The Gift of the Year competition is guaranteed to raise your profile within the home and gift industry and get you noticed by those that matter the most - buyers, retailers and the end consumer, and it is open to everyone in the home and gift world.
To enter the awards is a badge of honour in itself, as you showcase your best products and if you are lucky enough to receive shortlist, finalist or winner status it will elevate you even further to brand new audiences.
Equally, it pinpoints buyers to their next best sellers as identified by their most respected peers. An evening event allows people to celebrate their sheer hard work and allow themselves to feel a sense of achievement.
The Gift of the Year Awards raises the profile of entrants by creating a unique platform to showcase the most innovative ranges and exciting products new to market. Entries are encouraged from both large and small enterprises as we have seen success from sole traders to multinationals, just take a look at our winners over the years.
A wide range of categories, covering our industry, are available to enter and winners and entrants have benefitted hugely through the exposure that the competition brings.
See how much it cost to enter here and please note that credits are non-transferable to following years. One credit equals one category choice.
Giftware Association members:
Entry: £99 + VAT
Non-members:
Entry: £152 + VAT
BUNDLES
Bundles Members + VAT:
£252 x 3 entries (£84 per entry)
£315 x 5 entries (£63 per entry)
£393 x 7 entries (£56 per entry) Lucky Number 7's
£525 x 10 entries (£52 per entry)
£682 x 15 entries (£45 per entry)
Bundles Non- Members + VAT:
£283 x 3 entries (£94 per entry)
£393 x 5 entries (£78 per entry)
£472 x 7 entries (£67 per entry) Lucky Number 7's
£651 x 10 entries (£65 per entry)
£766 x 15 entries (£51 per entry)
Stage 1
Online Registration/ Entering your products
If you are not already registered with us to enter the competition, you can set up your company profile quickly and easily now! If you have entered in previous years, you won't need to set up a new account, and can log in using your previous credentials. If you are a member of The Giftware Association, please enter your membership number to take advantage of the discounts.
View the video below to give you an idea of the entry process.
A Note to Remember!
All products are suitable for the competition, though there are very rough guidelines that the products will be available from the competition launch until the end of 2026. We understand how tough the last few years were so happy to discuss with you on an individual basis whether your product is suitable.
Stage 2
Two rounds of judging
After the judges have selected the shortlist from each category, the Gift of the Year team will notify you of which of your items have been shortlisted, as well as them being promoted heavily through trade press.
If you could send your items to the address below using the labels that will be sent to you individually. There will also be an opportunity to feature in our awesome Shortlist Brochure which gets shared to huge audiences as well as physically being at all the trade shwos we visit
Federation House, 10 Vyse Street
Birmingham
B18 6LT
Please get in touch with a member of the team if you have any issues.
The awards involve two rounds of judging.
Round 1
This round is all carried out online and will involve the judges logging in and viewing your products. The judges will see everything you have uploaded, so make sure that your entry is completed to its fullest, including images/videos, documents etc. You will get notified by us if your entry is incomplete. The first round of judging will decide our shortlist
Round 2
This round of judging is the in-person judging where we ask those who have been lucky enough to make the shortlist to send us their products so we can display them for a live judging event in January. For the last four years, we have held this at Spring Fair where it attracts a huge audience of not just the judges but visitors of Spring Fair. From this round, the judges will decide on the winners and highly commended companies and products.
Its a chance for the judges to pick up, taste, smell all the wonderful entries.
Please Note
Samples of the Winning products will be kept for showcasing at Harrogate Home and Gift, Top Drawer, Autumn Fair and Giving and Living in Exeter giving your products a huge amount of exposure to new audiences.
All samples will be donated to The Benevolent Society. If samples need to be returned please arrange collection using your own nominated carrier/transport and notifying the Gift of the Year team three (3) working days before the collection date.
Take the
crown
All the important dates for your diary
Competition Launch Date – July 2025
Competition Closes – 30th November 2025 / subject to change
Online Judging Commences – January 2026
Shortlisted Products Announced on the Gift of the Year Website – January 2026
The second round of live Judging (shortlisted products need to be sent to us before this date) – February 2026
Finalist Announcement – February 2026
Awards Announcement – May 2026