[Libby Huffman]

We've all been to events and gathered our goody bags. They're all usually the same: stress ball, pens and t-shirts, all with a company logo. Such generic swag doesn't usually impress. Explore alternatives to the usual giveaways and learn how they can help your company stand out from the crowd.
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[LisaOlsen]

Great article, Libby! I wish I had all this information while I was an EA. Every year when it came time to plan the executive retreat, the three EAs and I would sit around the board room table trying to come up with the yearly gift for the management team members! Needless to say, we had a lot of laughs coming up with some crazy ideas! Your "green" ideas are awesome and I'm going to pass them along to my former colleagues.

Two very successful and popular gifts we gave one year were:
1. Duffel bags from Lands End with the company logo. Lands End does a great job with logos and their products are top quality. Once they have your company logo on file, they can add it any of their products.

2. One year we gave very personal gift baskets. They were a huge hit. It took a lot or work, but it was worth the time. One manager was an avid fisherman, so we hit the local outdoor store and filled up a tackle box with miscellaneous fishing stuff. Another was a gourmet cook, so we went to the cooking store and had fun collecting some cool utensils, an Italian cookbook, etc. Another was a photographer...you get the idea. We had ten on the management team so we divided up the team between the three assistants and working within the allotted budget, we put together a personalized basket for each member. They were very appreciative and surprised that their "boss" the VP and CEO knew them so well! Another example of how an EA can make their boss look good!!

Thanks for this great article. Only on OA would we find this type of valuable information.

[Jodith]

We had a giveaway of the mint tins at one of our employee appreciation events. They went over wonderfully! Everyone enjoyed the mints, and you would see many of the boxes displayed on desks and used to hold little items like paperclips or change.

I like the idea of the personalized baskets, Lisa. I've done that before and it's always a big hit, and it doesn't have to cost a lot. We had a $10 limit for one group I did, and you'd be amazed what you can get for $10.

Another option is to use a plan where each employee can choose from a number of items. We used that at one place I worked for the employee appreciation day. We had different items to choose from depending on length of service. The employees loved having different options open to them.

[Chrissy Scivicque]

When I was an EA, one year for a holiday gift I collected money from the staff and we got a customized bottle of wine for each of the partners in the firm. I took a photo that we had taken on the staff retreat and sent it to the winery. They created a custom label with our logo and colors. It was really special and the partners were very touched. They kept the bottles displayed in their offices. It was especially appropriate because we worked in wine country and many of our clients were wine makers. The winery that did this for us was Windsor Vineyards. If anyone is interested in doing this, I can refer you to the person who helped me. She was great.