Guide to Choosing a Corporate Holiday Gift

Have a Timeline Planned

There's nothing worse than being late, but being late during the holiday season. Make sure you have enough time to get your budget approval, make your recipient list, choose a gift, have it imprinted and shipped to the recipients in time.

I recommend: Start way before the holiday season is on anyone's mind. It may be beach weather in late July and early August, but it's also the perfect time to start holiday planning.

Determine Your Budget

Before you do anything else, it's necessary to look at your budget. It's necessary to determine how much you're going to spend before you choose a gift. Shopping without having a spending limit can cause huge problems in the long run.

I recommend: Keep the budget planners in the loop. Letting them know early that the company is planning to give corporate gifts and an approximate number of how many recipients there will be, can help them determine your budget. Once you recieve your budget, or recieve budget approval, you will be able to build your recipient list.

Make a Recipient List

Having a detailed recipient list will not only start the organization process, but it will help with several steps along the way. Use a spreadsheet program,such as Excel to create a master list of everyone who you want to send a gift this season. Make a sheet for each group of people you want to give to: Employees, Top Executives, Clients, ect.

I recommend: Microsoft Excel is an excellent spreadsheet program. Users can create different worksheets inside workbooks, and use a variety of functions to organize the data however they so choose.

Choose a Gift

You've determined how much you can spend per person, and you know how many people you need to buy for, the next step is choosing a gift. Look at your recipients and your budget. Determine what message you want to send. Stay away from gifts that can be offensive to recipients. It's simple enough to send a bottle of wine or a food basket, but what if an employee's religion forbids the consumption of alcohol or certain foods? You don't want to offend them or send them something they can't enjoy.

I recommend: Motivators.com has an extensive corporate holiday gift collection.  Customers can shop by brand, or by price. There are several selections available, including technology gifts, eco-friendly holiday gifts, and executive gifts.