Updated: September 06, 2023

10 Best Swag Bag Ideas for Events

Here is our list of swag bag ideas for events.

Swag bags, also known as goodie bags, are small gift bags with an assortment of branded items meant to promote an event or company to attendees or employees. In addition to advertising and marketing purposes, swag bags are also used by companies to boost employee morale. Examples of swag bag items include t-shirts, keychains, and water bottles.

This list includes:

  • Swag bag items for the office
  • Swag bag items for your home
  • Swag bag items for self-care
  • Swag bag items to help relieve stress
  • Swag bag items for safety

Keep reading to learn more fun ideas.

List of Swag Bag Ideas for Events

From water bottles and self-defense keychains to herbal lip balm and notebooks, here are some fun and unique swag bag ideas for events.

1. Branded Clothing

Clothing items are some of the most common swag bag ideas and for good reason! Who does not love a good t-shirt or hat? Clothing items are both useful and long-lasting. People generally love free clothing, and there are tons of different options, prints, and styles that are sure to grab your audience’s attention.

The other benefit to giving out items like t-shirts and hoodies is the free advertising your company gets when employees wear them! Not to mention, these swag bag items are some of the most cost efficient.

There are tons of options online for customizable branded clothing. However, we recommend finding a company like Zazzle which has tons of high-quality and easily customizable options. You can start your order by selecting the base style (i.e., for t-shirts this could be a crew neck, baseball tee, long sleeve, etc.), then create your custom design from there. Try to select a clothing item and style that suits your employees best. For example, if most of your employees live in a cold climate, you could opt for hoodies or beanies.

Check out the options on Zazzle.

2. Water Bottles

Water bottles are another useful item to include in your next swag bags. Water bottles are in style, practical, and much appreciated by employees, especially by those who are remote or constantly on the go. Water bottles are great for traveling for work or even for when you are just at the gym working out.

When picking out the best water bottle for your swag bag, consider the trends and do not forget to add your logo. There are tons of great water bottle options on the market right now, making your options nearly limitless.

Yeti is one of the most popular brands for water bottles, tumblers, coolers, you name it! The Yeti line of products is known for its durability, style, and quality. You can easily customize water bottles, water jugs, and water mugs with straws on the Yeti website for a swag bag item your attendees are sure to love!

Learn more about customizable products on Yeti.

3. Fidget Toys

A fidget toy is a small object intended for pleasant but purposeless activity with your hands. Some people report using fidget toys helped ease their anxiety, frustration, boredom, and stress. These toys are especially great for employees who are neurodivergent (i.e., diagnosed with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, etc.). Fidgets are also a discreet tool used to help anyone who has arthritis or mobility issues.

Fidget toys of almost any kind can be branded and turned into promotional items designed to last for a long time, which will remind people of your brand every time the toy is used. These little gizmos first became popular with children, but recently, fidget toys have started catching the eyes of adults too.

Add a fidget toy to your next swag bag to make your gift feel more unique and fun. Just add your brand logo to the front of the toy and start relieving the stress of life from your employees or attendees. Examples of fidget toys include stress balls, push pops, Rubik’s cubes, and fidget spinners. Promolocker has a great selection of branded fidget toy options to choose from.

Learn more about the fidget toys from Promolocker.

4. Notebooks

Notebooks are essential for anyone working in the office or at home. Notebooks have a fair durability rating and can be used for a long time. Plus, a nice notebook will allow your employees or attendees to take a break from looking at their electronic device, which can reduce focus and productivity at a certain point.

There are several ways to make a notebook customized for your company that suits your branding. You can keep the branded notebookit simple and add your logo to just the cover, or you can spice it up a bit and add a watermark to each page.

Notebooks are a perfect idea for swag bags because they can be used for taking notes during a work meeting or at home when you need to make a grocery list. Regardless of the location where the notebooks are used, your audience will be reminded of your company everytime they use it. Moo has some great fully-customizable hardcover notebook options.

Check out the full selection at Moo.

5. USB Drives

A USB drive is light-weight and portable, and it plugs into an electronic device to use flash memory to store and share files. USB drives are an essential tech-device to add to any swag bag for events.

As an added promotion bonus, you can even pre-load the USB drives with a web page to your brand or files about the event, so whenever the user first inserts the drive into their computer, it will auto-generate your company’s information.

You can also add your to the casing of the USB device, customizing it to your company’s brand. A USB drive can be used to save your work or transfer your files to any other computer. Same Day Flash has some unique options like wooden, swivel, and snap-cap, so you are sure to find an option that is just right for your audience.

