With the holidays right around the corner, it’s time to begin thinking about the perfect gifts for family and friends. For those individuals in the businesses world though, this is the time of year for doubling down and discussing strategies of how to celebrate the holiday season. And not just within the business with staff and employees, but with clients as well!
So comes one of the best holiday gifting ideas yet, the Christmas gift basket. These gift baskets are a great way to help celebrate the holidays with associates of differing backgrounds, including clients, employees, and especially the holiday party hostess of both professional and personal events. Here we are focusing mostly on Christmas gift baskets sent by businesses, however, the tips and recommendations for personal use still apply!
Why Should You Send A Christmas Gift Basket?
Gift baskets are a fantastic way to celebrate, congratulate, and show appreciation to friends, family, co-workers, employees, and especially clients. Gift baskets are perfect for any special occasion ranging from birthdays, baby showers, retirement parties, and especially for the holidays like Easter and Christmas.
Christmas gift baskets will typically contain an assortment of smaller gift items that are meant to increase delight with each piece. When you’re a business sending out Christmas gift baskets to employees and clients, you’re not only celebrating the holidays with those individuals, but you’re strengthening your connection and business relationship.
When you’re a business looking to send out personalized Christmas gift baskets, you want yours to stand out from the competition and be unique to your company. Here we will discuss some etiquette rules, along with providing a few ideas that will add a customized touch to your unique gift baskets so you can really wow your business associates this year!
What Is The Holiday Gift Basket Etiquette?
You may or may not be surprised to learn that there is a sort of etiquette when it comes to giving gift baskets, not just when focusing on men versus women, but in general. Some of the biggest mistakes include:
- Contents are not personalized
- Contents are too personalized
- Missing a personalized message
- Too much branding
- Missed deadlines
- Repeat gifts
If you’re looking at these points and thinking “Huh?” don’t worry! I’ll cover each one right here to ensure full clarity. So let’s start with the first point!
Contents are not personalized. When you’re assembling a unique holiday gift basket the goal is to include some form of customization that will express your appreciation through a holiday gift basket that is unique to them. For example, if you have several employees working in different departments of your company, consider customizing their gift baskets with a personalized message geared towards what they do, or perhaps include some items that relate to their area of work. Everybody needs a pen or pencil, so why not grab a customized one?
Contents are too personalized. Here is where things can get a bit creepy, especially in the workplace. While it may be appreciated that you are going above and beyond to ensure a personalized holiday gift basket, getting too personal can send the wrong message. For example, if you research your gift recipient on social media and learn they have a pet – and then include that pets name in your gift – that will definitely come off as just a bit too personal and cause some real cringing.
An appropriate way to personalize your corporate gift baskets is to focus on the line of work. As mentioned above, do your employees or clients use a specific item in their work? Perhaps your client is impressed by your brand’s stance on a specific topic that can be featured in your gift basket. The best example of this is an eco-friendly gift that can be used daily by the recipient, such as a laser-etched stainless steel straw.
Next up we have missing a personalized message. This one is a biggie for many companies as most corporate gift baskets will typically contain a generic message that is sent out to everyone. While this may work for some, if you’re really interested in impressing your clients or employees, it helps to add a touch of personalization to let them know that they really do matter.
To go along with the lack of a personalized message, we have too much branding. While we understand the goal of gift baskets may be to assist in brand promotion, there is a line where there may be too much of your brand inside the gift basket. If every single item is stamped with your business logo then you may be scaring people off with the potential to alienate them. A few customized drinkware items, however, are a good marketing option.
Missed Deadlines are the next most common mistake made when it comes to sending out holiday gift baskets. While some may say it’s the thought that counts, a gift basket received a week after the holiday tends to defeat the purpose of sending one in the first place. So be sure you have plenty of time to assemble and ship out your Christmas gift baskets!
Finally, we have repeat gifts. This is one of the top mistakes made when it comes to ensuring your gift basket stands out from the crowd. Mix it up every couple of years, add something new or different to ensure your gift baskets are unique. Such as the inclusion of a customized multitool.
What Should Go Into Gift Baskets For Women Versus Men?
In this day and age, we see many more women stand up and take the lead in important business roles. Knowing your employees and clients means understanding the best gift basket ideas for them as individuals. What may be a selection of awesome gift baskets for guys, will more than likely have the potential to alienate the businesswomen you’re working with.
So when it comes to putting together the perfect gift baskets geared towards a female audience, there are a few different gift items that will be more appropriate. The good news is that many gift basket items are unisex, so you can first assemble a base template of corporate gift baskets and then proceed to add that customized touch to show your employees and clients that you respect them as business associates regardless of gender.
Men and women both enjoy receiving a gift personalized specifically for them. So when working closely with women, especially your employees, don’t hesitate to get them something to remind them of home. A custom photo frame is a good option for this, as it can rest on their desks to remind them as to why they come to work each and every day.
How you personalize the photo frame is up to you. Just remember the gift basket etiquette rules and don’t go too personal. When working with clients, consider just including a modest-sized engraving of your company’s brand or slogan.
A less personal and often more appropriate gift basket option for female associates is to include an item that is useful for both professional and personal use. Such gift ideas include the first three of the featured items above, the selection of customized pens, eco-friendly Stainless Steel Straws, and Insulated Travel Mugs. All three of these items are unisex and great for both men and women, while our final featured item, the engraved Leatherman multitool, may be more geared towards your male associates. The same holds true for the leatherette photo frame potentially being aimed more towards a female audience than male.
Let’s take a look at another idea for what to put in a Christmas gift basket.
Another idea is this custom cell phone wallet with a ring kickstand. We all know how busy life can be in the business world. Being constantly on the go means ensuring you have everything you need right there with you and if you haven’t had the pleasure of wearing women’s business attire, let me tell you that pockets are nonexistent.
This is typically where a purse or bag comes into play, but many businesswomen just aren’t interested in lugging a bag around with them everywhere they go. So to show her your appreciation and understanding, try including something equally useful like this cell phone wallet. It is perfectly sized to fit on the back of most phone cases using an adhesive and has enough room for two credit cards or even several business cards. This will surely impress your female clients and employees with your thoughtfulness.
Looking For More Christmas Gift Basket Ideas?
So now that we’ve covered the why’s and the how-to’s, it’s time to really sit down and discuss the types of customized gifts you can, and should, include in your Christmas gift baskets. There is no rule stating that you have to make one type of gift basket over another. You are only limited by your budget and creativity.
You could begin with a base gift basket of sweets, including baked goods and chocolates, or perhaps one containing an assortment of meats and cheeses. While most companies would stop there and simply add a generic “thank you for your business” note, you can take your corporate gift basket one step further and add in a few customized gift ideas. Such as an engraved business card holder.
Throughout this article we have thrown some good ideas your way, so now that you’re armed with knowledge and know-how, it’s time to get down to business and find the perfect gifts to include in your Christmas gift basket!
