A very merry holiday client gift guide

December 7, 2017 1:32 PM

The holidays are a great time to show the people in your life you care. After another year of working closely with clients, it's an opportune time for advisors to send them a little something to show them how much they're appreciated. Yet finding the right gift can be a tricky endeavor.

Fond recollections of the perfect present can linger for years ― but so too can memories of awful gifts that leave the wrong kind of lasting impression. No one wants to be remembered as the financial planner who gives ugly Christmas sweaters, right?

To foster creative gift giving, we've collected some of advisors' best ideas.

From homemade baked goods to beautiful flowers that can last long after the Christmas decorations come down, these financial planners have put together thoughtful gifts to send holiday cheer to clients. Some are so popular that clients have learned to expect them once the carolers start singing.

Scroll through to steal some great gift ideas from advisors.

Showing clients you appreciate them

The holidays are a great time to show the people in your life you care. After another year of working closely with clients, it's an opportune time for advisors to send them a little something to show them how much they're appreciated. Yet finding the right gift can be a tricky endeavor.

Fond recollections of the perfect present can linger for years ― but so too can memories of awful gifts that leave the wrong kind of lasting impression. No one wants to be remembered as the financial planner who gives ugly Christmas sweaters, right?

To foster creative gift giving, we've collected some of advisors best ideas.

From homemade baked goods to beautiful flowers that can last long after the Christmas decorations come down, these financial planners have put together thoughtful gifts to send holiday cheer to clients. Some are so popular that clients have learned to expect them once the carolers start singing.

Scroll through to steal some great gift ideas from advisors.

A gift that impresses beyond the holiday season

My Christmas gift for my clients is a flower bulb kit from Home Depot. The cost is $8 for an amaryllis bulb, a pot, dirt and a decorated box. I have done this for more than 20 years.

I include a letter to my client on seasonal stationary. The total cost is about $15 per family.

My philosophy was to get them a gift that lasts past the holiday season. They need to water the bulb for about 4 weeks to get a flower. Every time they water it, they will remember me.

I have done this for a long time. I was at a client’s house last week and they showed me the plot in their yard that they have planted the bulbs over the years. I have had clients send me pictures of their flowers.

One year, my staff told me I needed to do something different. I sent a cheese basket and got complaints from the clients.

Richard Kagawa
Capital Resources and Insurance
Huntington Beach, California

A locally crafted winter treat

Each year, we like to send a personalized holiday gift to our client family to show our appreciation. By selecting gifts from local vendors, we choose one both that represents us as a company in the pacific northwest and is something our clients are sure to love. These individuals put their trust in us year-round, so we want to take this opportunity to show our gratitude for their loyalty.

Rather than giving a product that will create more clutter, we found simple and consumable gifts are a hit. What better way to cover a wide variety of people than a healthy beverage or snack you can share! This year, clients will be receiving a customized gift box from Winterwoods Tea Company. Based right here in Spokane, the company distributes hand mixed tea with ingredients from local farms and vendors. Inside the classic brown packaging, you will find a bag of their Harvest Apple loose leaf tea made from local green bluff apples along with an adorable bear infuser. Our clients can cuddle up with a warm cup of tea while they enjoy their holiday season. Yum!

Sarah Carlson
Founder
Fulcrum Financial Group
North Spokane, Washington

The popcorn treat clients can't wait to eat

Over the past 10 years or so, I have given client gifts. Until probably the last five years or so, I would typically give a different edible gift each year (chocolates, cookies, etc). Then, one year I gave Garrett's popcorn. The client response was so overwhelming positive towards the popcorn that I no longer give anything but Garrett's. I have clients that will call me if I don't send them Garrett's each year. It's the best — clients love it!

Jerry D. Murphy
JDM Financial & Investments
Bowie, Maryland

The gift of giving

We send a letter to all our clients in December expressing our desire to see the Christmas spirit as an opportunity to give to a good cause. We tell them we are sending a check to a specific charity from our company rather than making the holidays any more commercial than they have become.

Clients are supportive and appreciate our authenticity. We usually give to Make-A-Wish because it benefits children — it makes them smile and their families comfortable.

Jon L. Ten Haagen
Ten Haagen Financial Group
Huntington, New York

A great companion for exploring the city

In 2016, we gave Basil Financial Group picnic blankets to our clients.

They have a waterproof lining and zip up into a convenient carrying case. As our clients enjoy the parks, beaches, outdoor concerts, movies, and events throughout Chicago, we thought this would be a nice gift for our clients to use. We gave them out at our annual client appreciation event.

We had clients come to our office to pick up a boxed dinner and we walked one block to a large park in Chicago to listen to a Jazz concert in the gazebo. Clients sat on their new picnic blankets, ate dinner, listened to live music and then walked back to our office for cocktails and dessert. It was a great event!

Our feedback from clients on the blankets was very positive. Clients have shared that they keep the blanket in their cars for impromptu outdoor activities and like how they fold up. We also like how our logo stays visible when the blanket is unfolded, as a way to share our firm with Chicago.

Lois Basil
Owner
Basil Financial Group
Chicago

The homemade holiday cookie tradition

Every year Francis Financial believes in thanking all of their clients and closest referral partners during the holiday season. President and CEO Stacy Francis and her marketing team spend a few days baking homemade cookies from scratch and then bring their entire team together to help package them in little boxes with a note and recipe of the cookies.

Each white box is packed with teal tissue paper (their company color) a sticker of their logo on the outside and 5 freshly baked cookies. They ship these within New York and to all of their clients across the United States. Even though this team spends extra hours outside of work to bake cookies, package and deliver them, they believe the thought goes a long way and is appreciated by the recipients.

By early November they start receiving inquires when the freshly baked cookies will be arriving this year and receive beautiful thank you messages from clients and referral partners.

Sunaina Mehra
Client Relations and Marketing Manager
Francis Financial
New York

Keeping clients cozy after a tough year

In 2016, our gift was a blanket and holiday card addressing the anxiety-inspiring year we had.

The card read:

"Many of our friends and clients have shared that this year brought with it a lot of anxiety! We know that this too shall pass … and encourage everyone to remain optimistic. When anxiety spikes, stay calm, and as the winter chill approaches, stay warm! Best wishes from the Fusion Family for a happy holiday season and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!"

Jonathan Blau
President and CEO
Fusion Family Wealth
Woodbury, New York

Photographer: Hannah Eckman/Haneck - Fotolia

Not a nut, but a fruit

2016 was our 33^rd year of sending shelled pecans as a holiday gift. Now that many of our clients are scattered around the country, pecans for the holidays are a nice reminder of their southern roots. By the way — pecans are a fruit, not a nut; and in the South we pronounce it 'pah-kahn,' not 'pee-can!'

Thomas Boyd
President and Senior Financial Adviser
The Boyd Financial Group
Fairhope, Alabama