New Year’s Eve is the perfect night to give out a collectable match. A matchbook with 2027 on the cover is the least expensive keepsake you will ever hand out. Matches go home with your guest and get saved to share memories with friends from the coffee table to instagram.
Why dated matches are special
Matches are a great keepsake, but a dated match makes it collectable, a limited edition. Putting the year on the match makes it a small record of the night and the memories. People have collected matchbooks for a century, in a bowl by the door or a jar on a shelf. Your match can become part of that collection.
Use the inside of the book
On full-color books the inside cover is printable space, and most venues leave them blank. The inside is perfect for the secret message behind the matches. One line, a “Cheers to 2027” or your bar’s own toast, makes the book feel written for the night. Patrons in your city will be wishing they had stopped by.
The 30-strike matchbook is 2 inches wide, gives you the most room to work with and reads as more generous in the hand, which suits a night that is already a little more generous than usual.
What you can order, and when you have to decide
Your options narrow as December gets closer, so the date you decide matters as much as the design.
Decide in October and most of our match menu is open. Stock Foil matchbooks run 6 to 8 weeks, so a gold or silver foil on a black or red matchbook should start before mid-October for a New Year’s Eve delivery. The premium matchbooks with printed matchsticks take about 6 weeks with a 1,000-book minimum, which means even the sticks can have a special message.
Decide in November and you are limited to full-color quick-ship matches. The 20-strike and 30-strike quick-ship matchbooks, along with the 2-inch eurobox, print in under 12 business days after proof approval, full CMYK inside and out, starting at a minimum of 200. Make sure you order by early December for New Year’s Eve.
Decide in December and we still have 1 option that works. The Get-it-Fast Top-side Euro Matchbox ships in under 5 business days after proof approval. December 15 is about the last day to order before everyone starts to shut down for the holidays.
Order New Year’s and your January reorder together
Many venues run two orders in Q4. A small dated run for New Year’s and their regular reorder for January. How much to order depends on your volume. A busy bar with a bowl by the register can move a few thousand books in a season, while a shop offering them at checkout might make the same quantity last far longer.
Keep the design simple
A New Year’s book should still look like you. The ones that work change one thing: a color, the year, a small icon. Deep black with gold, a bottle-green cover, red with white type. Quickship and rush matches are CMYK only, but there are so many options for amazing design. If you want foil hotstamping, you have to order now!
How to get started
Order online or send your logo at the largest size you have to hello@promotionalmatches.com. Tell us what you are picturing and the day you need them in hand. Our in-house team can help with layout for a $35 design fee. Every order comes with a free digital proof, and nothing goes to print without your approval. If New Year’s Eve is on your list, this is the month to get started.
