This year make it a point to send holiday gifts to your clients that are memorable, thoughtful and show your appreciation for their business and partnership. Below is our list of the 17 best and most unique holiday gift ideas that won’t break the bank and will have clients looking forward to another year with your firm.
- Be the firm that sends unique books as gifts each year. The “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series is a great place to start and has editions for clients of all types.
- Make a donation to a charity that is near and dear to your client’s heart.
- Send a gingerbread house-making kit with a note wishing your clients and their kids (or grandkids) a wonderful and fun holiday season. (Under $10 at Target online).
- Gift personalized piggy banks to your clients’ children or grandchildren. (Under $20 at personalizationmall.com).
- If you have a spouse or family member who is an avid baker, consider sending a box of homemade baked goods.
- For clients who celebrate Christmas, send personalized tree ornaments.
- Rent out a room every December at a nice restaurant and host an annual holiday party for all your clients. Make a small donation to a local charity on behalf of every attendee, and provide a thank you token as the “party favor.”
- Go organic for health-conscious clients; send a box of chocolates from companies like Hu Kitchen. (Think: unprocessed, vegan, environmentally sustainable and delicious!)
- Send a fun popcorn gift box set with different kernels and seasonings from sites like worldmarket.com or thepopcornfactory.com (under $20).
- Speaking of gift boxes, sites like gifttree.com feature unique gift box ideas like “The Man Can” (shaving kit for men in a painter’s can) or “Sweet Nostalgia” (old-time nostalgic candy in a tin lunchbox).
- Go traditional and send your clients a bottle of their favorite wine.
- Omaha Steaks offers great (and reasonably priced) gift packages for clients who love to barbecue, entertain and…eat meat.
- If you are gifting to a client’s office or business: send a K-Cup coffee sampler or candy tower for everyone to enjoy.
- For adventurous clients who are avid travelers, send personalized travel journals or notebooks for the upcoming year’s adventures.
- Send a collection of teas and/or spices that can be used all-year round.
- Share a bit of your culture with clients by sending a gift unique to your family’s background like Greek olive oil or Masala Indian spice sets.
- Windowsill herb kits or potted herb plants are beautiful and useful gifts. They can be purchased through a number of online retailers including homedepot.com, amazon.com and williams-sonoma.com.
Tips for making the gifting process simple and sustainable each year:
Be known for something specific. Create a repeatable holiday experience for clients through your gifting. Clients will begin to associate your gift or special gesture with your brand and will look forward to your firm’s trademark token of appreciation each year. (Almost all the ideas on our list apply!)
Utilize your team. If you don’t have someone dedicated to client service or marketing on your team, consider hiring a seasonal intern to help with fourth quarter activities including planning a holiday event, client gifting and getting organized for next year.
Have a repeatable system. It’s not practical to send a personalized gift to every client every year. Consider separating the gift ideas above, into segments: all top clients will receive personalized gifts, all second-tier clients will receive a book of your choosing or a bottle of wine, all third and fourth tier clients will receive a holiday card only, so on and so forth. Use your CRM to stay organized and plan ahead.