A personalized gift is the one thing no one else will have quite like it. You choose the piece, the color, and the design, and in the end there's only one in the world, made for the person receiving it.
This guide is for anyone giving personalized Christmas gifts: what makes a good one, what size to choose when you can't ask, what a single piece costs, and how late you can order and still get it in time. These are the questions that reach us every December, in the order they usually come up.
What to give
Let's start with the easy part. Hoodies and sweatshirts for those who love wearing them, and caps, bags and toiletry bags for those who don't want to risk the size.
The cards show the lowest price for each piece, which only kicks in from 30 units. For a one-off gift, the actual prices are in the pricing section further down.
How late you can order
The math is simple, and it's worth doing instead of guessing.
A personalized item takes 4 to 7 business days to produce once payment is confirmed, and shipping goes out 24 to 48 hours after production is finished. Above 20 pieces, add 2 days.
In December there are two holidays right in the middle, the 1th and the 8,th, that eat up business days without you noticing. Counting back from a delivery on the 23th:
- By December 10 you're safe even in the worst-case scenario, with production taking the full 7 days and shipping the 2.
- Between 11 and 16 December it usually still arrives, but it depends on production running within the tight window. If it's a gift for someone, that's not where you want to be.
- After 16 we can't promise Christmas.
If you're reading this in November, you've got breathing room. If you're reading this on December 15, pick a print item instead of an embroidered one, for the reasons explained further below.
Size is the one decision you can't undo
Before you choose, there's something worth knowing: a personalized piece can't be exchanged. That isn't our policy, it's article 17.º of Decree-Law no. 24/2014, which removes the right of withdrawal for goods made to the customer's own specifications. In practice, size is the one decision here you can't undo, and that's why we give it so much space.
There's no trick to it. There are just three ways to lower the risk.
Copy a piece the person already wears. Do not ask for their size, measure what they wear. A sweatshirt that fits them well, laid flat on the bed, measured armpit to armpit and shoulder to hem. Compare it with the size chart, which opens in Size guide on each product page. It's more reliable than anyone's memory of their own size.
Choose a cut that's forgiving. An oversize hoodie fits well on a wide range of bodies, because the roominess is part of the design. A fitted polo forgives nothing. If you're torn between two sizes in a loose cut, the smaller of the two is usually right, contrary to what instinct says. If you want to understand the differences before deciding, we have a guide on boxy, oversize, and relaxed and another on which weight to choose.
Or dodge the problem. Not every gift needs a size. A personalized cap, bag, or pouch works for anyone and still feels made for that person. In December, it's the choice that costs you the fewest sleepless nights, and the bamboo tote bag is the cheapest entry point in the whole catalog: 13€ with the design included.
And if, despite everything, something goes wrong: if the flaw is ours, wrong thread color, design different from what was approved, a manufacturing issue, you have 30 days to tell us and we'll fix it. What we can't accept back is a correct piece that turned out too big.
Printing or embroidery, when it's just one piece
Here's the one calculation that really changes the price of a gift, and almost no one explains it before the cart is full.
Embroidery requires a digitizing file, which is the design scanned into stitches so the machine can sew it. It costs 15€ and is paid once, not per piece.
On an order of 20 sweatshirts, that 15€ gets spread out to 75 cents per piece and you don't even notice. On a single gift, that's 15€ on top of 28€. Double the cost, basically.
Hence the rule of thumb:
- One or two pieces: printing. The result is excellent for designs with lots of colors, gradients, or photography, and there's no setup cost.
- From four or five on: embroidery starts to pay off, and that's where it shines, on simple logos, monograms, letters.
- Caps, bags, and pouches: only take embroidery, due to how the piece is built. A 18€ cap comes to 33€ with the digitizing file included, a 14€ pouch comes to 26€. We'd rather say it here than leave the surprise for checkout. The exception is the bamboo tote bag, which accepts printing and so comes to 13€.
Where you place the design changes the price
Not all placements cost the same, and the more discreet ones are free:
| Zone | Cost |
|---|---|
| Left chest | included |
| Center chest | included |
| Full front | +3 € |
| Full back | +4 € |
A monogram on the chest, a date, some initials, a small design: it doesn't add anything to the price of the piece. Worth knowing before you design a full front you weren't planning on.
What personalized Christmas gifts cost
No minimums means literally one piece. Here are the real starting prices, already with a chest personalization:
Sized pieces
- Kids' sweatshirt, starting at 22 €
- Crewneck sweatshirt, starting at 28 €
- Cropped hoodie, starting at 29 €
- Regular hoodie, starting at 30 €
- Oversized hoodie, starting at 40 €
One size fits all, for when you would rather not guess
- Bamboo tote bag, starting at 13 €
- Corduroy toiletry bag, starting at 26 €
- Cap, starting at 33 €
- Corduroy bag, starting at 34 €
The last three only take embroidery, so the setup fee is already included in the starting price. The tote bag takes DTF printing, which explains the difference.
From 8 pieces there is a quantity discount, and over €80 shipping to mainland Portugal is free. If you are making gifts for a whole family, those two things together change the maths quite a bit.
The file you send us
The short rule: the bigger and cleaner, the better. A PNG with a transparent background or a vector file will always give better results than an image pulled from Instagram. If the design is yours and you're unsure about resolution or format, we have a dedicated guide for that: how to prepare your file for customizing clothing.
And if the gift is for someone who draws, illustrates, or has a brand, there's also a guide on printing illustrations.
Quick questions about personalized Christmas gifts
Can I order just one piece?
Yes. There are no minimum quantities, not for Christmas and not for the rest of the year.
Can I see how it looks before paying?
Yes. The customizer shows the piece with your design on it, in the color you chose, before you add it to the cart.
How long does it take?
4 to 7 business days for production, plus 24 to 48 hours until it ships out with CTT. You'll get the tracking number by email.
Can I exchange it if it doesn't fit?
No, and the reason is in the sizing section above. That's why it's worth measuring a piece the person already wears before choosing a size.
What if it arrives defective?
You have 30 days. Email us at geral@matterstu.com with the order number and photos, and we'll sort it out.
Do you ship outside of Portugal?
Yes, to Spain, France, and Luxembourg, as well as the Autonomous Regions. Shipping times are longer, so the order deadline is earlier.
If you already know what you want to give, pick the piece and start creating. If you're still unsure, write to geral@matterstu.com: it is what we do most in December.
