Forget bottles of wine or boxes of chocolates which are anyway, not always culturally appropriate or healthy gifts, instead why not give your team an item of personalised clothing they’ll appreciate all year round?

A fleece or jacket that has been personalised is a fantastic gift because it’s winter appropriate, acceptable to all ages, sizes, genders and cultures and is substantial enough to make your staff feel that you really to appreciate them – much nicer than a bottle of supermarket plonk!

Personalised branded clothing is also good for your business. A new T-shirt, polo-shirt or even a cool printed or embroidered hoodie brings a lot of benefits. Your staff look and feel better, the branding encourages company recognition and helps to build teams and having new uniforms makes people, both staff and customers, feel that you are investing in the business and supporting its growth and development.

Choose printed clothing that is appropriate to your business and your staff – something too formal for young hip workers will make them feel you don’t understand their ‘vibe’ while something too casual for an older and more established workforce can imply that you fail to recognise the wisdom and experience of your team. And winter colours can really heighten the festive nature of your gift – red T-shirts or holly-green hoodies give people the right winter emotions without making them feel like you’re forcing them to dress up as Santa and his elves!

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Perhaps it’s because we’re British, or perhaps it’s because our weather is so rubbish, and perhaps those two things are actually identical, but this year, when retail sales and clothing purchases online have been pretty moribund, one thing is still walking out the door with incredible regularity: the hoodie.

It’s the garment of choice of the chav (think of poor old Ricky Hatton) and hated by every judge in the country, but it’s still one of the most popular items of clothing in the UK, and that’s astonishing, given that it’s also the most recent introduction into popular clothing culture – not since the T-shirt has anything had such an effect on the way young people dress.

So why is the hoodie so popular? Well one reason is that British weather that defines our character. A hoodie is a coat and a jumper in one – you can pull up the hood and protect yourself from a downpour by tucking your hands in the front pocket, or push up the sleeves and wear it with shorts to make the most of the British summer – it’s the ideal clothing item for a country that can have all four seasons of weather in a single day.

The hoodie also looks good. It has a clean outline and works with something as casual as jeans or as smart as a good pair of formal trousers or a skirt. It can be worn to work, to the pub, to a cricket or football match or to meet the in-laws. It’s casual clothing with extra style that works just as well as part of a working uniform as that classic choice, the polo-shirt. When personalised with a monogram or name it looks fantastic.  The hoodie is easy to wash and easy to pack. In short, it’s a stylish life-saver.

So for 2009, whether it’s the best or the worst summer ever, viva la hoodie!

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