Royal Copenhagen Corporate Gifts: Christmas Plates, Crystal Vases, Figurines, Jar Candles, and the Candle Holder Fix
If you are choosing Royal Copenhagen for corporate gifts, here is the short version of what I have learned after five years of placing those orders: the annual Christmas plate is the safest impressive gift, a Royal Copenhagen figurine is right only when you actually know the recipient, a Royal Copenhagen crystal vase belongs at the milestone end of the budget, and a jar candle is the fallback for people who do not want another object to maintain. None of those choices will save you if you order too late, and no candle product will help if you don't know how to make a candle stay in the holder when the fit is loose. I will cover both problems here.
I manage purchasing for a 120-person consultancy: client gifts, retirement presents, annual awards, and table décor for winter events. Since I took over in 2020, I have placed somewhere between 60 and 80 gift orders a year across six or seven vendors. In my experience, the difference between a gift that lands well and a gift that lands in a drawer has less to do with taste and more to do with timing.
Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate: the default, if you order early enough
Royal Copenhagen has made a Christmas plate every year since 1908 (Source: royalcopenhagen.com). The plate is dated, which makes it feel like part of a tradition instead of another piece of merchandise. That is why I keep recommending it for clients and long-service employees: it sends a specific message without forcing the recipient to rearrange their home around it.
The risk is supply, not style. In October 2023, I ordered forty Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates from an online reseller at $78 each. The authorized dealer I normally used had quoted $96. On paper, I was saving $720. By December 1, fifteen plates had arrived; for the rest, any day now stretched into mid-January. I ordered the missing twenty-five plates from the authorized dealer at full price. Total spend was $5,520, about $1,680 more than a single clean order from the authorized dealer would have cost, and we ended up with twenty-five surplus plates that arrived in January and sat in the supply closet for months.
My buying rule is now simple: for the annual Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate, secure your order in Q3, before the corporate Q4 rush, or use a seller who can confirm stock in writing. A discount without a delivery date is not a discount; it is a risk with a fee attached. Why do rush fees exist? Because certainty is expensive to provide, and most of the time certainty is worth it.
In March 2024, we paid about $400 extra for expedited service on a different event order. The alternative was missing a $15,000 reception, so the fee was obviously worth it. Christmas plates are the same story in miniature: pay a little more to a supplier that can actually meet the date.
Royal Copenhagen figurine: only when you know the person
Look, I am not against figurines as corporate gifts. Royal Copenhagen figurines are delicate, collectible, and deeply personal. That is exactly why they are dangerous. If you know the recipient collects them, a figurine is a wonderful choice. If you have only met the person twice, you are guessing about taste, and guessing is expensive at this price point. I keep figurines for retirement gifts and for people whose offices show me what they love. Without that signal, I choose something else.
Royal Copenhagen crystal vase: high impact, fragile in transit
At the upper end of the budget, a Royal Copenhagen crystal vase is my milestone gift: a new office, a significant anniversary, a difficult-to-shop-for executive. It does not ask the recipient to like a specific figurine; it simply looks substantial on a shelf or a conference table.
The word crystal should remind you that it breaks. We now have every vase shipped to our office first, unpacked and inspected before it is sent to the recipient. In 2024, that policy earned its keep: one vase arrived with a crack that we caught before it became a client's problem. The dealer replaced it because we could send photos immediately. Had the box gone straight to the recipient, the damage would have been our fault, not theirs.
Jar candle: the gift for people who do not want more things
A Royal Copenhagen jar candle has become my answer for long client lists where the relationship is warm but not close. The candle gets used up, so it does not demand shelf space forever. It also feels like a deliberate gift without expecting the recipient to display something for the next ten years.
One caution from experience: scents are personal. If the candle is going to a workplace, a shared space, or someone whose preferences you cannot verify, choose an unscented or lightly scented version. A strongly perfumed gift can be a headache for the wrong recipient.
How to make a candle stay in the holder (the fix I use every December)
Royal Copenhagen porcelain candle holders and candle rings are elegant, but they are not always a perfect match for the taper candle you bought. A loose candle wobbles, and a wobbling candle on a dinner table is both ugly and unsafe. The fix is simple:
- Set the holder on a stable, heat-safe surface.
- Light the candle and let two or three drops of melted wax fall into the cup of the holder.
- Blow the candle out while the wax is still liquid.
- Press the candle base into the warm wax.
- Hold it upright for twenty to thirty seconds until the wax hardens.
The cooled wax grips the candle better than any glue I have used, and it cleans off easily when the candle is done. The method works when the candle is slightly narrow for the opening. If the candle is too wide, do not force it; buy one with a smaller base or use a holder with a wider cup.
If wax gets on the outside of the porcelain, let it harden and then lift it off. Warm, soapy water is fine. Avoid scraping, especially on hand-painted surfaces.
One safety boundary I never cross: if the candle still leans after this fix, I remove it rather than wedge it further. Never leave a burning candle unattended, and never let it burn down to the base of a decorative holder. If you want nothing to do with fitting concerns at all, that is the strongest case for choosing a jar candle in the first place.
When I recommend something else
Royal Copenhagen is not the right answer for every name on every list. I have learned to say no when the recipient actively avoids decorative objects, when the deadline is too short to ship safely, or when the only available source cannot document what they are selling. For tight deadlines, call a local authorized dealer and ask what is physically in stock before placing an online order.
I also keep the collectible conversation honest. Some retired plates have appreciated in value and some have not. I advise treating Royal Copenhagen as a meaningful gift, not an investment. If finance asks, we expense it as a gift, not as an asset.
That is my experience at a 120-person company, and a larger program with distributors will have different rules. But the core lessons probably transfer: buy from a source that can commit to a date, pick pieces based on the recipient's real preferences, and remember the thirty-second wax trick for keeping a candle upright. It has saved me more than once, and it can save you too.