How to Bring Magic to Your Holiday Gift

What do you want this holiday season? What gift would get you excited? Those questions lead to what we call the golden rule of gifting: Give to others what you would want to be gifted. Sounds simple, yet how many mediocre “thank you” gifts have landed in your break room come holiday time? Another gift basket of consumables that gets mixed with the other five strewn about the café… until the giver of the basket is not even known to the eater of its edibles. Sure, a salami or chocolate covered pretzel can be a savory gesture, but it’s soon gone and forgotten… like the melting snowman in your front yard.

Instead, let’s dig in and harness your gift giving prowess in a more creative and thoughtful manner. Since swag is what we do, we’ve been honing our holiday gift game for some time, always trying to create something special for our clients. Here’s our playbook for how we architect our own holiday gift – just maybe you’ll find a few morsels of inspiration along the way.

3. Tell the story, with merch

Now, let’s dig into the swag. With your theme in place, the product spitballing will flow much better.

• What are you seeing in retail?
• What could be created from scratch via importing?
• What graphics could transform a basic item into something more?
• Would merch from a retail brand help elevate the gift? Could a certain brand reinforce the vibe you’re going for (think Patagonia or Timbuk2)?
• What print methods align with the desired mood (e.g. laser etch, embroidery, discharge screen printing, etc)?

The beauty of a good theme is that each individual item doesn’t have to be mind-boggling. If the item is done well and decorated with good graphics, it comes together with the rest of the kit to reinforce the overall message: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

If you like an item, but it’s a mismatch with the overall message, dump it. If you wouldn’t personally want the item, move on. At this point, if you’re still struggling with the product mix… go back a step and develop your theme further or even test another one. It’s usually a sign that more time is needed on the previous step (HT to Getting Things Done).

Choose your own adventure gift
This year, we’re serving up 4 different gifts for our employees to choose from. The signups are done online via our Redemption Page. I can’t divulge the gift details yet, but one item will be size specific. Companies tend to avoid size specific items all together (guessing sizes for your people is fraught with danger). However, this gives you a whole new option for gifting to employees or clients. Yes, the element of surprise is a bit lost, but the flexibility of choosing a specific item and size is a nice trade off.

Pairs well with snacks
An all edible gift is not our top choice; however, we do like the addition of a tasty treat within the kit. Something that pairs well with the theme and/or a specific item (e.g. As a part of a “Keep Cozy” kit, place a  chocolate on a stick inside an insulated mug, with a warm message to boot; or a use pack of “Hit the trail mix” inside an “Enjoy the Adventure” pack.

Think outside the box, literally
Let’s wrap it up with one more piece: the box. It’s the outer shell of your gift, the first thing you encounter… and it has more design real estate than anything else within it (listen; designers are cheering). Don’t squander that lovely space, use it to create tension as to what’s inside, clues to the contents, and most of all (you guessed it) to reinforce the theme! A full color graphic treat awaits your receiver if you take advantage.

Don’t have the budget for a fully printed custom box? We don’t always either… you can still customize the outside of the box with a stamp or sticker. It gives a nice crafty, hand touched vibe.

Size Matters
How big is your box? How heavy? Choose a large product, and you’ll need a large box, which in turns costs more to ship. Not that you can’t think big with your merch, but know there are consequences down the line. Trust us, we’ve shipped hundreds of thousands of kits and have seen the dollars saved with careful planning.

This is also true for how the items are kit together… which is why we create a mockup to scale of all items going into the package and then digitally play with how they best fit together. Playing digital Tetris is always better than having issues on the kitting floor. In addition, we consider the presentation value and the overall balance of looks vs efficient packaging.

This final step can often be an afterthought but spending extra time on finishing and kitting can create magic in that moment of unveiling. Maybe it’ll even end up on Instagram.

Thought that counts
In the end, it really is the thought that counts. And the driving thought behind all of this is simply a means to say thanks. So, let your gift be a well thought out piece. The person receiving it will feel those efforts and probably be thankful themselves.

Thank you for joining us down this holiday gift lane.
See you again next year. Cheers.