Every December, somebody in every Irish company discovers that corporate gifting has a supply chain — usually two weeks too late. This planner is what we tell clients in January, written down: when to order, how to count, and what actually goes in the box.
Branded gifting has three lead-time layers stacked on top of each other: artwork approval, production and engraving, and delivery. The dates that matter for an Irish company:
| Occasion | Ideal order-by | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Client Christmas boxes | Early October | Engraving capacity fills first; couriers slow from early December |
| Staff Christmas gifts | Mid October | Larger quantities, and names on pieces take longer than logos |
| Conferences & events | 6–8 weeks before | One artwork approval round plus production, with margin for reprints of inserts |
| Onboarding kits (rolling) | Quarterly batches | Order a quarter's worth at once; store flat, assemble on demand |
| Milestones & anniversaries | 4 weeks before | One-off dates don't move — the buffer is for your own approvals |
Order roughly ten percent more boxes than your list. New clients appear in November, a director remembers three more names, one courier box gets a fork through it — every year, without fail. Leftover branded boxes never go to waste: they become new-starter gifts and spontaneous thank-yous through spring. Under-ordering, by contrast, means a second production run at rush pace for five units.
The box does the first impression; the contents do the daily reminder. The combination that works is one keepsake, one consumable, one useful item: the keepsake stays on the desk, the consumable gets shared (and talked about), the useful item — a branded notebook, pen, drinkware or tech accessory — travels to meetings with your logo on it. Matching the branding across box and contents is what separates a "hamper" from a corporate gift: same logo treatment, same tone, one coherent object.
Practical fill notes: seat heavy items low and central; wood wool is presentation, not padding — fragile items still need wrap; and print a small card naming a real person, not a department. Signed beats printed, always.
The companies that find gifting easy treat it like a subscription: specifications on file, artwork approved once, quantities reviewed quarterly, one supplier for box, contents and branding. Reordering becomes one email. That consistency also compounds the brand effect — the third year a client receives the same beautifully engraved box with this year's contents, it's a tradition, and traditions don't get thrown out.
Set the budget per recipient tier rather than per item: a key-client tier, a partner tier, a team tier. Then build a box for each tier from the same family — same timber, same branding, different scale and contents. Everyone receives something clearly from the same company; nobody receives something clearly cheaper than their colleague's.
Boxes, 900+ branded promo items to fill them, engraving and delivery — one Dublin studio, one supplier.
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