Gifts by Recipient

Gifts for Business Associates

SEE ALSO Gifts for Desk Dwellers, Gifts for Employees, Gifts for Home Office Dwellers, Workplace Gift Policy, and Gifts for Administrative Professional's Week.

Choosing an appropriate business gift can be tricky business, indeed. The right gift can give momentum to a good business relationship. The wrong gift can bring negotiations to a halt. Ideally, the business gifts you choose will reflect your thoughtfulness, creativity, good taste, and attention to detail. Where the recipient works, what she does there, and her interests outside the office can provide valuable direction for choosing business gifts.

To Whom It May Concern. Write a nice letter to his or her supervisor detailing what a great job the recipient is doing for you or your company.

Sharing Time. Send a gift that can be shared with her staff. Such gifts include a food basket, a catered lunch, an art object for the waiting room display case, a flower bouquet, a potted plant, or a print that compliments the office decor.

Gifts that Give Twice. Contributions to charities important to the recipient are fitting business gifts. Many people find this a satisfying use of gift dollars and a way to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest or other impropriety. In addition, some charitable organizations send periodic newsletters or magazines to donors. These serve to remind the recipient of your gift. In addition to accepting donations, many organizations sell greeting cards and other items suitable for gift giving-with profits going to worthy causes. Contact them for information.

In to Lunch. Is she too busy to leave her office for lunch? Give a gift certificate from a nearby caterer, carry out, or restaurant with delivery service.

Dining in Style. Does he prefer brown bagging to lunching in the company cafeteria? Outfit a basket with table service for one to use at the office. Elegant china, crystal, silverware, and linen can make a tuna-salad sandwich seem like a gourmet treat. If his passion is Chinese carry-out, equip his basket with rice bowls, chopsticks, a teapot, and fortune cookies. Or select a place setting to compliment his office decor. Maybe he's a paper-plate kind of guy. If so, fill his basket with an assortment of recyclable plates, cups, napkins, and flatware.

Members Only. Give membership in a professional organization or a subscription to a newsletter, trade journal, or magazine relevant to the recipient's job.

Please Be Discrete. Desktop accessories—paperweights, letter openers, bookends, picture frames, vases, and clocks can discreetly bear a logo to remind the recipient of your company. However, before giving logo-bearing gifts, see the caution in Business Gift Taboos. 

How Sweet It Is. Give a generous supply of the recipient's favorite candy bar or gourmet treat. A gift basket filled with Snickers and a book of jokes or humorous anecdotes will long be remembered by the business associate with a sweet tooth.

Time Well Spent. In response to the recipient's expressed interest, enroll the two of you in a conference or other professional development seminar. The time you spend together can be well spent improving your business relationship.

Accessorize. Are her fingers attached to a computer keyboard or a cellular telephone? Accessories for high-tech equipment are popular gifts for use at home, on the road, or in the office. Many cost less than $25. Consider a leather cellular phone case, computer disc storage, a computer game, a graphics package, fun fonts, a screen saver, or a custom mouse pad.

You Be the Judge. For Counsel, www.forcounsel.com, has a wide selection of products for lawyers, including books, bookends, bookcases, jewelry, mugs, posters, ties, T-shirts, and nameplates with legal motifs; prints depicting court room scenes, lawyers, juries, and other legal settings; and the cuddly, handmade Teddy Barrister with a retainer certificate for your personalization. Our favorite item is a pair of Legal Advice Dice handcrafted from Oregon myrtlewood. To use, just state the issue, then roll the dice—together, or one at a time—to reveal the decision. One says sue, shoot, beg, lie, settle, and ask mom. The other says now, later, ASAP, never, soon, and maybe. From the traditional to the irreverent, the For Counsel features hundreds of items that are perfect for giving to attorneys.

SEE MORE GIFT IDEAS AT Gifts for Desk Dwellers, Gifts for Employees, Gifts for Home Office Dwellers, Workplace Gift Policy, and Gifts for Administrative Professional's Week.