Personalised Christmas Jumpers for Teams and Offices
By The Velocity Wear Team
Every December there's a rush. Office parties, school Christmas jumper days, five-a-side teams on their festive night out. Personalised Christmas jumpers get searched thousands of times a month in the UK at that time of year, and the people searching in December are mostly too late. If you want matching jumpers for a group, October is your month.
First, a quick honesty point
The traditional Christmas jumper is knitted. Custom knitted designs are a specialist job with long lead times. What most groups actually order, and what we make, is a printed or embroidered sweatshirt with a festive design. It's softer, cheaper, easier to personalise, and people wear it again. If you're curious about the difference, see knitted vs sweatshirt jumpers.
The deadline maths
Production takes 10 to 15 working days after you approve the artwork. Delivery comes on top. Then add the time it takes to agree a design and get everyone's size. Realistically:
- For a party in mid December, approve artwork by early to mid November.
- For the first week of December, approve by the end of October.
- Christmas Jumper Day at schools usually falls in early to mid December. Check the date and work back.
Leave a week of slack. Couriers get busy in December, and the last thing you want is jumpers arriving the morning after the party.
Design ideas that get a laugh without cringing
- Your company logo reimagined with a Santa hat or antlers.
- A pun on your industry. Accountants, plumbers and vets all have good ones.
- A classic Fair Isle-style printed pattern with your team name in the middle.
- Everyone's name or nickname on the back like a football shirt, with a festive number such as 25.
- A snowy illustration of your office, shop or clubhouse.
Print vs embroidery for Christmas
Big, colourful festive designs are best printed. DTF handles lots of colours and detailed illustrations with no extra cost per colour. A small embroidered reindeer or initials on the chest is a smarter option if the jumpers double as staff gifts people will wear into January.
Make them wearable after Christmas
A tip from experience: if you put the festive design on the front and keep the back fairly plain, people wear them all winter. If it screams December in huge letters, it lives in a drawer for eleven months. Either is fine, just decide which you want.
Charity angle
Lots of schools and workplaces tie Christmas jumpers to a fundraising day. If you sell the jumpers and add a donation to each, be clear about how much goes to the charity. It's good practice, and people give more when they know.
Sizing for a relaxed Christmas fit
People wear Christmas jumpers over shirts and to big lunches, so a relaxed fit is kinder than a slim one. Share measurements and suggest people take their usual size. Collect sizes privately rather than in a group chat.
Donating spares
Order a few spares for late joiners. Any left over after December can be donated to a local charity shop or winter coat appeal, which is a nicer ending than a box in a cupboard.
Order details
Minimum 20 per design, sizes mixed. Sweatshirts start from $25 each at 20 pieces, less at 50 and 100. Check the pricing calculator for totals in pounds, and mock up your design in the design studio.
