Work backwards from the day the gifts must be on desks. A timeline for names, artwork, proofs and delivery that survives the December holidays.
If you are reading this in late November, the question is whether the gifts can still arrive before the office closes. Sometimes they can. But the order that causes nobody stress was started in October, by someone who worked backwards from the handover date instead of forwards from the day they remembered.
Here is that backwards plan, step by step.
Start from the handover, not from today
Write down the last working day your gifts can usefully arrive. For many offices that is the final week before the Christmas break. Gifts that land after the office has closed sit in a reception area until January, which defeats the point.
Now count back. The table below is a realistic plan for a mixed order of calendars, mugs and gift bags. It is generous on purpose, because the delays that sink these orders happen inside the buyer's office, not on the press.
A six-week plan, counted back from handover
- Six weeks beforeAgree the budget and the tiers. Confirm who signs off the artwork, because one missing approval can stall everything.
- Five weeks beforeCollect the name list and the logo in its original file. A logo pulled off a website is usually too small to print well.
- Four weeks beforeBrief the calendar. Twelve months of pages, your photographs and your contact details all need to be chosen.
- Three weeks beforeApprove proofs. Read every name and every date. This is the last cheap moment to change anything.
- Two weeks beforeProduction: printing, assembly and packing into gift bags. Confirm the production time for your quantities when you order.
- The final weekDelivery and handing out, with a few spare pieces for the names someone forgot.
Calendars take longest, so start there
A branded desktop calendar is KSh 270 each with a minimum of 50, and it is a twelve-page design job before it is a printing job. Our design team lays out the year with your colours, photographs and contact details, but someone at your end has to choose the photographs and approve each month. That takes longer than anyone expects.
Wall calendars are a different product with a different scale: A3 at 20/= and A2 at 35/= per piece, with a minimum of 1,000. They suit businesses handing calendars across a whole customer base, such as an agrovet or a hardware shop. If you are choosing between the two formats, the desk-or-wall comparison sets out who keeps which.
The December dates that matter in 2026
Three public holidays sit inside the December rush: Christmas on the 25th, with Jamhuri Day on the 12th and Boxing Day on the 26th (Public Holidays Act, Schedule Part I). This year the 12th and the 26th are both Saturdays; Christmas Day is a Friday. The Act moves a holiday only when it falls on a Sunday, so none of them shifts this year.
Two cautions. First, the government can gazette extra holidays at short notice under section 3 of the same Act, so a plan with no slack in the last week is a fragile plan. Second, couriers and offices slow down in the days around Christmas whatever the calendar says. Aim to have gifts delivered by the middle of December.
Packing is part of the gift
A mug handed over in a plain bag looks like a mug. The same mug in a branded gift bag looks like a present. Gift bags are KSh 150 at A4 size and KSh 200 at A3, with a minimum of 50, and they are worth adding to the same order so everything arrives together and matches.
If you have not yet chosen what to give, start with the guide to gifts people keep using and come back to this timeline once the items are decided.
Sources: Public Holidays Act, Cap 110 (Kenya Law) (read 13 Oct 2026).
Common questions
How early should I order corporate calendars?
Start with the design about a month before you need them in hand, longer if several people must approve it, and ask for the production time for your quantity when you order. A calendar is twelve pages of layout before it is printed, and choosing photographs and checking dates is what takes the time.
Which public holidays fall in December 2026?
Jamhuri Day on Saturday 12 December, Christmas on Friday 25 December and Boxing Day on Saturday 26 December, under the Public Holidays Act. None falls on a Sunday, so none moves to a Monday. The government can still gazette extra days, so keep some slack in the plan.
Can you deliver gifts to several branches or offices?
Yes. Delivery within Nairobi is included and delivery to other towns is quoted at cost. Send the addresses and the split of items per office when you order, so the packing is done per destination.
What do you need from us to start a year-end order?
A typed list of names, your logo in its original file, the quantities per item, and the name of the person who approves proofs. With those four things the order can move as fast as the approvals do.
