A prepaid corporate gift card for employees is one step up from giving someone money so that they get what they want with it. When you are not sure about what the other person likes or wants, you should choose a gift card worth at least $50.
Choose a gift card from a famous company to make sure that the other person will find at least something they can buy with it. If you know someone who likes music, you can choose to purchase streaming subscriptions like Spotify or Pandora. There are gift cards from streaming services as well if you don’t want to send a gift card for a shopping website.
Kitchenware
Kitchenware is another popular gifting choice. These gifts are generally extremely useful as everyone eats, drinks, and cooks! If you don’t want a very noticeable or prominent gift, you can choose the ever-popular coffee mug to give to someone. If you know that they like a particular show or if you are gifting on behalf of a company, you can even get these coffee mugs customized.
Make sure the company you choose to get your gift customized from is reliable and ships fast. There’s nothing better than starting a sleepy morning with your choice of coffee or tea to wake you up. Ordering your own custom coffee cups from companies like 1525 will build your brand awareness and loyalty with every sip!
Stationary
Stationery is one of the most used yet overlooked items in the business world. Many people think that laptops and tablets have replaced traditional pens and paper in the boardroom. However, most people still use pen and paper to jot down things during meetings or in their day-to-day activities. https://card.gift/landing/corporate
Gifting stationery items like personal planners to clients makes an excellent impression for a long time. Even pens can function as a reminder of the valuable relationship the client has with you. Stationery acts like passive advertising, and every person that sees the planner or calendar, or pen will know the name of your business in the hands of someone they trust, building your reputation.
Books
Books are an extremely underrated gift option for both employees and clients. Gifting a book shows that you have put a lot of thought into the gift, and it can be an impressive gift to receive. If you want to make the gift memorable, you definitely can’t go wrong with a great book!
If you’re unsure about what to gift, you can always fall back on the classics like Fitzgerald, Harper Lee, Twain, or Salinger. If you know of the other person’s preference, then you can also gift them a book in a genre they like. Books are a very personal gift, and they can help build relationships. So if you’re struggling to build rapport with a team member or client, this is an excellent gifting choice.
Final Note: What to Avoid
Gifting is as much about avoiding the wrong items as much as it is about gifting the right items. When giving, especially to someone you don’t know very well, there are some things you should avoid. Many people can overthink certain gifts or get the wrong impression from some items.
Thus, it is best to avoid personal hygiene products like deodorants or shampoo, even if they are expensive. Since people can take these as a common on themselves, you should choose alternate items to give people. An exception to this rule would be perfume, as perfume is a very coveted item. You should also avoid gifts with any political messages, as politics can bring out extreme emotions in people.