What To Expect When Ordering Your Branded Holiday Gifts This Year!
While we haven’t yet had a break from the summer heat, there’s no denying the fact that the Holiday season is right around the corner. For some of you, this may be exciting and full of joy, but for most HR and Marketing Departments, the Holiday season brings the stress of ordering your branded holiday gifts.
From choosing the items, deciding how to brand them, and also how to best distribute the gifts, they surely have their hands full during the holiday season. This job is never an easy one. The ordering process for branded holiday gifts will be even more trying for the 2021 holiday season. Not much has changed with the breaks in the supply chain since we last discussed it with our readers.
In fact, we had so much positive feedback on the pro-active nature of that blog update, we decided it was important to share any additional information we had. Specially before the upcoming holiday season and before you begin to prepare for ordering your branded holiday gifts.
If you didn’t know, we’re Crooked Monkey: a merchandise agency that specializes in premium swag year round, including the best branded holiday gifts you can find through Christmas! At Crooked Monkey, we handle all aspects of the supply chain, from China to the US, ensuring premium quality swag. It also means that we have quite a bit of knowledge and insight on the ins and out of the supply chain!
In the Christmas spirit, we’re sharing our best tips and tricks for ordering your branded holiday gifts this year, along with insights into what we believe are some of your best choices for branded merch. If you’re looking for another update on the supply chain or just simply interested in seeing some of our best ideas for 2021 branded holiday gifts, then keep reading. The Custom Apparel Experts at Crooked Monkey have you covered!
An Update… Why Is The Supply Chain Broken?
You’ve probably noticed that everywhere you look there are delays and issues with the products you need these days. Though we thought these nightmares ended in the toilet paper aisle, its clear we will be seeing a delay all across the supply chain industry for quite some time. While there are times that we can all make use of alternatives to what we were actually wanting, chances are we’ve all experienced some taste of frustration due to the breaks in the supply chain. But do any of us really know why? We do! And were here to make sure you do too! Interested in learning what the hold up is? Keep reading, and we’ll fill you in.
The Reason for The Delay
- The “Covid Ramp Up” is real. Turning on an economy is not a light switch!
- There are inventory issues throughout the country, not just in our industry but with gas, computer chips, swimming pools, gym classes, Uber rides… There is less supply, and far more demand everywhere you look!
- For most of the last year, our suppliers were trying to draw down their inventory because no one was buying. Now, everyone is buying (great news!) and supply has not caught up to demand (not so great news!).
- Hiring at manufacturing plants is also proving difficult for two reasons. After a year of inactivity many employees were laid off. Hiring requires training, and training doesn’t happen overnight. It is also hard to hire new employees in the current environment.
What Does This Mean for You this Holiday Season?
- We are working to make sure that we hit your in hand dates for your branded holiday gifts and we feel confident we can do so… BUT, it is important to start thinking about things just a little earlier this year!
- Production time for non rush orders is currently about 10-17 business days. Pre-Covid it was 5-10 business days. For completely custom orders abroad it is currently around 3-6 weeks. But if you wait too late, you also risk the chance of your favorite items already being sold out!
- We are continuing to add capacity, so that we can be back to our normal 5-10 business day turnaround for domestic orders, but chances are If you have a rush, or a specific date your branded holiday gifts are needed, we will figure it out. We always do and we’re really good at getting it done!
Your Next Steps for Branded Holiday Gifts
- If you have already begun to think about the items you would like to have branded for your 2021 corporate holiday gifts, what are you waiting for? Reach out and lets get started designing today!
- We should be back to normal manufacturing production time soon, but inventory will continue to be an issue for the next six months as goods slowly trickle into the USA, so please make sure you keep this in mind as we approach the Holiday season.
- The majority of our screenprinting and embroidery is already done in the USA. We are also adding USA manufacturing of goods into our supply chain. If you prefer USA made, please let us know and we can direct you to what branded holiday gifts would be best for you!
