12 Days of Christmas – Exhibitor Edition
We’ve put together 12 great gifts for the trade show enthusiast in your life. In our most recent newsletter we posted 3 Secret Santa Gifts for the Trade Show Enthusiast along with som
e other holiday time-saving tips and tricks. There was also a video re-cap, which we are pretty excited about.
So! We would love to know what’s on your holiday wish list this year. You can Tweet us through the holidays HERE and by using #HolidayWishList. We might wind up doing a holiday follow-up post to see what everyone received. While a beautiful, custom trade show booth display might be at the top of your list, we doubt your Secret-Santa is going to be able to deliver. Here are our ten picks for great gifts exhibitors, event planners, marketers and more will love.
1. Subscription to Exhibitor Magazine. In the industry, this mag is simply the best. Stay up-to-date with best practices in trade show and events. With their current special being 12 issues for only $18, you might as well grab a subscription for yourself!
2. Everyone could use a solar charger for their cell! These are pretty neat little devices that (usually) will charge up to 50% of a phone battery. You know, for those emergencies. Grab one off Amazon for as little as $20.
3. Who doesn’t need a hair straightener? No, we’re not talking just for the ladies! A hair straightener can be a handy emergency iron for those wrinkled collars or cuffs, fellas. Lo
ok your best before the show! They are a dime a dozen and can range from $15 and up.
4. A virtual keyboard (they things are awesome!) is the perfect gift for anyone on the go. Are you busy going from trade show to show? These connect with Apple and Android devices and allow you the full-scale freedom of a keyboard even if you’re only equipped with your smart phone.
5. Colored duct tape is a must-have for any exhibitor emergency kit, and has proved a life-saver for those last-minute “fires” on the show floor. You can find it in nearly every color including 
patterns and graphics, even. Usually under $5 a roll, it’s a good investment.
6. We might be putting this one in here because we’re all caffeine-junkies at GraphiColor. With that being said, most exhibitors are going to be coffee or tea drinkers. Gifting them energy (basically) is a worthwhile deed, especially if they can use it prior to hitting the show floor.
7. Zip ties! These are another one for the exhibitor emergency kit. We’re going to let you in on a little secret… if you slip a zip tie through a zipper at the bottom of your tension fabric display, it will zip a lot quicker and easier. Trade show tip! We understand a mountain of zip ties might not be impressive; however, you could easily add som
e gum and/or mints and colored duct tape and have yourself a mini exhibitor trade show floor kit. You can even find colored one if you don’t want to use the standard black ones.
8. We can’t stress how busy and on the go we know exhibitors are during trade show season. If you can’t supply your friends and coworkers with Starbucks gift cards year-round, then equip them with a new travel mug so they can at least bring the caffeine with them. While the photo on the right may be necessary… it’s not functional, especially while driving… so sad.
9. Wine basket. No explanation needed.
10. Exhibitors are on their feet for hours on end. Well, they should be! No sitting while exhibiting at a trade show, right? Right! So shoe insoles or heel inserts for the ladies might be the perfect additional of comfort for those long, tiring days and achy feet and legs.
So minus the custom trade show booth display, what are some other gifts great for exhibitors or those working at a trade show? We’d love to know!
To Recap:
While we’ve certainly picked some great gifts for the exhibitor in your life, these cool gifts are for everyone. They are:
1. Subscription to Exhibitor Magazine
2. Solar Cell Phone Charger
3. Emergency Iron aka Hair Straightener
4. Virtual Keyboard
5. Colored Duct Tape
6. Starbucks (or anywhere coffee-related) Gift Card
7. Zip Ties
8. Travel Mug
9. Wine Basket
10. Shoes Insoles
11. Mints/Gum