Work conference - best swag you've received?

A nice notepad cover and pen. It was nice and I used it for a while snd think it’s still floating around. Lunchbox tote got used for snacks for years even after I quit. Canvas bags if they have long handles. I like to put over my shoulders. These are especially good at a convention where you may pickup a lot materials.


Consumables are also good snacks and such.

I can always use sticky notes and highlighters. Consumables are great as I usually forget to bring a snack with me into the conference room. The small packs of Kleenex, nail files and chapsticks are handy to stash in my purse. A Tile finder would be really awesome. So would a mini tech bag that is made to organize chargers, cords and other small tech needs. Oh, another item I received was a ceramic coffee cup that looked like a to go cup. It was white, no logos and the lid was dishwasher safe silicone that looks like the plastic lids often used on to go cups.

Most things in the bags I've received seem such a waste of money, but 'branding' is so important to some that it would be good to have something useful! I love the idea of the jar opener and now I need to go look for the smaller ones for water bottles, etc.

The best thing I received was a stress ball that looked like a globe - it still sits on my desk at work today.

Depending on where the conference is, a small hand sanitizer and mask might also be appropriate.

Most of the 'swag' we get comes from Farm Shows and seed dealers.

My husband passes most of it by, as we don't need anything else for our junk drawer! LOL He does get USB drives (we use those SO much for data transfers with our GPS units), good pens, insulated lunch bags, mini coolers, and insulated grocery bags. One of my favorite things was a computer mouse that had a floating tractor in it! LOL Insulated/stainless steel cups are nice, but lord, my cabinet is FULL. I am usually pedaling these off to anyone that stops at my house.. ."Need a cup?" Take as many as you want...

Seed Dealer swag is usually sweatshirts and coats. Pioneer always used to have nice little paring knives and my most favorite insulated coffee pitcher is from Pioneer. It rides with me all harvest as my mobile coffee shop.

Um, I think I might have got a pen and a lanyard once. Swag. Huh. I'm in the wrong job.

Wow this is a great idea - I might have to buy one for my husband so he stops using the very bright light on his iphone!

The only bags I'd want are either the self-storing thin nylon tote style (not string backpack) or a really nice nylon/canvas large tote - something substantial enough to tote a laptop and few essentials to work every day. For mugs/cups/water bottles, only those that are insulated metal - ideally w/ a reusable straw, too - would make the trip home. Otherwise, consumables, phone chargers (either battery pack or wall w/ various adaptor cords), USB drives would be my top pick. I'd only bring home pens that are something special - include a highlighter, nonstandard ink color, flashlight, etc. Local consumables are a big hit.

people love that bean bag phone rest (also screen cleaner) at my work, too.

And I agree about the lantern. That’s a good swag item

I got something similar to this. It is great to keep in my makeup bag for traveling. And those little scissors have come in handy.

Best thing I ever got that I adored (and still kind hoard) is a simple pad of paper, but landscape style instead of portrait. All my coworkers loved it!

I also got an ember mug one year (that you can plug in and it keeps the cup hot. Initially I thought it was dumb. But now I love it!

Definitely a Yeti tumbler.

I think the best swag overall comes from trade shows for craft retailers. I received so much cool stuff at craft trade shows! I’ve also gotten tons of great swag from CookieCon.

Good quality mini flashlight. Still keep one in my purse and one in my nightstand in case the power goes out!

The last conference I went to there was 2 really unique booths.  One was a law office and they had a "do it yourself candy bar".  They had old school candy and regular candies (think candy necklace, Pez, Smarties, Kisses, gummy bears, etc.) You got one mason jar and could fill it up.  That was fun until I saw the assistants that were there and had to continuously fill the candy supply - lots of work - I felt sorry for them.

The 2nd one - well, I don't even remember what the company did but they had cute little plastic spice containers.  they had 4 sections set up to build your own seasoning.  One was BBQ, one was taco/mexican, one was lemon/garlic/pepper (for fish) and the last one was italian.  I left with the cutest little spice bottles and mixes.  Very unique and fun.