Learn more about custom USB Drives at Same Day Flash.

6. Hand Sanitizer

Given recent events, hand sanitizer has become an extremely popular and practical swag bag gift idea for events. Hand sanitizer can come in many different forms such as gel, foam, and liquid, and the solution is used to kill germs on your hands.

Hand sanitizer is affordable and can easily be purchased in bulk quantities. You can put your own design on the label to customize and brand the hand sanitizer for your event.

A travel-sized bottle of hand sanitizer is a great swag item. Plus, this gift will help stop the spread of germs, making it an especially ideal option for large events with big crowds. Quality Logo Products offers affordable, travel-sized, and branded hand sanitizers in mass quantities, and this company makes the ordering and shipping process streamlined and simplified, which is highly beneficial for busy meeting planners.

Check out their hand sanitizer at Quality Logo Products.

7. Lip Balm

Lip balm is another nice item to have in a swag bag, especially if your event occurs in the fall or winter seasons or if your attendees live in a climate where they get a lot of sun. Regardless, taking care of your lips during all seasons is a huge, often ignored, part of self-care. Whether your lips are dry or sunburned, lip balm is a perfect solution to help with that, and it makes a great gift for women and men alike.

Lip balm can come in many sizes, shapes, flavors, and colors. There are tons of options for ordering these products in bulk with customization included, like your brand’s logo. Crestline has lots of great options that are fully customizable with minimal effort on your part.

Check out the full selection at Crestline.

8. Blue Light Blocking Glasses

As we spend more and more time staring at our devices all day, blue light blocking glasses have become an overnight sensation. These glasses contain a built in filter to block the transmission of a range of harmful wavelengths emitted from devices. A lot of the time, these types of glasses also come with an anti-glare feature to further lessen the strain of screens on the eyes.

Just add your logo to these blue light blocking glasses to provide your event’s attendees with a stylish flair. Your audience will appreciate their new accessory as well as the care and concern for their long-term health and wellness. Plus, it will increase productivity and reduce some of the negative effects of looking at screens.

Swag.com has some great options for custom blue light blocking glasses, and the process is quick and seamless without sacrificing quality or style.

Check out the full blue light blocking glasses selection at Swag.com.

9. Phone Wallets

Like blue light blocking glasses, phone wallets have also become an overnight sensation. As our phones get bigger and our purses and hands remain the same size, it can be easier to misplace important items like credit cards and cash. A phone wallet is a way to simplify the amount of items you are attempting to keep up with on a day-to-day basis. Phone wallets simply stick to the back of your phone making it easier to carry cash, IDs, debit cards, and more.

There are many different designs out there when it comes to phone wallets. For example, some of these devices come with a phone stand, a metal ring holder, or even a pop socket built right in. Phone wallets can be easily customized, making a great, lightweight addition to your swag bag. Shutterfly has some beautiful leather phone wallet options with fully customizable surfaces, making them a great option for company swag bags.

Learn more about these phone wallets at Shutterfly.

10. Promotional Stickers and Decals

Promotional stickers and decals are fun gifts for all ages. Stickers can be placed anywhere, and people now have started to add these fun promo items to their laptops or other electronic devices as decoration. Decals even go a step further and can be added to cars as a great way to encourage easy advertisement of your brand.

Stickers and decals are easily customizable, can come in full color and are available in tons of different shapes and sizes, so you can find an option that suits your audience and brand the best. Sticker Mule has a great selection of customizable sticker options, in addition to other fun swag bag ideas for events like magnets, buttons, and packaging labels.

Check out the full sticker selection at Sticker Mule.

Final Thoughts

Swag bags are a fun way to promote your company at any event, whether it is for employees or an external audience.

Our list of swag bag ideas for events is just a few of the myriads of available options on the market. You can surely find an option that suits your brand and audience, while also fitting perfectly into your budget.

The meaningful swag bag ideas in this list can give your company an exceptional first impression at any event.

FAQ: Swag bag ideas

Here are common questions and answers about swag bags.

What is a swag bag?

A swag bag is a bag filled with gifts, which are often branded. Swag bags are typically handed out at events as favors or sent to employees as a gift.

How do you put a swag bag together?

When putting a swag bag together, be mindful and realistic. Think about things that are affordable and will be useful to the people who attended the event or work for your company. You also want to keep in mind the following when organizing your next swag bags: sticking to a budget, putting the swag bag items into a branded tote bag or other branded packaging, and keeping the items lightweight for easy transportation and hand out.

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Author:

Content Expert at teambuilding.com.

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