19 Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Cementing a Business Relationship A small gift is a thoughtful way of telling someone you work or do business with that you appreciate them.
By Angela Ruth Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The holidays are rapidly approaching, so you're probably wracking your brain to think of what to give your boss, your clients, and/or your employees -- to thank them for a great year. If you're like me, I might wait till the last minute to get these gifts. Okay it's last minute, so I better get going -- like now.
While you may not personally know what a person may like -- or you may be convinced they already own everything out there -- you can still go beyond the expected corporate gifts and select something distinctive from our holiday gift guide for corporate living and giving.
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1. Suite Experience Group
Instead of another trinket to clutter your employees' desks, why not go for an experience they'll never forget? Suite Experience Group gives businesses the opportunity to rent a luxury suite for sporting events and concerts without having to pay the hefty fee for keeping it year-round. It's essentially the Airbnb of event suites.
Suite Experience Group makes it easy to rent luxury suites on a game-by-game or concert-by-concert basis at some of the biggest sports stadiums and concert venues across the country. These suites are truly luxurious, and they include a host of amenities ranging from VIP parking passes to premium catering options.
For that extra special occasion, you can also rent luxury suites during the biggest sporting events of the year -- including the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the World Series, and the Stanley Cup Final -- to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience your team members will never forget.
2. Lovepop
Sending a thoughtful card to clients, employees, or partners is a great personal touch. However, it can be challenging to find the perfect card that shows the right sentiment. Fortunately, Lovepop offers a new type of card.
Unlike any other greeting cards available, these cards feature intricate
3D paper sculptures that reflect the Asian art form of sliceform kirigami. This is seriously cool stuff. Sending a Lovepop will show you made the extra effort to find a greeting card that delivers a truly memorable experience.
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3. PopSocket
The PopSocket is a great corporate gift for many reasons. First, it can hold a smartphone in place so the user doesn't have to have a phone slipping around in their hands. This means hands-free chatting and viewing. Second, it serves as a cord wrap or photo grip. Finally, you can customize this gift by adding a cool design. Better yet, put your company logo on the PopSocket for a marketing boost.
4. SkyBell
This is a great gift idea for any client or virtual team member who works from home or for the entrepreneur who is always on the go. SkyBell is a Wi-Fi video doorbell that works with your smartphone so you can always see and talk to the person standing on your office doorsteps, regardless of whether the bell is rung.
Office or not, the owner's sense of security is sure to rise because it's more likely that if the person on the other side of the door was thinking of breaking in, the potential criminal has likely reconsidered after realizing someone might be home.
6. Cutco and Misen
If you know your boss or an employee is a MasterChef outside of the office, then this might be the dream gift. Cutco offers all types of knives, cutlery sets, shears, tableware, and more that are designed to last a lifetime.
John Ruhlin, author of "Giftology" and CEO of Ruhlin Group, says that "personalizing a gift that they'll use every day will remind them of you being a giver and your thoughtfulness."
Ruhlin is a known gift expert who specializes in helping companies be more thoughtful with the people and customers that matter most. Cutco and other useful everyday gifts are popular items in his arsenal of strategic gifts for companies.
Misen is another great culinary gift. The company offers extraordinary cookware sets, including skillets that do a lot of the work for the chef, providing an easy way to elevate the results from recipes. Getting a set of these pans will be a thrill for anyone who enjoys strutting his or her stuff in the kitchen.
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7. Metabolic Meals
Nearly half of Americans are trying to lose weight or become more physically fit, including your own team members. The corporate world is a busy one, and it can be tough for many to eat healthy amid their busy schedules.
Metabolic Meals can help take the stress out of nutrition for even your busiest employees or clients by acting as customers' personal shopper, chef, and nutritionist. Metabolic Meals offers consumers a dizzying array of meal choices, all of which include extremely high-quality ingredients.
The company can customize meals for low-carb, gluten-free and Paleo diets, just to name a few. Once a customer places an order, Metabolic Meals team members will prepare those meals from scratch and deliver them -- anywhere in the country.
8. Tile
If you have a boss or employee who is forever misplacing a wallet, phone, or keys, then this gift is ideal. Tile helps its owner find those items thanks to a Bluetooth tracker and intuitive app.
The company has a portfolio of options for its tracker designed to fit different lifestyles. You can even have your brand emblazoned on the Tile device. This is a great idea for customers, partners, or employees.
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9. Onnit Mace
The Onnit Mace is an extraordinary workout tool that provides a new way to build full body strength. While the company makes a lot of innovative products that help increase physical performance, including supplements, athletic gear, and exercise tools, it is the steel mace that makes a great gift for anyone looking to train on the go.
Onnit Mace has an offset weight on the end of a long lever, which leads the user to have to compensate for the uneven weight by using his or her own internal body force to work with it. This is one of the most exciting exercise offerings to hit the market since CrossFit.
