500 handwritten birthday cards: how we made it sustainable

TL;DR — In 30 seconds

• A cleaning company with 500 employees: for years, the director has written every single birthday card by hand.

• He thinks it is important — but it took so much time that it was almost impossible to keep up.

• In addition to the gift card, Giffy works with a network of partners for extra services.

• The solution: every employee automatically receives a handwritten card in the director's own handwriting, with a personal Giffy voucher.

I work in sales at Giffy and my name is Joy. For a new client, I was expecting a conversation about Christmas hampers. It turned into a completely different — and much more beautiful — story.

💡 Why Giffy is writing this

Giffy builds gift card infrastructure for businesses. We believe in a transparent chain — from issuer to recipient. This blog post shows how a personal gesture can be made sustainable without losing its value.

A director who writes every single card himself

The first thing the office manager tells me is that the director still writes all the birthday cards himself. By hand. For every employee. I asked if I understood correctly — 500 employees. Yes, she said. For years.

He thinks it is important. The people work early, work hard, and are not exactly in the spotlight. A personal card on your birthday, from the director himself, means something in that world. But by now it was taking up so much of his time that they were looking for a way to keep it going without having to spend hours on it themselves every week.

How we made it sustainable

What many people do not know is that, in addition to the gift card, Giffy also works with a network of partners who add extra services. In this case, together with our partner, we set up an automated process: on their birthday, every employee receives a handwritten card, in the director's handwriting, containing a personal gift voucher from Giffy. Fully automated.

Being able to choose for yourself even with a modest budget — something for the home, something for the children, or just something nice for yourself — feels different from a standard package that often does not match your immediate needs.

What it is actually about

It shows what it is ultimately all about: making people feel seen at the right moment. How you organise that differs per company. We help find out what fits best.

🔐 For businesses

A personal gesture at scale, without the manual burden? Giffy combines digital gift cards with a network of partners for extra services. → Discover Giffy for business: https://getgiffy.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you combine handwritten cards with a digital gift card?

Yes. Through Giffy's partner network, you can have a handwritten card sent containing a personal Giffy gift voucher — automatically, at the right time.

Can you automate birthday gifts for employees?

Yes. The entire process can be automated so that every employee automatically receives a personal gift on their birthday, without any manual work week by week.

Does Giffy also work with modest budgets?

Yes. Freedom of choice works particularly well with a modest budget: the recipient chooses something themselves that meets their immediate needs.

Related articles

• The most beautiful reaction to a year-end gift comes from the employees themselves: https://getgiffy.com/blog/mooie-reacties-eindejaarsgeschenk

• Working in sales at Giffy: from 20 cards to a complete rewards strategy: https://getgiffy.com/blog/werken-in-sales-bij-giffy

About the author

Giffy is the Dutch digital gift card platform that helps companies distribute value securely, quickly, and on-brand — to customers, partners, and employees. We believe in financial integrity and a transparent chain: from issuer to recipient. → getgiffy.com