In the spirit of Black Friday, I thought I’d put together a list of gift suggestions to get your clients and referral partners. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below.

• Charitable Donations – My personal gift of choice to clients is to make a donation in their name to a charity. You can give a gift of service through the Seva Foundation or buy a chicken, ox or goat through Heifer International. There are all sorts of charities who would appreciate your donations. If you do decide to make a charitable donation, check with Charity Navigator to see how efficient your charity is as well as read articles on Top 10 Best Practices of Savvy Donors and 6 Questions To Ask Charities Before Donating.
  
  
• Food Gift Baskets – Food always is appreciative. One of my favorite places to order food gift baskets is FruitFlowers.com which delivers beautiful bouquets of edible flowers made of fruits and veggies. Other great food and gift basket shops include AAAFruitBaskets.com, Harry & Davids, Omaha Steaks, GiftTree.com and GiftBaskets.com.
  
  
• Wine – If you live in a state that allows wine shipments, a nice bottle of wine or a wine gift basket can be a great gift if you know your client is a wine lover. Check out AllWineBaskets.com or WineBasket.com for beautiful gourmet baskets. PersonalWine.com will even allow you to personalize the wine label. Wine of the Month Clubs are also fun.
  
  
• Throw a Holiday Party – Invite your top clients and referral partners and their families to a holiday party on you either at your office, a local restaurant or at your home. Then splurge on tasty food, treats for the kids or an open bar. Parties are a great way to mingle on a personal, informal level while showing that you appreciate their business.
  
  
• Gift Certificates – If you know where your clients and partners love to eat or shop, a gift certificate to their favorite store is a great gift. Who can’t put an Amazon.com, Starbucks or iTunes gift certificate to good use?
  
  
• Free Tickets – Tickets to the movies, sporting events, local theater shows and the like make for great gifts.
  
  
• Strategic Alliances – What better way to show your referral partners that you appreciate them and want to send them business than by partnering with them to send out a special offer like a gift certificate or coupon for a free consultation for their highly beneficial service. This can be anything from partnering with a local restaurant to give out $10 off coupons, a free 30 minute massage, cooking or wine tasting lessons by a local chef, a beautiful craft, photo or painting by a local artisan, a free service from a local professional, etc. Be creative and make sure your offer is solely for your recipient’s benefit. If it sounds like a sales pitch for the other’s services, it won’t be as appreciated.
  
  
• Your Own Products – With print on demand services like CreateSpace, Lulu, CafePress and Kunaki, it’s extremely easy to have your own books, cds, and dvds professionally produced in small quantities for a few bucks each.
  
  

Whatever you send, be sure to include a personal note of thanks and appreciate for your client or referral partner and whenever possible, refer specifically to the business he or she brought you. Think gratitude and sincerity rather than simply buying the most expensive gift you can afford.

Have another suggestion? Leave it in the comments below.

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