Finding the Best Gifts In Bulk: Our Research & Tips

Let’s talk buying gifts—and lots of them!

If you need to buy gifts for 20 of your coworkers, where do you start? What about party favors for a kids party? 

We asked our parent readers for their best gift hits and misses. What works? And what bombs?

As it turns out, hand cream and lip balm are probably the two biggest gift winners—everyone seems to appreciate this gifts! To find the best bets here, we tried out nine brands of lip balm! And we sampled a dozen different hand creams as well.

Another winner: scented candles. Who doesn’t appreciate a nice smelling decorative candle?

As for kids, there is one surefire hit: multi-color ballpoint pens. Yes, this one has been around for decades, but still wins kudos for its creativity and usefulness.

 Here are the best gifts in bulk from our tests and research:

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!