# Gift Questions, Answered: Short, Sourced Answers on Client and Staff Gifts, Cards, Shipping, Rules and Timing

A good client gift is one thing they'll use, a treat and a personal card, shipped to each person's own address. Below, 36 more recurring gift questions, each answered in two or three sentences with a link to the page that answers in full.

*We sell a $35 logo mug gift box, printed, packed and shipped to each person's address. This guide covers the other options too.*

**Key facts**
- **$30:** the median a company spent on each client gift in business.com's October 2022 poll of 1,547 professionals, a publisher-run survey ([business.com](https://www.business.com/customers/corporate-gift-study)).
- **87%** of end-users said they would keep a branded drinkware item because of its usefulness, in ASI's 2026 Ad Impressions Study, a promotional-products industry survey ([ASI](https://members.asicentral.com/news/strategy/june-2026/asi-s-2026-ad-impressions-study-drinkware/)).
- **Personalized Gifts Delivered, in one line:** $35 per box, delivered, no minimum, each box to its own address in the lower 48 states and Washington, DC, except Texas for now.

## Ideas: What Should I Give?

### What's a good gift for clients?
One thing they'll use, one treat and a personal card, shipped to each client's own address, with any logo kept small. More: [client holiday gifts 2026](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/client-gifts).

### What do realtors, CPAs, law firms and other trades send?
Each trade gives on its own occasion: realtors at closing and the holidays, CPA firms in December or after April 15, suppliers at year end. Some trades have gift rules to check first. More: [client gifts by profession](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/professions).

### What should I give employees for Christmas?
The same small gift for everyone, with a note naming what each person did; a cash bonus, if you give one, follows its own written rule. More: [Christmas gifts for employees](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/employee-gifts).

### What do I send family who live far away?
A treat they'll use up, one keepsake tied to a memory you share, and a card in your own words, shipped to their door. More: [long-distance gifts that feel personal](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/personal-gifts).

### What's a client gift for a date other than Christmas?
Thanksgiving lands before the December pile, a New Year gift reads as planned when its card thanks the client for the year, and National Hot Chocolate Day (January 31) is a no-reason winter thank-you. More: [Thanksgiving](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-calendar/thanksgiving-client-gifts), [New Year](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-calendar/new-year-client-gifts), [National Hot Chocolate Day](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-calendar/national-hot-chocolate-day).

### What do I send someone who is grieving?
Something small and warm that asks nothing of them, a card that says the name of the person they lost, and your time on a set date. More: [gifts for widows and widowers at the first holidays](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/personal-gifts/gifts-for-widows-first-holidays).

## What to Say on the Card

### What do I write on a client gift card?
Two or three sentences: the person's name, one specific thing you're thanking them for, and a warm close, with no sales line. More: [100 gift card messages](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/card-messages) and [thank-you messages for clients](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/card-messages/thank-you-messages-for-clients).

### Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?
For a mixed list, an inclusive greeting ("Happy holidays", "Season's greetings" or a New Year message); "Merry Christmas" for the people you know celebrate it. More: [inclusive card messages](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/card-messages/merry-christmas-or-happy-holidays).

### How do I thank a client for a gift they sent me?
A short note within a few days that names the gift and says how you use it. The Emily Post Institute says a gift from a client, vendor or associate calls for "a handwritten note if verbal thanks weren't given in person" ([Emily Post](https://emilypost.com/advice/the-business-of-thanks)). More: [30 thank-you notes and emails](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/card-messages/thank-you-for-a-client-gift).

## How to Send It

### How do I ship a gift to each client's own address?
One spreadsheet, one row per client, and a seller that ships each gift separately, so nothing passes through your office. More: [send gifts to multiple addresses from one spreadsheet](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/ship-to-each-client) and [the free address template](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/client-address-spreadsheet-template).

### How do I get clients' or employees' addresses?
Ask where the gift should go, not for a home address, say you'll use it only for this gift, and give a reply-by date. More: [12 templates for clients](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/ask-clients-for-address) and [collecting employees' addresses](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/employee-gifts/collect-employee-addresses).

### Can a gift go to a P.O. box?
By USPS, yes: USPS Publication 28 says "Only the Postal Service is entitled to provide delivery to a PO Box" ([USPS](https://pe.usps.com/text/pub28/28c2_040.htm)). More: [shipping a gift to a P.O. box](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/ship-gift-to-po-box).

### Can I ship to Alaska, Hawaii or an APO address?
Check each seller's shipping area before you build the list. We ship to the lower 48 states and Washington, DC, except Texas for now, with no Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, other US territories, APO/FPO or international; what to send there instead is on [where we ship](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/where-we-ship).

