Christmas is fast approaching. For many people I have spoken to this has been a particular challenging work year. It has been a good year for some and a bad year for others, however with out a doubt it has been a year where everyone has worked harder! Ourselves included. A nice Christmas present is definitely in order I say. If not as a Christmas staff gift then a gift purely as a thank you to all the effort put in during the past year will definitely be a nice touch and importantly an easy morale booster.

In the past we have worked on projects for year end gifts where the budget was seemingly unlimited. One of the projects we worked on included the customer including an Ipod along with a whole bag of goodies to each and every team member, followed up by an elaborate BIG party on the harbourside. Most companies this year though I would imagine may not be so extravagent but that does not mean you have to settle for anything less. There are ways to really make your budget go further by simply choosing products that not only look great but have the perception of being more expensive than they really are. So your recipient will be happy and so will your corporate end of year bank balance too! Some ways to extend your budget include:

• Fake Leather is almost identical to Real Leather. It is so similar that even us professionals struggle to tell the difference. Price wise though expect to pay up to 40% less for fake leather. So things like compendiums, travel wallets, Ipad cases can all be made with imitation leather. Better still imitation leather tends to be more resistant to wear and tear too!
• Design for both your intended print and product. Design goes a long long way. I have a small interest in fashion and regularly I see seemingly average product quality (fabric quality and composition, stitch quality, print quality) with spectacular designs sell in retail shops for literally 500% more than other places. However the design is so cool that it is 100% worth the mark up. Examples include products like SuperDry brand tee shirts and surfwear brands like Hurley.
• Presentation. Things like shrink wrapping, gift boxing, they all make a difference. Perhaps it is attributable to simply the process of opening things but packaging adds to the presentation, it also adds drama and anticipation. It is because of this that things simply look and feel more expensive when they are presented well. Gift boxing and shrink wrapping goes a long way. Just ask us for a quote on packaging next time you enquire with us.

At the moment we have gift ideas ranging from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars listed on our website. There are literally thousands to choose from our website so the easiest thing would be just to send us an email with a brief and we can give you some suggestions.