Wise Up your Gifting Game This Festive Season (Part 2)

With the festive season fast approaching, the joy - or panic - of gift-giving takes centre stage. If you find yourself caught in the whirlwind of last-minute shopping, fear not! We've got you covered with our extensive list of great gift ideas from our Wise Business customers who have shared their ideas for unique products and exceptional experiences, as well as their insights for small businesses navigating the holiday hustle. From award-winning wine collection to spa gift set, this curated selection is sure to impress every age and gender, offering something special for everyone on your list.

Gift guide part 1

Sicily's finest wines by La Sicilyana Wines

📍Based in Scotland, shipping within the UK (mainland)
🌐 Website: https://lasicilyanawines.co.uk/
📱Instagram: @lasicilyana

Gift idea
La Sicilyana Wines, founded by entrepreneurial husband and wife team Laura Raimondi and Steven Dalton, offers a unique and award-winning wine collection from the sun-soaked vineyards of Sicily. Curated with passion, the selection showcases wines made with indigenous grapes, telling tales of heritage and tradition, perfect for any wine lover. Laura, hailing from Sicily, and Steven, from Scotland, created this collection after their wedding, where Scottish guests fell in love with the Sicilian wine they served. Ideal for the adventurous wine enthusiast, this organic and sustainable collection provides a journey into Sicily's vibrant viticulture.

Top tip for small business owners
Laura and Steven emphasise the importance of creating memorable holiday experience for customers. Beyond just selling a product, they suggest embracing the spirit of the season through festive promotions, personalised touches, and cheerful packaging. Engaging with customers via holiday-themed content on social media and offering exclusive holiday offerings enhances the joyful experience and builds lasting connections.

Favourite feature of my Wise Business account
La Sicilyana Wines relies on Wise Business to facilitate quick payments with favourable mid-market exchange rates in Euros to their wine suppliers in Sicily. They say Wise has a significant positive impact on their cash flow and business finances. They also highlight Wise's ease of use, safety and transparency, highlighting the ability to track their money in real time as a valuable feature.

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Adopt an olive tree by Pomora Good Food Limited

📍Based in the UK, shipping globally
🌐Website: https://www.pomora.com/
📱@pomoragoodfood

Gift Idea
Alun Johns, owner of Pomora, presents the unique and eco-conscious 'Adopt an Olive Tree' experience. This Christmas, you can adopt an olive tree in Italy for yourself or a loved one. Customers receive quarterly shipments of the finest olive oil directly from their tree. The adoption pack includes details about the specific tree, fostering a personal connection. The ideal gift for ethical foodies who appreciate the finest foods and care about the planet, fair trading, and food provenance.

Top Tip for Small Businesses
Alun's top tip for small businesses preparing for the holiday season is to start preparations early. Planning their Christmas campaign as early as June/July ensures a well-thought-out and smoothly executed strategy, allowing for optimal engagement with customers during the festive season.

Favourite feature of the Wise Business account
Pomora Good Food Limited uses Wise Business to pay their growers in Italy efficiently. The Wise system enables direct payments in Euros to the growers' bank accounts from their GBP account in the UK. Alun appreciates the smooth process, stating, "The Wise system allows us to pay them directly in euros to their bank accounts (ie super smooth for them) direct from our GBP account in the UK (ie super smooth for us - I can do it from my PC in just a few clicks)." He also highlights the cost-effectiveness of Wise compared to banking methods.

Eco essentials pouch by OneNine5

📍Based in the UK, shipping globally
🌐 Website: https://www.onenine5.com/
📱Instagram: @OneNine5

Gift Idea
Alex Stewart introduces the Eco Essentials Pouch in Moeraki Grey, a multipurpose and unisex pouch designed to keep on-the-go essentials and valuables organised. This pouch boasts inner pockets, elastic loops, and dividers—perfect for carrying makeup, tech gadgets, keys, face masks, and antibacterial gel. Made from durable vegan leather and featuring a 100% recycled plastic lining, it's an eco-conscious choice available in four unisex colours. Ideal for the friend or family member who's always rummaging for lost items in the depths of their bag.

Top Tip for Small Businesses
Alex's top tip for small businesses gearing up for the holiday season is to start planning in August. With a touch of humour and a dose of reality, he advises, "If you're reading this in November or December...it's too late, best of luck!"

Favourite feature of the Wise Business account
OneNine5 relies on their Wise Business account, considering it essential for paying suppliers outside the UK from their Euro and USD accounts.