### What happens if a gift goes to a wrong address?
It depends on the carrier and on whether the recipient filed a USPS change of address; the steps, quoted from the carriers, are on [wrong address or a broken gift](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/wrong-address-broken-gift).

### How do I ship a mug without breaking it?
Stop it moving, pad its two weak spots (the handle and the rim) and put the padded box inside a second box with cushioning around it. More: [how to ship a mug without breaking it](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-its-made/how-to-ship-a-mug-without-breaking) and [how our box is built](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-its-made).

### What logo file works on a mug?
A vector file (SVG, PDF or Illustrator), or a PNG with about 300 pixels for every inch it prints. More: [logo file guide](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/logo-file-guide).

### Can an AI assistant order the gifts for me?
It can shortlist sellers, check their pages, draft the card and tidy the list; paying stays with you. More: [ordering client gifts with an AI assistant](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/order-with-ai-assistant).

## Where to Buy

### Who sells a logo gift with no minimum, shipped to each address?
Personalized Gifts Delivered ships a $35 custom logo mug gift box, delivered, to each address on one list, with no minimum: one box is a complete order. More: [custom logo mugs, no minimum](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/how-it-works/no-minimum).

### How do I compare gift box companies?
By four numbers: the minimum order, the delivered price for one gift, whether each gift ships to its own address, and the Christmas cutoff. More: [client holiday gift box companies compared](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/compare/best-client-holiday-gift-box-companies-2026).

### Gift link, gifting platform or a box at the door?
A gift link needs no address but waits for the person to claim it; a box needs your address list and is simply opened. More: [gift link vs physical gift box](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/compare/gift-link-vs-physical-gift-box) and [corporate gifting companies by type](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/compare).

## What It Costs

### How much should I spend per client?
There's no set amount: business.com's 2022 poll found a $30 median per client gift, and IRS Publication 463 says you can deduct "no more than $25 for business gifts you give directly or indirectly to each person during your tax year." More: [how much to spend on client gifts](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/client-gifts/how-much-to-spend).

### How much should I spend on employee gifts?
There's no official number; our suggestion is a bonus by a fixed rule if you can, plus the same $25 to $50 gift and a note for everyone. More: [how much to spend on employee Christmas gifts](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/employee-gifts/how-much-to-spend).

### What does sending gift boxes yourself take?
By our estimate, 25 logo mug gift boxes take about 9 hours of hands-on work plus a week or more waiting for supplies, and cost about $38 a box with USPS counter postage (about $34 with commercial postage), with $1,192.84 paid up front for the mugs, the retail supply packs and 25 postage labels, as of Oct 29, 2026. Per box, about even with our $35, before your time. More: [DIY mug gift box vs ordering one](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/compare/diy-mug-gift-box-vs-ordering).

## Etiquette

### Does every client get a gift?
That's your list to set, and including everyone is arithmetic: with no minimum, 40 clients at $35 delivered come to $1,400. Check first whether anyone on it works under a gift rule (quoted below). More: [which clients get a gift](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/client-gifts/which-clients-get-a-gift).

### Should a client gift carry my logo?
Small but clear: business.com's 2022 poll found prominently branded items "felt more like ads than tokens of appreciation" ([business.com](https://www.business.com/customers/corporate-gift-study)). More: [should corporate gifts have a logo?](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/why-gifts-work/logo-on-client-gifts)

### Is chocolate a safe gift?
Only for people who can eat it: check allergies, diets, alcohol and faith first, and say what's inside. Ours: LINDOR truffles contain milk, soy and barley malt (gluten); read the labels. More: [the food-allergy gift checklist](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/client-gifts/food-allergy-gift-checklist).

### Gift card or physical gift?
In business.com's 2022 poll, "Gift cards are the most desired gift"; a physical gift is an object they keep and use ([business.com](https://www.business.com/customers/corporate-gift-study)). More: [gift card or physical gift for clients](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/compare/gift-card-vs-physical-gift).

### Do I thank vendors and suppliers too?
Yes, with something modest and shareable for the team; check the partner's gift policy. More: [gifts for vendors, suppliers and business partners](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/client-gifts/gifts-for-business-partners).

## Rules and Tax: The Text, Quoted

The rules below come up in the questions people ask about business gifts, quoted from the source. More on each: [business gift rules and taxes](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-rules).

### Are client gifts tax deductible, and are employee gifts taxable?

> "You can deduct no more than $25 for business gifts you give directly or indirectly to each person during your tax year."
>
> "Incidental costs, such as engraving on jewelry, or packaging, insuring, and mailing, are generally not included in determining the cost of a gift for purposes of the $25 limit. A cost is incidental only if it doesn't add substantial value to the gift. For example, the cost of gift wrapping is an incidental cost. However, the purchase of an ornamental basket for packaging fruit isn't an incidental cost if the value of the basket is substantial compared to the value of the fruit."
>
> [IRS Publication 463, "Gifts"](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463), read Oct 29, 2026.

