Sara’s Ultimate Gift Guide (for clients, team & favorite community members)
Credit: Unsplash
Published: November 2025
‘Tis the season — all year! I’ll keep this introduction brief to say that often I get asked for gift ideas for team members, clients, and for the people who support us most, our community. This article is a curation of things I’ve personally done, things I’ve received (and think are brilliant), and things that if it wasn’t November and had more time to plan for the holidays, I’d definitely be doing.
Note, this is a living doc that I update irregularly. If you need help ideating, drop me a line anytime.
The its-a-gift-card-but-its-not-tacky option
I am a HUGE fan of Goody Gifts. Goody is female-founded and makes Amazon gift cards look like you received a popcorn ball in your stocking. On Goody, there are two paths for gifting. First, you can shop brands, purchase and ship directly to someone. The brands are high quality, like Brooklinen, Le Crueset, and Quince Men. Second, you can set a limit, send an e-card, and let the receiving party shop for what they want.
Goody is great for people you don’t know well, but still want to give them something, maybe they wouldn’t normally buy. I recently used Goody for our realtor as a thank you gift. Give Goody a try & get $20 for signing up to use on yourself or someone else.
The put-a-logo-on-something option
Don’t you dare gift a branded tote bag or water bottle. If you have to put your logo (or you designed your client’s and want to print it) on something, do custom chocolates from Compartés. I LOVE Compartés and many of my clients throughout the years have had it delivered to their doorstep.
Compartés does some quirky bars — the wrappers and flavors — but you can get custom printed chocolates as well. Definitely a cool experience to eat your brand instead of throwing it in a kitchen cabinet and never using it.
Just a quick note on this one, Compartés will very hesitantly, if at all, ship to hot locations in summer months. I only purchase during winter months, so nothing melts.
Speaking of chocolate…
The health-curious option
You already know what I’m about to recommend. Alice Mushrooms. They’re 10000% legal, so calm down George. Alice’s chocolate contains ingredients like lion’s mane, magnesium, and zinc to help brain function and improve sleep — and for the really adventurous, they have a sexual stimulant variety too (which unfortunately I can’t have due to my capsaicin allergy). Alice also recently dropped their Party Trick chocolate, which is aimed at helping you have fun socially but get home safely (aka no drinking and driving).
I’ve been taking Alice every day for almost three years, and have been able to cut my caffeine intake in half. Give Alice a try & save on your first order.
The your-birthday-is-cool-and-historical option
One of my absolute favorite gifts and one of my most treasured office items I have ever received is my New York Times Front Page puzzle. The Front Page puzzle is a custom order, and any day in history can be selected, as long as the NYT was in operation, of course. I have the day I was born, which also happened to be the day Ruth Bader Ginsberg (RGB) was sworn into the Supreme Court. There were also some highlights about the infamous Waco Siege.
Of course, you don’t have to pick someone’s birthday. Say they are a history buff and love WWII, get them a print from Liberation Day, etc. I’ve bought this puzzle for one person, and just a note, there is a fairly large lead time because the puzzles are print to order. So just plan accordingly.
The crushed-grapes-in-a-bottle option
There’s a company here in Austin called Personal Wine, that custom-engraves wine bottles and boxes, and ships anywhere via their website. While producing the 1st year of Sponsor Games in 2025, I bought Justin two bottles (after finding out he’s a wine snob!) engraved with the Creator Wizard logo. He went nuts unboxing them, and it’s a great keepsake even after the bottles are empty.
They also do drink-adjacent items as well, like whiskey glasses.
The parents-deserve-a-brain-break option
I love getting parents a local pamper gift, like a spa, bathe house, or mineral spring pool. There are a few really great options here in Austin, like Milk + Honey, or right outside of Austin (1hr drive), Ottine Mineral Springs just opened and offers day passes.
I like to even throw in a little “babysitter fund” cash so they can’t say no to a relaxation day.
The do-good option
I love giving impact gifts to others. These are companies that can be Certified B Corp, have a mission of making the world a better place and really deserve more recognition for the hard work they do.
Recently, for one of Molly Donlan’s team members during their retreat, we got an employee a bumblebee necklace. With every purchase, the company supports a beehive and you get to name the queen bee.
For journal, writer friends, Public Supply is a great notebook brand that with every sale, donates to an elementary school around the US. If you purchase from their website, you can even pick the school it goes to. Since launching, PS has supported over 59,000 classrooms.
Giving Tuesday is just around the corner, and donating in someone’s name to a cause they believe in is a wonderful thing. GT is the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, and nonprofits around the world participate. I’ve been supporting GT for over 10 years; first fundraising for the organization I worked for, and now donating to cool causes like Lemonade Day!.
And this is me manifesting that one day you can buy gift cards for others to use Too Good To Go. I’m obsessed with this platform and its mission to eliminate food waste. How it works is, local food businesses post “mystery bags” at a heavily discounted / limited rate. Users grab a bag before its gone by paying usually 30% of the original price, and pick up at a designated time. Our local bakery, Easy Tiger has mystery bags and they’re usually filled with 3-5 loafs of bread and pastries for $10. Usually one loaf is $8 alone! If I could give friends a gift card to try the app out, how cool would that be?
