What's Hot and What People Want

The BIG Show & Tell, Halloween Edition | October 27, 2026

Episode Overview

In this Halloween edition of The BIG Show & Tell, Donna Bender and Kim White dressed as magicians, complete with top hats, white gloves, and magic wands… everywhere Donna goes, someone asks the same question: "So what's hot right now?" A magician never reveals her secrets… but today she does.

This is the last show of the year, and it's packed with real products, real stories, and magical ideas you can use this holiday season to surprise and delight your clients, your employees, and even your family.

Who it's for

This episode is for CEOs, marketers, small business owners, HR and people leaders, sales and marketing teams, and anyone who has ever said, "I don't know what people want, so I'm guessing."

If you want to thank clients, recognize employees, honor milestones, or find gifts people will actually use this holiday season, this show is packed with ideas you can use.

Segment 1: What's in This MAGIC BOX? The Blanket Story

Donna gave a client a blanket in a keepsake box as an early holiday gift. An executive at his company said, "I need to give Donna more business so I can get a blanket, too." The next morning, a blanket was waiting on her desk. She ordered one for every employee, and two blankets became more than an $18,000 order that year.

• People still tell Donna, "Every time I wrap myself up in one, I think of you."
• One client has given blankets to her own clients four times.

The strategy: give first, give freely, and don't be surprised what may come back.

Segment 2: Gift of Choice: Let Them Pick

Kim confesses she still has a problem with gifting: "Many times, I don't know what people want, and I'm guessing." Donna's magic solution is a curated gift-of-choice catalog.

• You set the dollar amount, whether it's $25, $50, $100, or $500, and the recipient only sees products at that price point.
• The catalog arrives in a lovely big envelope with a seal, personalized, with a message inside to the recipient.
• The best part: shipping is included in the price, so the recipient never pays freight on top of a beautiful gift.

The strategy: what do people want? Whatever they pick. When you don't know what to give, let them choose.

Segment 3: And the Oscar Goes To… Honoring Milestones

With Thanksgiving a few weeks away, Donna shares the power of honoring milestones for clients, employees, team members, volunteers, and vendors: years of service, exceptional performance, and company anniversaries.

• Awards don't have to sit on a shelf, although the industry makes some magnificent ones that are pieces of art.
• For a little fun around the Thanksgiving table: the Biggest Turkey Award, the Stuffing Star Award, the Pumpkin Spice Spark Award, and the Cranberry Cheerleader Award. Add a chocolate turkey as the gift.
• Donna once made crystal awards for a client and became one of the recipients herself, as Vendor of the Year.

The strategy: recognition boosts morale, strengthens loyalty, and builds trust, because people feel seen for the work they do behind the scenes.

Segment 4: Unique and Fun Travel Finds

• A backgammon and checkers set with the pieces in a zippered pouch. It rolls up and closes with a self-snapping band.
• A vegan leather journal that comes in a beautiful box, with YOUR handwritten message imprinted inside the gift.
• The Ringo tumbler, a water tumbler and a cellphone stand in one. Donna's secret: it's so much easier than setting up a tripod for a selfie video.

The strategy: personalization takes production time, so reach out early. And if the holidays don't work, a New Year's gift is a great idea, too.

Segment 5: Corporate Training: The Magic Is in the Plan

Kim calls it the trick people don't see coming: Donna doesn't just pick the gifts, she teaches whole teams how to do it.

• When Donna comes in, everybody is scrambling for the December rush.
• By the time she leaves, the team has a filled-out workbook. They know exactly who, why, and when to send the gift, and then they work on the what, within their budget.

The strategy: the magic is in creating the plan, and in the moment the whole thing clicks for the team.

Segment 6: The Wooden Gourmet Box

Food is a big category for corporate gifting. Kim sums it up: the treats are in the moment, and the branded piece is for the memory.

• The wooden box has a sliding lid, so after the food is gone it becomes a storage box, a container, or a place to keep books on your desk.
• Not everybody can give a box like that. Use a paper box or a basket instead, and include something handy, like a tumbler or a snap-together valet tray for keys.
• Food gifts are great for teams, because there are so many choices and everybody gets a little taste.

The strategy: when you give food, include something with your brand on it, so when the food is gone, you are still remembered.

Segment 7: Mini Is HOT

Donna pulls very small things out of her hat. Last month it was the mini camera on a chain; this month the mini concept keeps going.