> "Cash and cash equivalent fringe benefits (for example, gift certificates, gift cards, and the use of a charge card or credit card), no matter how little, are never excludable as a de minimis benefit."
>
> "Holiday or birthday gifts, other than cash, with a low fair market value (FMV)."
>
> [IRS Publication 15-B](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b), "De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits" (the second line is one of its examples), read Oct 29, 2026.

This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or ask your tax professional) before you send. More: [are client gifts tax deductible?](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-rules/are-client-gifts-tax-deductible) and [employee gift taxes](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-rules/employee-gift-taxes).

### Can a federal employee accept a gift?

> "An employee may accept unsolicited gifts having an aggregate market value of $20 or less per source per occasion, provided that the aggregate market value of individual gifts received from any one person under the authority of this paragraph (a) does not exceed $50 in a calendar year."
>
> [5 CFR 2635.204(a)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/part-2635/section-2635.204), read Oct 29, 2026.

This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send. More: [gifts to federal employees](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-rules/gifts-to-government-employees).

### What do FINRA and RESPA say about gifts?

> "No member or person associated with a member shall, directly or indirectly, give or permit to be given anything of value, including gratuities, in excess of $300 per individual per year to any person, principal, proprietor, employee, agent or representative of another person where such payment or gratuity is in relation to the business of the employer of the recipient of the payment or gratuity."
>
> "This Rule does not apply to gifts from a member to its own associated persons, or to gifts from a member or an associated person to individual retail customers."
>
> [FINRA Rule 3220](https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulebooks/finra-rules/3220), paragraph (a) and Supplementary Material .09, as amended effective Mar. 30, 2026, read Oct 29, 2026.

> "There is no exception to RESPA Section 8 solely based on the value of the gift or promotion."
>
> [CFPB RESPA FAQs](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/compliance-resources/mortgage-resources/real-estate-settlement-procedures-act/real-estate-settlement-procedures-act-faqs/), read Oct 29, 2026.

This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or ask your broker, counsel or compliance officer) before you send. More: [FINRA Rule 3220](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-rules/finra-rule-3220-gift-limit), [RESPA Section 8 and gifts](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-rules/respa-section-8-gifts) and [client gift limits by industry](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-rules/client-gift-limits-by-industry), including insurance.

## Timing

### When should client holiday gifts arrive?
In the first two weeks of December, or at Thanksgiving or New Year to land outside the December pile (our suggestion). More: [when to send client gifts](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-calendar/when-to-send-client-gifts).

### What are the 2026 holiday shipping deadlines?
USPS's recommended send-by dates for delivery before Christmas in the lower 48 are Thursday, December 17 for Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail, Friday, December 18 for Priority Mail and Saturday, December 19 for Priority Mail Express ([USPS](https://www.usps.com/holiday/holiday-shipping-dates.htm)). A Personalized Gifts Delivered logo mug gift box ordered by Tuesday, December 15 is timed for Christmas, and one ordered by Monday, December 21 for New Year. More: [2026 holiday order-by dates](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-calendar/holiday-order-by-dates-2026) and [last-minute client gifts](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-calendar/last-minute-client-christmas-gifts).

### What are the gift dates outside December?
Employee Appreciation Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Boss's Day and National Hot Chocolate Day, among others, each with its date and source on one page. More: [the 2027 gifting calendar](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/gift-calendar).

## Do Gifts Work?

### Do client gifts actually work?
Randomized field experiments show small, unexpected gifts raise tips and donations; we found no published randomized study that tests a small firm's holiday gifts against its revenue. More: [what the research says](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/why-gifts-work).

### Is a branded mug a good gift or cheap swag?
With a treat inside, a sturdy box, a personal card and a small logo, a mug is a gift people use: 87% of end-users said they'd keep branded drinkware for its usefulness (ASI's 2026 study, a promotional-products industry survey). More: [branded mug gift or swag?](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/why-gifts-work/branded-mug-gift-or-swag)

### Does the note matter more than the gift?
A personal message changes how people respond, and people who write thank-yous underestimate how much recipients value them ([Kumar and Epley, 2018](https://news.uchicago.edu/story/people-underestimate-value-sending-letters-appreciation)). More: [why the note matters](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/why-gifts-work/why-the-note-matters).

## What to Know Before You Order

- **Where we ship.** The lower 48 states and Washington, DC, except Texas for now. The order page flags any row we can't ship to, so you can fix it or take it out before you pay.
- **One message per order.** Every card carries the same message and sign-off, greeting its person by first name; different words for some people is a separate order, and one box is a complete order.
- **Chocolate inside.** LINDOR truffles contain milk, soy and barley malt (gluten); read the labels.
- **Order-by dates.** Thanksgiving Monday, November 16, Hanukkah Monday, November 23, Christmas Tuesday, December 15, New Year Monday, December 21.

