With the holiday season fast approaching, we thought we’d take this opportunity to remind business owners of the importance of client gifts.
A thoughtful token of your appreciation for the holidays is one of your best chances to remind them why they value your relationship right before the yearly budget resets. That could mean finally closing a contract with the client you’ve been courting all year or just keeping your business top of mind as we head into the new year.
What we tend to forget when shopping around for client Christmas gifts is the long game. Sure, they’ll think fondly of you when they first receive the token of appreciation, but if the item gets tossed in a desk drawer, that’s the extent of your ROI.
To help you choose something that actually gets kept and used, we’ve pulled together some of our favorite client gift ideas as you start shopping.
Drinkware They’re Proud to Keep on Their Desk
Drinkware is usually the safest place to start because you can send it to most of your client list without it feeling too personal or too expensive. The key is to send something that feels like a real product, not a leftover giveaway.
One option that’s performing well this year is an 18-oz borosilicate glass tumbler with a bamboo lid and a reusable straw. These often come in clear or tinted glass, sometimes with a silicone sleeve that helps with grip and keeps condensation off the desk.
To make this feel like a complete gift without getting into complicated kitting, you can tuck a small bag of coffee or tea gift set into the tumbler and include a short handwritten thank-you note.
If you’re sending gifts to a client you’re actively trying to keep warm heading into Q1, it might be worth considering retail names like Corkcicle. Their insulated mugs and larger cruiser-style tumblers hold temperature for hours and come in premium, polished finishes like matte black and gunmetal.
We can get your logo laser-engraved, too, so the branding feels like part of the overall aesthetic.
To make this feel like a complete gift without getting into complicated kitting, you can tuck a small bag of coffee or tea gift set into the tumbler and include a short handwritten thank-you note.
Desk Essentials for Your Day-to-Day Contact
For your main point of contact with a particular client, step things up with a small, personalized desk kit that makes their workday a little easier. If you’re going to invest anywhere, this is usually the place to do it.
Start with a high-value gift like a backup pair of wireless headphones in a branded case. Anyone who lives in meetings has had the moment where they open their bag before a call and realize the good pair is still sitting on the kitchen counter. Giving them a dedicated set that stays in their work bag solves that exact headache.
From there, you can build around smaller pieces that they’ll be delighted to reach for everyday.
One option we recommend often is an insulated desk mug with a no-spill base. These are designed to grip the desk so they don’t slide or tip over near a laptop, but still lift straight up in your hand. It’s the kind of thing people keep within reach because it prevents one of the most high-stress accidents someone can experience in a workday.
Another great detail piece is a soft-touch fine-point gel pen in your brand colors, with a little weight to it and a smooth, consistent line. Pens like this tend to live in someone’s notebook or travel bag and go with them into meetings, which is the whole point.
You can send one well-chosen item on its own if you’re early in the relationship, or you can box two or three of these together with a short handwritten thank-you for the contacts who have basically been running the work with you all year.
Top-Tier Gifts for Top-Tier Clients
For a small number of clients, it makes sense to send something more premium that aligns with how each person spends their time.
For some of those clients, the right move is an entertaining piece — something they’ll put out when they have people over, whether that’s at home or in a conference room before a meeting. The Wright 4-Piece Acacia Wood Serving Set is a good example. It’s made from solid acacia, which gives it a warm, finished look that belongs on a bar cart. The board has a wide serving surface with room for cheese, charcuterie, crackers, and fruit, and it comes with three stainless steel cheese knives in a brass finish.
When you want to lean even further into that hosting angle, you can move from a single board to a full service kit. The Milton 11-Piece Acacia Wood Cheese Set includes the whole spread: an acacia tray, a removable ceramic board with a marble pattern, three small ceramic bowls for spreads or olives, three cheese tools with wood handles, and three matching forks. It arrives boxed and presentation-ready to really nail that “wow” moment when they open it.
Some clients aren’t “entertaining at home” people. Instead, they’re “golf is where the real conversations happen” people. In that case, go straight to status gear. The Nike Air Hybrid 2 Golf Bag is a premium Christmas gift for clients with features they’ll appreciate out on the links. It’s built for walking or riding, with an easy-access top and a 14-way full-length divider system so every club has its own slot.
The main thing to keep in mind when you’re shopping for client gifts is that you don’t have to send the same thing to everyone. The TBK team can help you curate something special for every person on your list, working within your budget and aligning with your goals for a truly personalized merch experience.
Reach out via our contact form or schedule a sit-down with us, and we’ll get started!