10. SnackNation
Everyone could eat better, so this is a great way to send a corporate gift and show you care about your recipient's health. This is also a great way to show your office employees that you sincerely care about their health all year long.
SnackNation offers a subscription box service that delivers a box of delicious and healthy snacks to an office and even to a virtual staff member's home.
Having the right type of food conveniently within reach helps your giftees make those important dietary changes that are necessary to meet their health, wellness, and fitness goals. You can even customize the snack boxes based on dietary preferences and restrictions.
11. FEED
Sometimes the best gift is the one that allows the recipient to pay it forward and contribute to a worthy cause. FEED offers extraordinary products that your recipient will enjoy, plus, for every purchase, a portion of the proceeds goes toward feeding or helping an individual or family in need somewhere in the world.
For example, for 48 hours, FEED donated a complete Thanksgiving meal to a family for every purchase. FEED's bags and accessories make beautiful gifts, so this idea is a win-win for everyone.
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12. glassybaby
Handmade products often make for a special, personal gift that is unlike the traditional corporate gifting fare. For example, glassybaby's hand-blown votives and "drinkers" are works of art, and each is distinctly different.
Every item the company makes comes with a special story and a unique name, such as "starry night," "home sweet home," "kindness," or "soul." Let your business be seen in a good light by giving glassybaby to your board, your valuable employees, or your clients and customers.
You can work with the glassybaby team to choose the perfect piece to represent your business, and they will create a custom insert card with your personalized message. Customized etching is also available. Better yet, you'll be giving a double gift -- while making your business glow.
Because glassybaby gives 10 percent of all revenue to causes that help people, animals, and the planet heal. Your business will even get to choose which cause to support.
13. Jackpot Candles
This is no ordinary candle that your recipient may end up re-gifting -- not when the candle contains jewelry that you can only get to by burning the candle.
Jackpot Candles has come up with an ingenious way to make candles into a great corporate gifts and ensure they actually are used rather than become dust collectors. As the candle burns, a foil pouch appears. Put the candle out, carefully remove the foil, and you'll find a piece of jewelry valued between $15 and $5,000.
The company also offers bath bombs and wax "tarts" that likewise hide a beautiful jewelry gift. By choosing Jackpot, you are sure to stun your recipient with something beautiful.
14. Savvy Infusion Water Bottle
Drinking enough water is critical to our health, but none of us probably consumes enough of the value liquid. The Savvy Infusion Water Bottle offers a way to create your own fruit, vegetable, or herb-infused water drinks, thus making your water more interesting.
Daily water consumption easier to achieve -- without the sugar that juice or other beverages add. This great gift idea focuses on the health of your recipients and gives them something they might not have necessarily bought for themselves.
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15. Uber Gift Cards
While many gift cards go unused, an Uber gift card is guaranteed to be appreciated and quickly used. From covering commuting costs for employees to giving them the ability to go out and enjoy themselves worry-free, these gift cards are a practical choice for a corporate holiday gift.
Also, the gift cards work for the UberEATS program. You can purchase them individually or in bulk through Uber's corporate program.
16. Jackery Bolt Portable Charger
For most people, having a mobile device run out of charge with nowhere to juice it up is a huge hassle. That's why giving your employees a Jackery Bolt portable charger as a corporate gift this holiday could be a big motivator. It's fast, efficient, and portable, so recipients' devices can stay charged no matter where they go.
That can be a benefit for you as the gift giver, too, because you'll never hear that your giftees couldn't respond to you earlier because their phone died.
17. Stance Stylish Socks
Whether it is for an upcoming office dress up day or you know your boss just loves standing out despite the formal suit, Stance has the stylish socks for this year's corporate gift collection.
The sock maker has socks for men and women, including sports teams, Disney, Star Wars, Christmas and more. Stance even has great gift boxed socks ready to give to employees, colleagues, or clients.
18. Floating Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker
Everyone loves gadgets, but this will win a standing ovation from the music lover you gift with this cool floating waterproof speaker. It works in the swimming pool, spa and even in the shower.
It's great for that client, boss, or employee that loves to take their tunes with them everywhere they go. This corporate gift is offered by Brookstone, home to some of the most ingenious gadgets.
19. Personal Creations Travel Destination Map
You most likely have that one person in the office who travels the globe whenever they can. They will thoroughly enjoy their own personalized travel destination map from Personal Creations. You can choose from a U.S. map or a world map that is personalized with a plate where you can add a message and have it delivered in a mahogany stained wood frame.
This gift also comes with 40 red pins to mark where your recipient has been, a blue flag to mark where they are headed next, yellow to identify their favorite place, and green to mark their dream destinations.
Conclusion
From the personal to the practical, this holiday guide for corporate gifts provides an array of prices and products. You'll enjoy giving these special holiday gifts, and even better -- your recipients will love receiving them.