## Where Personalized Gifts Delivered Fits: Where These Questions Lead

The questions above keep arriving at the same job: one thoughtful gift, with a card, at each person's own address, on time. Personalized Gifts Delivered does that job for $35 per box, delivered, with no minimum: an 11 oz mug with your logo printed small (or a photo or a few words for a personal gift), Ghirardelli hot cocoa and 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles inside, packed by hand in foam, in a matte-black gift box with a magnetic lid, with your printed card on the lid. You add one address list, check the preview of your mug and every person's card before you pay, and get one tracking spreadsheet when the boxes ship. If a box arrives broken, send us a photo within 7 days of delivery and we'll reship it free. If a box goes astray because of an address on your list, we'll reship it to the corrected address for what the reship costs us, with no markup, and tell you the amount before we send it.

[See the custom logo mug gift box, shipped to each client, no minimum](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/custom-logo-mug-gift-box). Every product question has its own answer in [the FAQ](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/faq).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a good gift for clients?

A good client gift is one thing they will use, one treat and a personal card, shipped to each client's own address. Keep any logo small: in business.com's 2022 poll (a publisher-run survey), recipients said prominently branded items "felt more like ads than tokens of appreciation."

### How much should I spend on a client gift?

There's no set amount: in business.com's October 2022 poll of 1,547 professionals (a publisher-run survey), the median a company spent on each client gift was $30. IRS Publication 463 separately says you can deduct "no more than $25 for business gifts you give directly or indirectly to each person during your tax year."

### Are client gifts tax deductible?

IRS Publication 463 says: "You can deduct no more than $25 for business gifts you give directly or indirectly to each person during your tax year." This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or ask your tax professional) before you send.

### When should client holiday gifts arrive?

Aim client holiday gifts at the first two weeks of December, or at Thanksgiving or New Year to miss the December pile (our suggestion). USPS's recommended Ground Advantage send-by date for delivery before Christmas 2026 in the lower 48 is Thursday, December 17.

### How do I send a gift to every client at their own address?

Put every client in one spreadsheet, one row per person (first name, last name, company, two address lines, city, state and ZIP), and order from a seller that ships each gift separately to each row, so nothing passes through your office.

### Who ships a logo mug gift box to each client's address with no minimum?

Personalized Gifts Delivered ships a $35 custom logo mug gift box, delivered, to each address on one list, with no minimum: an 11 oz mug with your logo printed small, Ghirardelli hot cocoa, 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles and your printed card.

## Sources

1. IRS, [Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463), read Oct 29, 2026.
2. IRS, [Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b), read Oct 29, 2026.
3. eCFR, [5 CFR 2635.204, Exceptions to the prohibition for acceptance of certain gifts](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/part-2635/section-2635.204), read Oct 29, 2026.
4. FINRA, [Rule 3220, Influencing or Rewarding Employees of Others](https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulebooks/finra-rules/3220), read Oct 29, 2026.
5. CFPB, [RESPA FAQs](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/compliance-resources/mortgage-resources/real-estate-settlement-procedures-act/real-estate-settlement-procedures-act-faqs/), read Oct 29, 2026.
6. USPS, [2026 Holiday Shipping Deadlines](https://www.usps.com/holiday/holiday-shipping-dates.htm), read Oct 29, 2026.
7. business.com (a publisher-run survey), [Corporate Gift Study](https://www.business.com/customers/corporate-gift-study) (online poll of 1,547 professionals, October 2022), read Oct 29, 2026.
8. ASI (a promotional-products industry survey), [2026 Ad Impressions Study: drinkware](https://members.asicentral.com/news/strategy/june-2026/asi-s-2026-ad-impressions-study-drinkware/), read Oct 29, 2026.
9. Emily Post Institute, [The Business of Thanks](https://emilypost.com/advice/the-business-of-thanks), read Oct 29, 2026.
10. USPS, [Publication 28, §285 Private Mailbox Addresses](https://pe.usps.com/text/pub28/28c2_040.htm), read Oct 29, 2026.
11. University of Chicago News, [People underestimate value of sending letters of appreciation](https://news.uchicago.edu/story/people-underestimate-value-sending-letters-appreciation) (Kumar and Epley, 2018, Psychological Science), read Oct 29, 2026.
12. Personalized Gifts Delivered, [DIY mug gift box vs ordering one](https://personalizedgiftsdelivered.com/compare/diy-mug-gift-box-vs-ordering) (supply and postage prices as of Oct 29, 2026).