When to Order Embroidered Holiday Gifts: Clients and Staff

Count back from the day the boxes get opened, not from the day someone finally asks about gifts.

01The two clocks, and which one you are on

There are two products here, and they run on two very different timelines. Mixing them up is how holiday orders go wrong in both directions.

Quoting 45 days for everything loses the order that only needed a logo. Quoting 7 to 10 business days for a custom build overpromises. When you ask us for a date, we will always tell you which clock the number belongs to.

02The December 2026 count back

Pick the day the gifts change hands and read across. These are the dates your go ahead, with artwork in hand, needs to land.

The clocks start at approved artwork. The embroidery column counts back 10 business days, the top of the range, skipping weekends. Shipping to more than one office adds transit time on top. Every quote we send carries a firm date, so you are never guessing.

Read the right column carefully. If today is past your fully custom date, that does not mean no gift. It means the gift is a great stock garment with your logo on it, which still lands with time to spare.

Production is rarely the bottleneck. The decisions are.

03What actually slows a holiday order down

Almost every late order is late before it reaches production. The stitching is predictable. These four things are not.

1. The logo file. A screenshot or a low resolution JPEG has to be rebuilt before it can be digitized. Send a vector file and you skip that step entirely. Our artwork requirements list exactly what works.
2. Sizes collected late. Waiting on fifteen people to reply with a size is the most common delay we see. Collect sizes before you ask for a quote, not after.
3. The color you wanted is gone. Popular garments in popular colors sell through in November. Pick a first choice and a backup when you order.
4. The proof sits in an inbox. Every order gets a proof showing placement, size and thread colors before anything runs. The clock waits for your approval, so approve it the day it arrives.

04What to send on day one

Send everything at once and the quote comes back complete. Here is the list:

1. Your logo, vector if you have it.
2. The item and color, plus a backup color.
3. Quantity by size.
4. The hand out date, and where the order ships.
5. Names or initials, if any piece is personalized.

All of it fits in our quote form, and the reply comes back with a date attached.

05What the embroidery costs

Embroidery is priced per piece, and the price drops as the count goes up. These are our published rates for standard embroidery up to 6,000 stitches, straight from our pricing page.

A new logo carries a one time $35 setup. There are no minimums, so a gift for eight clients is priced the same way as a gift for eighty employees.

06Gifts that feel like retail, not a giveaway

The difference between a gift people keep and a gift people donate is in the details nobody asks about. A woven neck label instead of a printed one. A hang tag. A box with an insert card. Pieces packed and labeled by name, so the handout takes ten minutes instead of an afternoon.

That is the thinking behind our client and employee gifts. We have built apparel for the Arizona Cardinals, the WM Phoenix Open and Progressive Roofing, and the same finishing work goes into a twenty piece client gift.

07If you are already late

You are probably not as late as you think. Logo embroidery on stock garments still takes only 7 to 10 business days, and rush is available upon approval. To protect your date, choose colors that are in stock today, keep the design to one logo in one placement, and skip personalization this round. Then talk to us before you talk yourself out of it.

08Questions buyers ask us