Bow candle holders by Host

📍Based in the UK, shipping worldwide
🌐 Website: https://hosthome.co.uk/

Gift Idea
Sophie Warburton from HOST presents the newly launched Bow candle holders, meticulously designed in-house and crafted by skilled artisans. These candle holders serve as the perfect adornment for the festive season. Priced with care and consideration, Sophie plans to gift these to individuals who take Christmas decorating seriously—ideal for nesters and hosts-and-hostesses. In her words, "They are the perfect adornment to long winter nights and festive tables."

Top Tip for Small Businesses
Sophie's top tip for small businesses preparing for the holiday season is a reassuring reminder: "Don't beat yourself up about mistakes made over the holiday period. They are inevitable, and even the biggest businesses get it wrong. Learn from it and make sure each year is more successful than the previous one. Rome wasn't built in a day!" This sage advice emphasises the importance of resilience and continual improvement.

Favourite feature of the Wise Business account
HOST relies on Wise Business to transfer funds to their global network of suppliers. Sophie values Wise for its safety, global reach, and, notably for small businesses, affordable foreign exchange fees. As she succinctly puts it, "We love it because it is safe to use, universally accepted and (perhaps most importantly for small businesses) offers fair, transparent rates."

Home spa gift set by Lüks Linen

📍 Based in Essex, UK, shipping worldwide
🌐 Website: www.lukslinen.com
📱Instagram: @lukslinen

Unique Gift
Rachel Ward from Lüks Linen presents the Hammam at Home gift set, catering to those seeking a spa experience in the comfort of their own home. This set includes a traditionally woven cotton Turkish bath towel & hair towel, a foaming and exfoliating body glove, and an essential oil, cold-pressed soap on a rope. An ideal gift for individuals looking to indulge in luxurious self-care.

Top Tip for the Holiday Season
Rachel's top tip for the holiday season is centred around customer loyalty. She advises, "Incentivise and reward your existing customers rather than spending money acquiring new customers at what is the busiest shopping period of the year." This cost-effective strategy involves exclusive offers, free shipping, bundle deals, and discounts as a way to express gratitude to loyal customers.

Favourite feature of the Wise Business account
Wise has proven to be an invaluable tool for Lüks Linen. The company faced increasing expenses with overseas transactions using traditional providers. However, Wise has enabled them to cut these costs by 70%, along with faster payments and improved management of shipments and stock. Rachel explains: "Wise has been an invaluable tool for our business."

Key features of the Wise Business account

Honey taster set by BeeHype

📍 Based in Scotland, shipping within the UK
🌐 Website: www.beehype.co.uk
📱 @beehype_honey

Gift idea
Stela from BeeHype, an-award-winning raw honey brand presents the gourmet honey taster set as a unique gift for your loved ones. This luxurious selection of raw honey harvested by expert beekeepers contains 30g pots of Lavish Lavender, It’s Nuts!, Ginger Boost, Chilli and Salted Honey, complete with a wooden honey dipper and a honey tasting guide. Stela highlights that BeeHype's raw honey is cold extracted, unfiltered, and unblended to preserve the natural enzymes, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants it contains.

Top Tip for the Holiday Season
''Don’t forget to organise some festivities too!'', says Stela, explaining that this is the busiest time of the year for them. ''If you’re like us, you probably won’t sleep much, however, it’s important to enjoy it at least a little! Put some Christmas decorations up, organise a Secret Santa with the staff and take time to appreciate the customers who support your business''. She suggests this will make it easier to cope with the workload and give you and your staff the motivation you need.

Favourite feature of the Wise Business account
BeeHype uses Wise Business to manage international payments, enabling them to pay their Bulgarian suppliers in Bulgarian Lev or Euro, while also facilitating transactions with their US wholesale distributors and international clients: ''Some clients are requesting to pay us in Euros because that's their local currency''. Stela says they've noticed the improvements over the years in the Wise app, allowing them to make transfers easier and faster, and they see Wise as a reliable solution for their business and personal use.

As we navigate the whirlwind of last-minute shopping, this curated collection of gifts offered by our Wise Business customers is a range of unique and meaningful gifts. From whimsical Busy Screen Print Posters to the luxurious Ramona Robe, snuggly FLATOUTBear Sheepskin Toys to classic car experiences, each present tells a story. These gifts, insights and top tips from small businesses, can help you take your gifting game to the next level.

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