Give with Style: Top Business Gifts 2011

Give with Style: Top Business Gifts 2011

By Robyn Spizman

As the holiday season approaches, you’re probably searching for the best way to show gratitude to your co-workers, clients and colleagues. As vice president of A Legendary Event, where parties and special events are our daily mission, we believe it’s all about adding your signature touch. These tips should help you get started:

• Keep it personalized, but not too personal: It’s important not to be too personal with your gifts, but to still add your personal touch and show your style.

• Focus on gifts someone values: If your co-worker has kids, give the gifts to the children. If your boss has a pet, focus on the pet.

• Make it functional: No one needs another dust collector, so give a gift your colleague or client can really enjoy and use. Practical makes perfect!

Check out these great resources to help you gift with style:

Uncommon Goods is the place for unique gifts and creative designs. With a focus on the handmade, one-of-a-kind and recycled, you can find something for everyone on your list. Plus, they’ll donate $1 to a nonprofit of your choice each time you place an order.

Clairebella creates personalized products for stylish office and home living. Their gifts are offered in several colors, styles and font options for hundreds of combinations. You’ll love the personalized 700-page desk sticky note cube for $35. They also offer customized clipboards, personalized cutting boards and chic cell phone cases for iPhones and BlackBerrys.

Celebrate the holidays with a memorable gourmet bite from Heidi’s Heavenly Cookies: gourmet cookies and English toffee candy. Plus, Heidi’s Heavenly Cookies are packaged in style.

My Own Labels lets you put your words and photos on elegantly-styled labels, favor tags, coasters and cards for perfect holiday, business and hostess gifts. You can create personalized book plates for book lovers, photographs with the host/hostess photo and names, your jam, liqueur or homemade cookies.

Another personalized gift options with great prices is Gifts For You Now. These items include apparel, wood and glass picture frames, doormats, wall canvas, photo gifts to name a few. Items ship within one business day.

For the pet lover on your list, Le Papier Studio will be a hit! Honor their favorite furry companion with Custom Dog Silhouettes to preserve and commemorate a beloved pet. To order, simply send in the picture of your pet, then allow 2-3 days for a digital proof to be emailed to you, and a few weeks to get the final product. Price is $24 plus a one-time fee of $10 for the custom silhouette.

Calling all kids: if your co-worker or boss has children, Girly Twirly has a wonderful gallery of gifts. Check out the kid’s Melamine Plate, Bowl and Mug Set in your choice of colors and designs. It’s the best way to get any kid to eat their veggies!

Ben’s Garden has vintage-styled decoupage gifts, from paperweights and trays to gifts created from your personal snapshots. You can even add famous quotes that will delight your recipient.

Have a great snapshot of a colleague receiving recognition or their latest book cover or accomplishment? Fracture Me will transform your personal snapshots. They combine contemporary style with simple, easy-to-use functionality to bring back the magic of printing your favorite photos.

Move over “good ole” crispy treats, here comes The Crispery. They offer assorted crispy cakes – great for the entire office as they come individually wrapped in assorted themes. Packaged with style, these treats will be totally memorable.

Here’s a gift that is scent-sational! Philosophy gift sets are cute, affordable gifts and their products contain a balanced mix of nourishing ingredients to pamper your skin and soul. Spoil coworkers and help them ease away the stress of a hectic, busy lifestyle.

Robyn Spizman is vice president of A Legendary Event, is heard weekly on Star94.com’s “The Giftionary Show with Cindy and Ray,” appears often on NBC’s Today Show, is a media personality and New York Times bestselling author of Make It Memorable and When Words Matter Most. See robynspizman.com and alegendaryevent.com for more.