• Moleskine's new mini pocket journal clips onto a backpack or a purse, and they are selling a lot of them.
• A miniature backpack that becomes a change purse, in several colors.
• A mini selfie stick. How handy is that?

The strategy: mini, charms, and key rings are coming back. These small items are extremely hot this holiday season, for travel and everyday use.

Segment 8: Book Lights

From the product reel: a small, bendable book light that clips right onto the page, and a second one with a big imprint area.

• They're great for travel when you're sharing a room, and at home at night. Donna can keep reading without disturbing her husband.
• The larger one has an imprint area big enough to tell your whole story. As Kim says, that's great real estate for your logo.
• Who they're for: really, anybody. Travelers, readers whose partners want to sleep, book clubs, libraries, and bookstores as an add-on.

The strategy: book lights are very, very popular, and a great gift for anybody who loves to read.

Segment 9: Tangible vs. Intangible Gifts

Sometimes the best gift isn't something you can wrap at all. Most people have a charity, nonprofit, or cause that's near and dear to their heart.

• Intangible: the gift of your time and presence. Volunteer at their nonprofit, buy a ticket, sponsor a table, join a nonprofit board.
• Tangible: something they can touch, feel, and hold, like sponsoring the event and putting your name on the bag.
• How to find out what they care about: listen and write it down when they share their weekend plans, and use the resources at your fingertips, from Google and AI tools to LinkedIn and Facebook. Donna found out during her own holiday-list research that she wasn't even connected on LinkedIn with a good client!
• Kim adds: you can make more money, but you can't make more time. Stuffing swag bags for a client's golf tournament means more than the gift itself.

The strategy: find out a little bit about your clients. That is where the magic lies.

Segment 10: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Business Edition

Donna's business version of the holiday classic, about the client email that made her heart dance. "Gratitude's the catalyst that grows them all."

Kim also reminds everyone that Donna's book, The Art of GIVE-ology®, is full of the ideas she shares on the show. It's available on Amazon and at donnabender.com, and it makes a great gift, too.

Segment 11: The Filtered Water Bottle

A glass bottle in a protective casing with a filter inside, from LifeStraw.

• It filters out bacteria, parasites, microplastics, and more. The filter lasts up to 1,000 gallons.
• With every purchase, a child in need receives safe water for a year.
• Donna loves it for travel: fill it up at the airport after TSA and know the water is filtered.
• Kim suggests it for 5Ks, marathons, and companies in health and wellness.

The strategy: it's the messaging behind it. So many great things are now made from recyclable and reusable materials, and it is definitely a mass movement.

Segment 12: The 5-in-1 Speaker

A speaker and an ambient light that also charges your phone, earbuds, and watch, all in one piece that takes up very little room.

The strategy: Donna loves things that simplify life. No worrying about the speaker AND the charger AND the this and the that.

Segment 13: Feedback: The Luggage Scale

How do you know if the gift actually worked? Donna's answer is a little luggage scale that can save relationships.

• You don't need to send a survey. If nobody has said a word to you months later, that IS your feedback.
• When people come back on their own with texts from the airplane, phone calls, social posts, and emails you never asked for, that's the best feedback you could ever receive.
• Donna takes hers on every trip, and her husband Dave looks for it, too. People still call to say it made traveling so much easier.

The strategy: thoughtful gifts are extremely important, but useful is really, really important.

Strategic Wrap-Up

The big message from this Halloween edition: what's hot is what people will love, use, and remember.

• Tell a story. One blanket, given with no strings attached, became an $18,000 order.
• When you don't know what people want, let them pick.
• Honor milestones, because people want to be seen for the work they do behind the scenes.
• Mini is hot, and so are gifts that are useful and simplify life.
• Get to know your clients and the causes they care about. Sometimes the best gift isn't something you can wrap at all.
• Don't panic about December. If the timing doesn't work, move your gifts to January and start the year off by saying thank you.

Give first, give freely… and watch the MAGIC that happens.

CALL TO ACTION

• Subscribe to @DonnaBenderGIVING on YouTube. It's free, and you'll be notified when the next show is on.
• Our next BIG Show & Tell is Tuesday, January 26, 2027, at 1:00 PM CST, with trending ideas from the January trade show in Las Vegas and the 2027 GIVING Plan calendar.
• Get The Art of GIVE-ology® on Amazon or at donnabender.com
• Email [email protected] or visit The Donna Bender Company
• Visit my blog for more product ideas

  CALL TO ACTION