The martha-stewart-on-a-budget option
I am a sucker for a DIY, handcrafted gift, and I love giving them too.
Hand-poured candles: I found these CUTEST espresso cups with silver bumblebees on them (very Anthropologie), and turned them into candles for a few friends. I created a winter scent with essential oils, and named the candle Spiced Hive to play on the bee design. The mugs were $2/each at Goodwill ($8 total), and the candle materials cost me ~$25 at Hobby Lobby. But coolness level? Priceless.
Shop local! There’s so many incredible pottery artists in every single city across America that you can buy things like mugs, ring dishes, noodle bowls, etc.
Speaking of clay, there’s a trend on my Pinterest to use dry clay and make a custom-shaped tic-tac-toe board. I haven’t done these yet, but definitely high on the crafting list for 2027.
This year will be the 9th year of my infamous Christmas Cookie Boxes. I spend about a week making multiple cookie recipes (this year we’re doing 9 for 9 years!), bundle them, and publish a small book with the recipes and highlights from the year. Last time I counted, I’m making about 45 boxes this year. I give these to friends, colleagues and family. Specifically for colleagues, these go to people whom I met through community events and who took the time to refer or introduce me to others during the year. Watch Instagram for updates!
The i-have-everything-bro option
Honestly, for these guys & gals, I tend to lean on replacing or refilling something they enjoy so the gift is less random clutter for the sake of having to purchase something, and saves them money too!
For instance,
Cigars for men (could throw in an engraved lighter to make it even more personal)
Candle melts & quirky matchbooks
Credits for their favorite subscription (i.e. Opus Clip)
Fancy olive oil, spices, artisan items (e.g. maple syrup, salt, hot sauce)
The love-to-learn-and-network option
I’m adding this selfishly because if someone bought me (or paid towards) a conference/event ticket, or gave me credits to take a class on Maven, I’d probably cry. Obviously, this one can be pricey; we all know conferences are usually $600+, but even if you contribute towards the cost, the gesture will be well-received.
Books — read something life-changing lately, like Sponsor Magnet or Tiny Experiments? Grab a copy for someone else.
Here me out, a permanent nametag. Those of you who know me locally know that I despise sticker nametags for events. For us ladies, your hair gets stuck; half the time the marker bleeds and you can’t read it anyway, so why not gift a magnetic nametag that someone can reuse over and over?
How to Covertly Figure This Whole Gifting Thing Out
Let’s face it, for the majority of us, gift-giving sucks. There’s so much pressure to get the perfect or correct gift; you may not know someone intimately enough to know what they’d like, and might be apprehensive about gifting in general.
That’s why you collect data — covertly.
Of course, you can send a survey before an event, asking for shirt size and interests. However, it’s not always appropriate and can cause chaos. Instead, just listen. People talk about themselves & their interests. All you have to do is add notes to your CRM (or notes app) about random things they mention and use them to your advantage at gift-giving time.
Then the gift becomes 100x better, because they’ll be so surprised you listened to them, and that delight is usually even better than the gift itself.
If You Must Send a Survey
I do think personal info surveys can be done well. I’d recommend sending them when a team member onboards, before any type of company activity, or once a year to “update your records”.
Ask things like:
Do you have any allergies or dietary restrictions?
Sweatsuit size? (so you get both shirt and pant size)
Coffee, tea or matcha? (add a nothing option!)
Sweet or salty treats?
What’s your grandma hobbies? (i.e. puzzles, knitting, reading) (select all options)
What’s your grandpa hobbies? (i.e. gardening, woodworking) (select all options)
What’s your field trip hobbies? (i.e. going to museums, seeing a play) (select all options)
What's your “my knees don’t hurt” hobbies? (i.e. pickleball, hiking) (select all options)
What’s your go-to color?
What’s your go-to cuisine? (add home-cooked as an option!)
Pricing & Budgeting for Gifts
This is definitely a per-person preference.
For clients, I tend to spend 1-2% of the overall project cost, i.e. $10,000 project = $200 max.
For colleagues & community members, usually $50 max.
Do I have to gift everyone?
Nope! It is perfectly OK to have a yes/no list just like your normal life. However, for anyone on the ‘no’ list, I still recommend sending a digital holiday card or special edition newsletter thanking them for their support. You can make cute cards using a Canva template and send in less than an hour. It’s important to recognize people who helped push business forward no matter what.
One thing I’ve done for years in this annual letter, is open my books earlier for the following year. I offer to either a) allow them to book at the same rate they did before or b) use a discount code — with the understanding that prices publicly have already increased. For many years, this was how I filled the majority of my Q1 availability. This year, since events take time to plan & execute, I’m extending a special offer through the end of 2026 if they book an event with me.
It’s my way of not only saying thank you, but keeping clients I love coming back.
Hopefully this guide was helpful & sparked some ideas! Happy to help anytime if you want to brainstorm. Just drop me a line.
