Waffle Day is a reason to get outside

A holiday that started as a mishearing

March 25 was Vårfrudagen in Sweden, Our Lady's Day, and said quickly it sounds almost identical to Våffeldagen, Waffle Day. The two names slid into each other over the years and the food won. A date in the church calendar became a batter recipe, and it has travelled a long way past Sweden since. The waffle is crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, served with jam, berries or cream depending on where you eat it.

A simple reason to get together

Small holidays are good precisely because they do not require a large campaign. Waffle Day can be marked with coffee, something sweet and a few items that are pleasant to use every day. The logo stays in the background here, and the occasion itself does not turn into another corporate activity.

The items we print for a day like this

A logo on drinkware or on sweets is the whole idea. The mug stays on the desk long after the plates are cleared, and the sweets travel down the row and leave the building in someone's pocket. A lanyard does the same quiet job at events, small and unremarkable until you notice that everyone is wearing one. The arithmetic behind it is simple: a mug that chips after a month costs a brand more than the day it was handed out on, which is why we would rather not print at all than print on one that cannot survive a dishwasher.

For teams that go outside

For teams that already head out at lunch, March 25 is a reason to stay out a little longer. A Frosty Beach Ball Orlando costs almost nothing and does more for a lunch break than most trade fair gifts ever manage, and the rest of the sports range works on the same principle. This does not fit every office, though. If your team eats at their desks, a beach ball is a prop that stays in the box.

Four items that stay after Waffle Day

The sections above are about the day itself. These four are the products that most often end up in the set that goes with it, chosen for the part of the year when nobody remembers March 25 any more.

• Americano Grande Thermos Mug 350 ml: keeps the coffee hot from the kitchen to the desk, and stays in use long after the waffles are gone
• Paper Medium Gift Paper Bag 150 g/m2: for handing over a small set in one piece, and for carrying it home afterwards
• Regal Gift Card: for the people who were working from home or on the road on the day itself
• Big Chan Thermos Bottle 900ml: enough coffee for a whole team that takes the break outside

Waffles are a good start

A mug that survives the dishwasher, sweets that leave the building in someone's pocket and a ball that somebody actually kicks: that is our corner of the business. And the question underneath it is why some branded products get used for years while others go straight into a drawer.