The holidays are a great time to have a little fun with your client thank yous and company promotional gifts. Here is a roundup of a few super creative ideas from around the world.

You could go the ever-popular chocolate route, adorned with custom branding:

Canvas Promotional Gift

Canvas’ 2013 holiday gift featuring Mast Brothers Chocolates, USA

Maybe a playful branded memory game (the cards could double as coasters!)

How about a business-y chocolate nudge into holiday mode? By Tenfold Creative, USA

How about a business-y chocolate nudge into holiday mode? By Tenfold Creative, USA

Booze is always a favorite—Canadian company Studio Caserne took it a step further with a “build your own cozy fire” kit, complete with whiskey, kindling, matches, and step-by-step instructions.

By Studio Caserne, Canada

By Studio Caserne, Canada

Practical, useable branded gifts will remind clients you’re just a phone call away, throughout the year.

Studio Caserne Promotional Gift

By Studio Caserne, Canada

 

Custom-designed calendars are an easy, cost-effective option…

By Pan Lis & Haveasign Studio, Poland

By Pan Lis & Haveasign Studio, Poland

Or uniquely-designed thank you cards packaged to catch the eye:

By Conduit, USA

By Conduit, USA

By Conduit, USA

By Conduit, USA

By Ferry Thissen, Netherlands

By Ferry Thissen, Netherlands

Another great option is to tie your brand to a cause and throw in a corresponding promotional gift, like Zeus Jones did with their “Holiday Hat Project.” They sent each client a cozy beanie wrapped in beautifully branded packaging, and for each client hat sent, they also donated one to charity. Clients could learn more about the project and donate money to the cause via the project website:

By Zeus Jones, USA

By Zeus Jones, USA

By Zeus Jones, USA

By Zeus Jones, USA

While it’s too late to pull together any of these elaborate ideas for 2014, they’re fun to think about for next year’s holiday outreach. And of course, if you miss Christmas, there’s always New Year’s…or even Valentine’s Day. According to designer Megan Anderson, “Rather than sending clients a Christmas card, HLK likes to sends their clients a Valentine’s Day gift. HLK wanted their clients to be seen as a ‘Valentine’s Day hero’ so a pre-Valentine’s Day gift was sent with the intention that the box of chocolates was to be re-gifted to a significant other. A card with instructions and a blank, detachable tag was included.”

By Megan Anderson for HughesLeahyKarlovic, USA

By Megan Anderson for HughesLeahyKarlovic, USA

To have your clients regard you as a hero? Now that’s a sweet promotion.