- We are not shying away from this challenge! If you have a rush – we will figure it out.
The Top Branded Holiday Gifts for 2021
1. Candles
Who doesn’t love candles? What better gift to please hundreds of different personalities, than with a single gift you know they’ll all love? At Crooked Monkey, we can create candles that are completely custom to your brand. We can work together to design a fully wrapped completely custom tin branded with your company name. And to take it a step further, we can even customize the smell. A one of a kind gift that will please the masses while also advertising your brand!
2. Face Masks
As much as we hoped we would be leaving gifting custom face masks in the 2020 Holiday season, it looks like they’re still up there on our list of highly useful branded holiday gifts. Gift your team with the protection they deserve, and in the styles we all hope for when you design your brands very own custom face masks!
3. Beanies, Socks, & Other Cold Weather Gear
Cold weather gear is a no brainer when thinking of great branded holiday gifts for your team. From our higher quality premium branded coats and vests from brands like Patagonia and North Face, to our more basic styles of socks and beanies. You can’t go wrong when choosing cold whether gear for your teams branded holiday gifts!
4. Tumblers
Warming up this holiday means the latest tumblers for hot cocoa around the fire. And following holiday break, it will be the perfect go to for coffee on slow moving Mondays on the way to the office. Once the habit picks up, they’ll be taking their new custom tumbler everywhere they go- bringing plenty of new eyes to your logo. With various sizes and color options, we can work with you to find the perfect fit to represent your company!
5. Solo Stoves
Solo Stoves are all the rage this year! Solo Stoves are great for improving interactions with the people who are most important to you, including your employees, clients, and customers. Add your logo to a Solo Stove for your teams Custom Christmas Gifts, and watch as your brand is the talk of all holiday gathering well into the New Year!
Why Choose Crooked Monkey for Your Branded Holiday Gifts
1. Premium Quality
At Crooked Monkey, we produce nothing less than the highest quality custom merch. In fact, we offer a large amount of premium branded apparel available with customization options that most merch agencies do not provide. From North Face, to Patagonia, to Herschel our premium brands and our premium quality merch is exactly why you should go with us when planning your 2021 branded holiday gifts!
2. Premium Design
There’s plenty of reasons why we’re known as the Custom Apparel Experts, but one of the strongest is because of our highly experienced designers. Our design team goes above and beyond to not only bring your vision to life, but to give it far more life that you ever could have imagined. They will work with you every step of the way to create an unforgettable design that makes every penny of the investment in to your custom merch worth it!
3. Our Pricing
We get it, thinking about starting to design your branded holiday gifts can seem overwhelming and expensive, but don’t let that stop you from creating one of a kind gifts for your team and clients. At Crooked Monkey, we promise our full design expertise and attention while offering both affordable and honest pricing. What more could you ask for?
4. International Shipping & Logistics
As we noted before, the holidays can be a stressful time for the HR and Marketing Departments. Whoever is in charge of choosing the items and taking care of the branding, is chances are also in charge of the distribution of those gifts. Though this may be an easier task for those with one location, for those with a brand who is stationed in different places throughout the world the task is a bit more daunting. That’s where we come in. At Crooked Monkey, we take care of all of the logistics and offer international shipping so that your teammates from all over the world are also gifted with their branded holiday gifts!
5. Customer Service
One thing we’re known for at Crooked Monkey is our amazing customer service skills. If we don’t have it, we’ll find a way to get it, or find you an even better alternative. Due to the current circumstances in the world, it can sometimes be difficult to find exactly what you want, exactly when you need it. But at Crooked Monkey, we will go above and beyond to find our way around those obstacles to ensure you have exactly what you want and need!
Don’t Need Any More Convincing? Let’s Start Designing Your Branded Holiday Gifts Today!
Why wait until your favorite items start selling out and turnaround time grow even longer? Reach out and lets get started designing your branded holiday gifts today!
