The mug is the most-given personalised gift there is, which means it is also the one most often given badly. A cheap mug with a generic slogan is a joke gift. A good mug with the right name on it is the one that gets used every morning for a decade.
Size
All of our mugs are 11oz. That is the standard full-size mug - big enough for a proper cup of tea or coffee without needing a top-up halfway through. Anything advertised as 10oz is usually the smaller catering size, which is why the difference is worth checking on any site.
Finishes and what they mean for you
Gloss ceramic
The everyday default. Smooth, bright, and the most forgiving finish for colour printing.
Matt ceramic
A more premium look - flatter, softer, and it photographs beautifully. Matt finishes generally need more care, so check the product details. Some, including our crest birthday mugs, are hand wash only and not suitable for the microwave.
Two-tone stoneware
Heavier in the hand, with a coloured exterior and a contrasting interior. These come in a range of colourways - dusky pink, lavender, mustard yellow, navy, orange and sage green - and they suit someone who cares what their kitchen looks like. They also pair with a tea board as a set.
Enamel camping mugs
For outdoors. Hard-wearing, light, and immune to being dropped on a campsite. Not dishwasher or microwave safe.
Personalisation limits
Every mug has a fixed printable area, so there are practical caps on text. As a guide, our two-tone stoneware mugs take a name of around 15 characters, initials of up to five including full stops, and a message of around 15 characters per line across two lines. Crest designs allow a little more - a name, an age, and two further lines.
The general principle: shorter text, printed larger, looks far better than a long message shrunk to fit.
Care
This is where personalised mugs are won and lost.
- Check the product before you put it in a dishwasher. Several of our finishes are hand wash only, and a hot cycle with harsh detergent is what fades a design.
- Do not microwave anything with a metallic element or a matt finish unless the product says it is safe.
- Avoid scourers over the printed area - a soft cloth is enough.
- Do not leave it soaking for days.
Handled properly, a personalised mug outlasts most of the kitchen.
Making it a better gift
Two small things lift a mug from adequate to good. First, use the name people actually call them rather than their full name. Second, pair it with something - a mug and tea board set, or a mug with decent coffee in it, is a complete gift in a way a bare mug is not.
Browse the full personalised mug collection, or the travel mug range if they drink more on the move than at the kitchen table.