Year-End Corporate Gifting Timeline

The corporate gifting guide covers what to send and to whom, and this page is only the calendar. Put two dates in yours now, October 19 for requesting a sample set, if you want one, and November 2 for approving the design. If the first slips the second slips with it, and an approval later than November 9 misses December 14. Year-end gifting fails on dates far more often than on taste. A design approved on November 30 spends three weeks in production and two in transit through the carriers' busiest fortnight, and lands on January 4.

Counting back from December 14

Pick the day everything should have landed. For most companies that's Monday, December 14, when offices are still full and there's a week of slack before people leave. Shipping takes two weeks anywhere in the US once the production you approved is done, and that fixes November 30 as the last day parcels can leave. Production takes the three weeks before that, putting the latest approval at November 9, and a week of buffer moves it to November 2. A paid sample set takes about two weeks, and the request for it goes in by October 19. That leaves the first week of October for design, and the whole plan runs ten weeks, inside the 8 to 10 we ask for.

The week-by-week calendar

October 19 and November 2 are the two dates that move everything after them. If any piece is sized, hold October 26 as well, because late sizes push the approval.

Shipping cut-offs for a US recipient list

We don't ship outside the US yet, which leaves one lane and one cut-off. Every name on the recipient list needs a US address, and recipients abroad aren't something we can serve this year. Working back from December 14, the dates are:

• Parcels leave by November 30, or by November 23 if you want the buffer.
• In transit for two weeks after the production you approved, which is a planning figure we set and not a promise from the carrier.
• Delivered by December 14, with a week of slack before offices empty.

If your list mixes home and office addresses, the split-to-home parcels and the office box leave the same day, and no single address holds up the rest. Terms are on the shipping and returns page, and the remote kit guide covers address collection for home delivery, which works for gifts exactly as it does for onboarding.

Quantity math at the tier thresholds

Start with the recipient list and add about 5% for late names and failed addresses. Then look at where the total sits against the volume tiers, which are −12% at 50 pieces and −22% at 150, counted across the whole mixed order. If you're a few pieces short of 50 or about ten short of 150, round up, because the larger order costs less in total as well as per piece. Here it is for a pullover hoodie and a cap, each with one DTF print:

That's ten more hoodies for $147.70 less. Five more caps take $10.75 off the cap order, and at 50 pieces it ships free, where 45 caps would pay shipping on the quote. The extras are the buffer, and whatever is left becomes next quarter's new-hire or new-client gift. If you run short later, a reorder uses the design we have on file and needs only a quantity. Mixed orders count together, so 120 hoodies for employees and 30 caps for clients make 150 pieces and both lines price at −22%. The client vs. employee gifts guide covers why those two lists usually want different pieces.

What to gift at each budget

Four pieces cover most year-end lists. The prices below are with one DTF print and include the design and name-sleeved packaging, and XS to 4XL costs the same.

The beanie and the cap anchor client lists because they need no sizes, and a one-size gift ships to an office address with no link and no guessing. The hoodies need sizes, so the link goes out October 12 with sizes due October 26. Both hoodies are cut roomy, and recipients who want a closer fit should size down. For a senior list that deserves more than one piece, the executive gift kit guide builds two- and three-piece sets around the zip hoodie and the button-up shirt.

What to do if you start late

There are three fallbacks, depending on how late you are:

1. First week of November, first order. Skip the sample set and design in the Studio that week. Approve by November 9 and production runs to November 30, with parcels landing by December 14. That plan has no buffer, which limits it to one-size pieces that need no size collection.
2. Second week of November, existing collection. Because a reorder skips design and samples, you can approve as late as November 13. Production then runs to December 4, with parcels landing by December 18, the week before offices empty. Nothing can slip on that schedule, and beanies and caps are the safe choice.
3. After mid-November. Move the gift to January and send a card in December that says it's coming, with the size and address link inside. The gift then arrives in January with no competition, and production takes its usual three weeks once you approve.

Whichever lane you're in, the price doesn't change, and the pricing page lists the same tiers in December as in June. Only the calendar changes, and in October you still control it. Real estate and finance teams tend to have the longest client lists and the strictest gift caps, which is the combination the one-size pieces are for.

Related reading.

• The Corporate Gifting Guide
• Client Gifts vs. Employee Gifts: Where the Rules Split
• Executive Gift Kits in Small Runs

Questions we get in October.

When should I order year-end corporate gifts?

Approve the design by November 2 for delivery by December 14. From approval, that allows three weeks to make the order, two to ship it and a week of slack. Start the design in early October, because a sample set is a paid extra that arrives in about two weeks, and you want it in hand before you approve.

What is the latest I can start and still deliver before the holidays?

For a first order, the first week of November. That means skipping the sample set and using one-size pieces (beanie or cap), which need no size collection. Approve by November 9 and the order arrives by December 14. A reorder of an existing collection skips design and can be approved as late as November 13, for delivery by December 18. Later than that, send a card in December and deliver in January.

How many gifts should I order?

Recipients plus about 5% for address failures and late additions, then check the volume tiers, which count the whole mixed order. With one print each, 140 hoodies at −12% cost $2,951.20 and 150 at −22% cost $2,803.50, so rounding up to the threshold buys ten more gifts for $147.70 less.

What are good year-end corporate gifts by budget?

The one-size cap is the entry gift at $10.85 with a printed mark. The pullover hoodie in 330 GSM fleece is $23.96 with one DTF print, and the zip hoodie with a YKK metal zip is $25.22 with the same print. The beanie, also one size and embroidered on the cuff, is priced in one business day. Every price covers design and decoration plus name-sleeved packaging, and drops 12% at 50 pieces and 22% at 150.