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Holiday Corporate Gifting Guide 2025
Presented by Merchpath | Designed for modern teams that care about brand, quality, and connection.
Ivan Hadzhiev
October 30, 2025
Introduction
The New Era of Holiday Gifting
Corporate gifting has become one of the most effective ways to connect with employees, clients, and partners. In 2025, gifting isn't just about handing out company swag. It is about creating thoughtful, design-led experiences that reflect your brand's values and personality.
Most corporate gifting is done on autopilot, and the result is low excitement, low usage, and low brand recall. This playbook helps you choose gifts that people actually keep, use, and talk about.
Think of corporate gifting as customer acquisition cost in disguise. The right gifts spark word of mouth, warm referrals, and brand ambassadorship that lowers paid acquisition pressure.
Merchpath specializes in corporate gifting solutions that help companies elevate their brand with purpose-built products and curated collections. Whether you are sending gifts to your team, clients, or partners, this playbook will help you plan the perfect holiday campaign.
Goal: Inspire your 2025 holiday gifting strategy with ideas, product inspiration, and proven tactics that drive engagement.
Why Holiday Gifting Works
Corporate gifts are more than nice gestures. They build loyalty, improve engagement, and drive visibility long after the season ends.
80% of employees say receiving quality swag makes them feel more valued.
72% of recipients remember a brand for over a year after receiving a corporate gift.
Branded merchandise delivers the highest recall rate of any advertising medium.
Your brand can use this power to stand out during the holidays with practical, well-designed products that people actually want to use.
“When the gift matches our brand and the recipient’s lifestyle, we see employees turn into everyday brand ambassadors, the right piece turns a moment into momentum.”
2025 Gifting Trends
1. Premium Everyday Use
Gifts that blend function and style are in high demand this year. The Coloma Backpack is a hero piece from your winter catalog, practical for daily commute, with clean lines for premium branding.
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2. Cozy and Seasonal Comfort
Soft textures and elevated basics define holiday gifting this year. Companies can elevate their holiday gifting programs by choosing a premium hoodie from the Merchpath catalog. This piece offers a choice between embroidery or puff print decoration, giving teams the ability to align with current fashion trends while keeping their brand presentation elevated and cohesive.
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3. Branded Utility
Teams appreciate items that simplify daily life. The Wireless Charging Stand from our catalog is a standout example. It combines function and design effortlessly. Compact and lightweight, it folds completely flat, making it a perfect travel or desk companion. With a 15W Qi-certified charging coil, it powers devices quickly in any direction. Its sleek, minimal design fits modern workspaces and offers a large imprint area for subtle, refined branding.
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Gifting by Budget
Under $25: High Impact, Scalable Options
Perfect for conference swag, onboarding kits, or team-wide gifts.
$25 to $75: The Premium Tier
Ideal for mid-sized teams, client appreciation, and holiday campaigns.
Perfect for conference swag, onboarding kits, or team-wide gifts.
🎁 These selections elevate perception without overspending.
$75 and Up: Executive and Client-Facing Gifts
For premium relationships and VIPs.
Custom Duffle Bag with Logo: a Merchpath highlight, see our duffle case study
Fully Custom White Glove Projects: For companies seeking a truly elevated gifting experience, Merchpath offers a dedicated White Glove Program. This service provides end-to-end concierge support, from personalized sourcing and decoration to fulfillment and delivery coordination. Each project is handled with custom attention, ensuring every detail reflects your brand’s quality and standards.
White glove projects are ideal for high-value clients, investor gifts, and internal milestones where presentation, timing, and precision matter most.
Employee vs. Client Gifting
Employee Gifting
Employee gifting strengthens culture, recognition, and a sense of belonging. The goal is to make people feel seen and valued, which boosts morale and retention. The best experiences are practical, comfortable, and brand aligned without shouting, think soft wearables, daily carry essentials, or desk-side utility that becomes part of the routine.
Employee gifting succeeds when the moment feels personal, consider team-specific notes, leader messages, or a small story card that explains why this gift was chosen. Expect reactions like surprise, gratitude, and immediate use; the gift becomes a recurring touchpoint that reminds employees of their connection to the company.
Client Gifting
Client gifting reinforces trust, partnership, and long-term value. The goal is to signal reliability and taste while keeping the gift useful enough to live in their daily environment. Choose items that align with the client’s lifestyle or workplace and keep branding tasteful, quality speaks louder than size.
Client gifting is strongest when it arrives with context, a short note about the year’s collaboration, a nod to shared milestones, or a simple thank you. Expect reactions like follow-up emails, increased responsiveness, and organic referrals. The right gift often earns you a place in the room even when you are not there.
Local and Sustainable Choices
Merchpath is based in Kansas City, we operate and design out of Kansas City, and we support local growth alongside trusted national partners. Our approach blends regional pride with scalable fulfillment, so your program can be both personal and dependable.
Our warehousing and shipping are also done out of Kansas City, giving any team a perfect heartland location to ship anywhere in equal time frames. When holiday rush times get hectic, we ensure that you’re fully protected.
Sustainability also remains an important filter for many teams. We help you prioritize responsible materials, durable products, and vendors with transparent practices, then we balance that with budget, timeline, and brand standards.
Supporting Kansas City corporate gifting solutions strengthens community ties and keeps spend closer to home, while national partnerships ensure consistent quality and reliable timelines across all locations.
Holiday Campaign Checklist
Your end-to-end process
Discovery, define audience, purpose, quantity, budget, delivery dates
Curation, Merchpath presents a focused selection mapped to your brand and goals
Proofs, visual mockups, and decoration notes for quick alignment
Approvals, confirm selections, sizes if applicable, and final quantities
Production, vendor scheduling, decoration, and status updates
Quality assurance, spot checks, brand standard verification, packaging prep
Warehousing, optional storage for staged rollouts or multiple locations
Shipping, bulk to HQ or individual addresses, international options available
Tracking and support, delivery monitoring, and recipient support
Post campaign review, what worked, what to adjust, ideas for next quarter
Planning guardrails
Order windows, plan for decoration lead times, and carrier cutoffs
Sizing and variants, minimize friction with pre-selected bundles when possible
Messaging, add a short note that connects gift to brand values
Data hygiene, gather addresses early if shipping to home
Budget tiers, match audience to value, reserve executive tier for high-impact moments
The Merchpath Advantage
Merchpath covers the full suite, white glove service, design studio, product sourcing, warehousing, pick and pack, global shipping, design consultations, photography, and post campaign support. You choose the pieces you need, we handle the rest with clear communication and honest timelines.
Our supplier team is world-class; they are experts in this field and have delivered for multinational brands and celebrities. That experience translates into better curation, faster problem solving, and dependable outcomes when the calendar gets tight.
What sets us apart:
• Design first product selection
• Reliable fulfillment and tech-enabled platform
• Collaborative service that scales with your brand
• Warehouse and operations in Kansas City for fast turnaround nationwide
• Proven supplier network with elite tier capability
Closing Thoughts
This season, rethink what gifting can do for your brand. The right products build emotion, identity, and community, far beyond the holidays.
🎄 Start your 2025 corporate gifting project today at Merchpath.co