When to Start Ordering Custom Holiday Gifts for Corporate Giving

The holidays are an excellent time to showcase your appreciation and compassion for others. It’s the season to spend time with family and friends, but it’s also a perfect opportunity to show your employees and clients how much their loyalty means to your company. But what time of year should you start ordering gifts?

We’ll answer when to start shopping for corporate Christmas gifts and other holiday gifts, the benefits of ordering early and how you can plan your gift-giving process to ensure you’re ready for the holiday season.

When to Start Holiday Shopping for Corporate Gifts

When planning for the holiday season, you don’t want to start too early and have to find space to store the gifts while waiting for the right moment. You also don’t want your gifts to arrive late, forcing you to rush as you distribute them to employees and clients.

Corporate gift shopping is unique to each business. You may begin shopping in the summer, while other companies may start in the fall. The exact time to start shopping varies based on different factors, such as:

• Company size: The larger your company is, the more gifts you’ll have to order to ensure everyone has a present when the holiday season rolls around. If you have a larger company or business, you’ll likely have to purchase sooner than smaller businesses to ensure that the fulfillment company has enough time to process and ship your order.
• Order type: The type of gifts you order will also determine when you need to start shopping. Made-to-order gifts can take more time, but the personalized flair can stand out to your employees and clients, making them feel more valued. If you choose the made-to-order option, you’ll likely have to order sooner rather than later to ensure the fulfillment company can complete all your business-branded products.
• Quantity: Often fulfillment companies will only have a certain amount of products available. If you want to order a large amount of a specific product, it’s best to order well in advance to give your supplier plenty of time to fulfill your order.
• Holiday traditions: Remember that people celebrate many holidays during the season, so don’t just consider when to order for Christmas. You’ll want to accommodate these different holidays your employees or clients may celebrate and order gifts well before holiday season starts.

The best time to start shopping for gifts will depend on the above factors. You may begin shopping in the summer, while other companies may start in the fall. Corporate gift shopping is unique to each business.

The Benefits of Planning Your Corporate Gifts Early

Ordering corporate gifts before the holiday season helps reduce stress, including encountering potential issues with budgeting, inventory and delays. There are many other benefits to planning your corporate gifts early, especially before the holiday season starts.

Below are some of the most significant benefits of ordering client and employee gifts early:

• Anticipating budgeting barriers: Many businesses have taken a financial hit in recent years and lost out on a significant amount of revenue. As things slowly return to normal, many companies have had to increase costs to make up for losses. Planning your corporate gifts gives you plenty of time to budget for these rising costs, ensuring you’ll have enough funds to purchase all the gifts you need for your employees or clients.
• Ensuring inventory: Recent years have also seen rising issues with the supply chain, which means there is the potential for problems in stock. If you want to purchase all of your gifts at once, order them early to ensure you’ll receive all of your items in time for the
  various holidays your company is celebrating.
• Reducing stress: During the holidays, there are many different stressors, including meeting growing business demands, navigating end-of-year tasks and planning time with friends and family. Planning early eliminates one big task from your holiday checklist, reducing unnecessary stress during this busy time.
• Preventing shipping delays: The holidays are a busy time for all shipping companies as businesses and individuals ship gifts to customers, friends and family. As a result, delays can cause your gifts to arrive late, sometimes even after the holidays. Ordering your gifts as soon as possible ensures you’ll receive your items before shipping companies become overwhelmed.

Ordering corporate gifts before the holiday season helps reduce stress during the season, including encountering potential issues with budgeting, inventory and delays. Check off one of your many holiday tasks before the season starts, and shift your focus toward other tasks!

