The giving of corporate gifts has been an age-old tradition and for some, it's even an art. Aside from establishing good relations between the company and it's clients and suppliers, these corporate gifts also strengthen the company's branding efforts. If you've been given the task to choose the corporate gifts for your company this year, don't worry, these simple tips should help you pick the best ones for your company.

First of all, make sure that your corporate gifts say something about your business. If you're spending money on gifts, you might as well spend it on items that will advertise your products or services. If you're a computer company, choose good suppliers of laptop bags and give these items as corporate gifts. Make sure that the gift supplier is able to emboss or embroider your logo onto these gift items.

Next, make sure that you're giving out corporate gifts at the right time. If you give these gifts on a month when it's not traditionally practiced to give gifts to other people, your corporate gifts might look too much like forms of bribery. You don't want this because it's in bad taste. Instead, give your company gifts during Christmas or other holidays when gift-giving is a common practice. Sure, you're trying to impress your suppliers and clients with these gifts but you don't want to be too obvious about it.

For high profile clients, you should set aside more impressive corporate gifts. Certainly, you wouldn't want to hand out a simple tumbler to a business partner. Go for luxury items like pens, tiffany jewelry, or anything that's functional as well as elegant. You don't want to spend unnecessarily on big gifts, though. Reserve these expensive company gifts to clients and suppliers who really matter.

You might even want to consider giving out food gifts to medium- to small-scale clients and suppliers. These are very appropriate during the Christmas holidays. Choose symbolic food items like fruitcakes and wine. You might also want to consider food items that don't spoil easily.

Lastly, don't forget to look at your shopping options. Just because you've been depending on a gift supplier for years doesn't mean that you'll have to be stuck with just one option; shop around. There are novelty shops you can go to for unique gifts. A lot of online merchants also accept customisation projects. You might want to consider these items for your corporate gift-giving needs.