A business can spend weeks choosing Christmas presents and only a few minutes on the message that accompanies them. The food is selected, the packaging approved and the delivery list checked. Then every recipient gets the same sentence about valued partnerships, even when the relationships behind those gifts are very different.
Cutter & Squidge’s corporate gifting report, published in August 2026, provides a small but useful indication of how much attention messages receive. In a snapshot of 100 recent orders, 73 included a personalised gift note. That is one supplier’s order sample, not evidence that the same proportion applies across the UK market. It does show that individual messages are an established part of some business gifting orders.
The opportunity is to make those messages specific enough to justify the gift. A note does not need to be long or elaborate. It needs to sound as though the sender knows who will open the parcel and why they are thanking them.
Decide what the thank you is for
Before writing, identify the relationship. An established client, a supplier who helped resolve a problem and an employee finishing their first year with the company should not automatically receive identical wording. The reason for the gift gives the note its subject.
Choose a detail that can be mentioned appropriately. That might be a completed project, steady support during a busy period or the start of a working relationship. Avoid confidential information and anything the recipient would not want colleagues to read. Gift cards can be opened in shared offices and passed around with the food.
Keep the acknowledgement accurate. If the sender did not work directly with the recipient, ask the account manager or team leader for a suitable detail. Invented familiarity is more awkward than a straightforward general thanks you. A brief, honest message is enough when the relationship is still new.
Match the message to the gift recipient
A parcel addressed to a whole team needs different wording from a present intended for one person. If the food is for sharing, say so. If it is a personal gift, name the recipient and make that intention clear. Otherwise, the first person opening the delivery may have to guess who owns the contents.
Corporate Christmas hampers can be used for either purpose, provided the selection and message fit the arrangement. Highland Fayre offers ready-made and bespoke corporate collections, so businesses can begin by deciding who the gift is for before comparing options. Confirm any gift message service and its limits with the supplier when placing the order.
The message cannot compensate for an unsuitable selection. A note about how much somebody is appreciated will fall flat if the contents ignore a known dietary requirement. Check names, preferences and the intended use together, rather than treating the card as a separate task after the order is complete.
Write a sentence only this relationship could produce
Specificity usually comes from a plain detail. Thanking a contact for keeping a complicated delivery on track says more than calling the partnership invaluable. Acknowledging a team’s patience during a system change is more useful than announcing another successful year without explaining what happened.
For example, a note could thank a client team for its help during an office move and wish everyone a restful Christmas. That is enough to connect the present to an actual experience. It does not need to retell the project or turn the card into a miniature annual report.
A draft written with software still needs that human information and a careful review. No writing tool knows the relationship unless someone supplies accurate details. Check for inflated language, promises the business cannot make and claims that sound more personal than the sender intends. Read the message as the recipient would.
Keep sales language out of the card
A Christmas thank you can become uncomfortable if it quickly turns into a request for a meeting or a reminder about a contract. The recipient should not have to decide whether accepting the gift creates an obligation to respond. Keep commercial discussions in the appropriate conversation.
This is particularly relevant when a business sends presents to potential clients. A gift can be welcome, but the relationship may be too new for familiar wording. Check the recipient organisation’s policy and use a restrained message. Some workplaces restrict gifts or require them to be declared.
Do not assume that an expensive gift will make a weak message more persuasive. The value should be appropriate to the relationship and the recipient’s rules. If a present could create an awkward situation, choose a different form of acknowledgement. The purpose of the note is to express appreciation clearly.
Give the final list a human check
Bulk orders create predictable errors. A contact has changed roles, a surname is misspelt or a note refers to a project handled by another team. Ask the person who owns the relationship to review the entry before it reaches the supplier. A spreadsheet can be technically complete while still being personally wrong.
Check the sender’s name as well. A card signed by a director who has never spoken to the recipient may feel formal but can also obscure the relationship that prompted the gift. Signing from the account team or the colleague who worked with them may be more natural, depending on company practice.
Allow time for that review before seasonal order deadlines. Writing messages while delivery information is being finalised encourages rushed substitutions and copied wording. Set a clear date for contacts to approve names and notes, then keep the final version with the order record.
When the parcel is opened, the card explains why it arrived. A few accurate words about a shared experience give the recipient something a standard festive template cannot. That is where the message earns the time spent writing it.