How to Plan Your Corporate Holiday Gifts

Planning your corporate holiday gifts before the holiday season gives you ample time to receive the items you need to show your appreciation to your clients and employees. You can use the following steps to plan your holiday gift purchases for your company or business:

1. Determine what gifts you want to purchase: Select the gifts you want to give your employees and clients. You may want to gift something with a lot of utility in the workplace or maybe gift self-care and decompression products during the stressful holiday season. You have numerous options, so decide early and start creating your promotional design as soon as possible. Consider what your employees or clients might want and need or how the gift can pertain to your business to help narrow your options!
2. Plan your budget: Setting your budget early helps you determine when you’re able to order — getting your order out before other companies can limit issues with shipping or inventory delays. While it can be challenging to set a budget for corporate gifts in the last quarter of the year, it’s worth it to prevent some of the issues the busy holiday season and supply chain problems can cause.
3. Create a backup plan: Ideally, you want to order early so you can get your products on time and avoid delays and inventory issues. However, problems can still occur, even when you order early. You should have a backup plan if there is a shortage of specific products. Have multiple options so you can order replacements if there isn’t enough of one item to fulfill your needs, and be flexible and open to any changes you may need to make.
4. Place your gift orders: Now that you’ve decided on your gifts, budget and backup plan, it’s time to order all the holiday items. Ordering these gifts as early as the summer or early fall is a great way to ensure they arrive on time, but note any tracking information to stay updated on their status.

Ideas for Corporate Holiday Gifting

For many companies and businesses, budget allocation determines the corporate holiday gifts employees and clients receive. Promotional merchandise makes some of the best gifts for the holidays. Branded merch is affordable and versatile, so finding the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday gifting list is easy. Additionally, this kind of merch helps to promote your brand throughout the year.

Below are various corporate holiday gifts for employees categorized according to price — there’s something for every budget!

Corporate Gifts Under $5

In a huge company with many employees, gifts under $5 are a good option because you have many people to consider. They’re also effective if you’ve gifted your employees several other times during the year. While they may be simple, getting high-quality products with sentimental gifts ensures your clients and employees feel valued and appreciated.

Some ideal corporate gifts under $5 include:

• Snowflake ornament
• Quick dry gel pen
• Two-in-one custom cell phone wallet with stand
• Handcrafted gradient mug

Corporate Gifts Between $5 and $10

There are numerous high-quality and practical types of merchandise priced under $10 that you can gift clients and employees during the holiday season. These gifts range from drinkware and tech gadgets to apparel and home decor items. Gifts under this category are perfect individually, or you can pair them with other gifts to create a set.

Here are some options:

• Self-watering ceramic planter set
• Recycled tote bag
• Vacuum-insulated wine tumbler and water bottle
• Cotton market bag
• Leather luggage tag

Corporate Gifts Between $10 and $20

For $20 or less, your scope of corporate gifts expands exponentially to include personalized items and packages that are ideal for the winter holiday season. Some options in this price range are specific to the time of the year, but others can be used throughout the year.

Below are exciting gifts under $20 that will keep your company at the top of your clients’ and employees’ minds as they enjoy the holidays:

• Cheese server gift set
• Four-piece truffle box
• Yoga mat with carrying case
• Full color tumbler

Corporate Gifts Over $20

You can go the extra mile to impress clients and employees with practical, high-end corporate gifts. These kinds of gifts make them feel fuzzy inside, and most provide function during the holidays and beyond. When spending over $20 on a gift, you can also consider adding a personalized message to make the gifts even more sentimental.

Check out some ideas:

• Duffle bags
• Outerwear
• Backpacks
• Power bank
• Auto emergency kit
• Wireless charging desktop organizer
• Moscow mule gift set
• Custom luggage set

Order This Year’s Corporate Gifts From ePromos

Gifts are a great way to show appreciation towards employees and clients, making them feel valued and essential as part of your daily operations. If you’re looking for the perfect corporate gift for your clients and employees, ePromos has plenty of gift options to meet your needs. Enhance these items with your logo, artwork or other designs to communicate your brand values while showing appreciation to all your staff and customers.

We also have a rush service option to help you get your gifts as soon as possible and a selection of products that can be shipped in one business day, helping you meet deadlines for the holiday season. Browse our corporate gifts selection to find the perfect items for your employees and clients!