A Guide to Finding the Perfect Corporate Christmas Gift

If you’re tasked with sourcing, buying, wrapping and delivering the perfect Christmas gift for your company’s top clients or most valued staff, pick yourself off the floor, stop crying and get excited… we have something special to share with you!

We feel your pain – thinking of Christmas gift ideas is tough enough, but when you’re given the responsibility of arranging the perfect gift for corporate clients or employees, the pressure increases tenfold.

First you might try searching for ‘personalised gifts’ to show the recipient how much you value their business or hard work. Unless you want to give out coffee mugs with your company logo on it (boring!) … move on.

So then you might consider searching for ‘unique gifts’. To your surprise, the Internet translates this search into ‘novelty gifts’ and, while you will be really tempted to buy a Death Star Waffle Maker, (I am absolutely buying this for my teenage nephew!), again, it’s not the gift that screams “please work with us again next year we really, really value your business and contribution to the team!”.

Pretty soon it’s November and you find yourself slapping a gift card on a bottle of warm champagne, only for it to be added to your client’s already growing pile under their desk.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could find a well curated gift box, which was unique, personalised and made your client or staff feel amazing when it arrived? A gift so good the mere thought of the gift gives them warm tingles inside and they spend all Christmas raving about their box of goodies to their family, friends and colleagues!?

Introducing the solution to your corporate gift giving nightmare… Boxes of Babylon!

Boxes of Babylon is a bespoke gift giving service helping companies create gift giving experiences worth treasuring! Focussing on sourcing gifts created by local and upcoming artisans from around the globe, the team behind Boxes of Babylon have created a corporate gift giving service that is sure to rock your world!

We recently caught up with founder, Julia Barnard, and Head of Client Experience, Lynleigh McPherson, to find out more about their unique gift giving service and get some tips on how to arrange the perfect corporate Christmas gift for valued clients and colleagues.

6 things to consider when choosing a corporate Christmas gift

1. Make it personal, not personalised

Curating a gift box of goodies that says ‘I understand you’ is far more personal than sticking your company logo on a lacklustre gift. Lynleigh explains, “we like to work with our clients to create bespoke gifts that reflect their company values and speak to their clients on a personal level”.

Having said that, Lynleigh adds, “some clients can’t get past putting their stamp of approval on a gift, so we can arrange for some of our bespoke gifts to be branded or feature a monogram of your company logo – but you certainly won’t be finding any USBs or pens that people forget and lose!”

Another way to brand gifts is to feature your company colours or logo in the wrapping and/or gift card.

2. Find an original gift

Clients can receive a lot of gifts over the Christmas period and if you want your gift to be a memorable one, think outside the standard options of wine, coaster, notebook… find an original!

One of the core differences between Boxes of Babylon and other gift companies is that they love supporting local artisans, emerging talent and contemporary artists launching their businesses. Julia explains, “By doing so, we are guaranteed bespoke, one of a kind gifts. The gift boxes we create are limited to 500 at a time and are refreshed regularly. By joining our community you can keep up to date with the latest product releases and snap them up before your competitors do!”

For even more exclusive gifts, talk to the team directly about sourcing a one of a kind product that matches your brief.

Read more about the artists Boxes of Babylon work with, including Alice Keep from Keep Resin (pictured).

3. Give in more ways than one

Finding ways to support charities via gift giving is growing in popularity. Not only is it a great way to highlight to your clients your charitable side,  it also makes the recipient feel good too.

Julia explains, “At Boxes of Babylon we support Fairtrade programs throughout Africa and support artisans that can directly support their communities and environments. This initiative has gained a lot of interest from the corporate market. We can work with companies to select gifts that align with their brand and corporate responsibility policies”.

4. Steer away from alcohol

Many companies are now setting policies that restrict staff from accepting gifts of alcohol. For many, a bottle of the good stuff was an easy solution for corporate gifts, but it’s time to think differently.

Lynleigh suggests that if you know your client is an avid whisky connoisseur, find a whisky-related gift, such as Ian Buxton’s 101 Legendary Whiskies.

5. Find a company-wide solution

If you work for a large corporation, it’s likely there are multiple people buying gifts from all over the place- sticking to budgets and ensuring each gift represents the company as a whole can be tricky. Leaving bulk gift purchasing to one or two people can be risky too!

Lynleigh explains, “At Boxes of Babylon we can create an online portal for companies to make company gift giving easier. We will create a selection of gift boxes ranging in price which your staff can choose from. We provide a unique code so that staff in different departments or even states can log on and purchase the gifts from a central location. This way you ensure every gift going out meets your corporate guidelines.”

Create a selection of mini gift boxes for under $100 or compile a larger designer gift box for more…

6. Packaging is part of the experience

Once you have sourced the most amazing gift, don’t get lazy with the wrapping. Receiving a lovingly wrapped gift with luxurious paper and seals creates a sense of excitement. It’s guaranteed to make the rest of the office jealous and get people talking about your company long before (and after) the gift is unwrapped.

Conclusion

Don’t be stuck in the office arranging a production line of helpers wrapping and ribbon tying while tearing your hair out over mail merge… let the experts do their thing!

Julia and Lynleigh love their job and finding the perfect gift solution for their clients is what they do best. Christmas is fast approaching, but they say it’s not too late to get organised and arrange a memorable gift – so get in touch to find out how they can help.