Personalised Retirement Gifts

The short answer: what makes a good personalised retirement gift

A good personalised retirement gift points to a place tied to the person's career or to what comes next, rather than being an engraved object that sits in a drawer. A Retirement Map can centre on the workplace, a significant building or a future destination, with a short line beneath the map. It is a practical choice for a retirement gift from colleagues because the location can be meaningful without requiring you to know every detail of the person's private life.

What you can personalise

A map print is centred on a location that you choose yourself in the online designer before ordering. You can also add a short line of text beneath the map and, optionally, a date.

Text beneath a map works best at roughly two to six words. Longer lines have to be set smaller to fit the width of the print, which makes them harder to read from across a room. The location and short message are therefore the key decisions; a card can carry longer thanks from everyone involved.

Choosing the location: the workplace, the career, or where they're going next

Choose the workplace when the person spent many years at one site or building. It is the safest route when colleagues know the retiree mainly through work, because the place is directly connected to the career and does not assume anything about their personal plans. A long-serving office, school, hospital or other workplace can all be considered as the central location, provided you know the address to enter.

Choose the career when the person moved between offices, branches or postings. A Career Journey Map is intended for a set of places spanning the career, making it a better fit than selecting one site when several locations genuinely mattered. It gives a team a way to recognise the whole working journey rather than guessing which workplace should represent it.

Choose what comes next when the retiree has a planned move, a second home or a place where they will finally have time to be. A Destination Map can suit a place they are looking forward to visiting or spending time in, while a New Home Map is the more natural choice for a confirmed move. If the destination has not been announced publicly, check it quietly with someone close to them before printing it.

When the gift is from a team

For a retirement gift from a team, one person usually orders on behalf of everyone else. If you know the person professionally but not personally, a workplace or career route is safer than guessing at a home address, holiday destination or future plans. The gift is likely to be handed over in front of a room of people, so choose a location that can be explained clearly when it is presented.

Keep the line beneath the map short and easy to read aloud. Useful options include Enjoy Your Retirement, Thank You for Everything, The Next Chapter and With Thanks From the Team. Names of a whole team do not fit well beneath a map; use a card for the full list of contributors and a longer message.

If an interest is genuinely the person's defining thing, a venue-based design may be appropriate. The catalogue includes 134 football grounds, 34 golf courses, 43 cricket grounds and 27 Grand Prix circuits. These are locations held in the catalogue, not evidence of any official connection with the venue, club, course or circuit. Employer logos and branding are not reproduced.

Which design suits which recipient

The Retirement Map suits a single workplace, a significant career location or a clearly chosen place for retirement. It is the straightforward option when one location tells the story best.

Choose the Career Journey Map when the person's working life is defined by several offices, sites or postings. It is also the safer choice when a team cannot agree on one workplace because more than one genuinely matters.

A Custom City Map can suit a particular town or city that is central to the person's story. For a planned move or future base, consider the Destination Map or New Home Map. Where more than one place needs to appear on a single print, Where We've Lived and Our Family both show multiple locations.

For more options, the corporate map prints collection brings together designs suited to work-related milestones.

What to write underneath

Use the text to name the occasion or express the team's thanks, rather than trying to summarise an entire career. Two to six words is a useful guide because the line remains readable when the print is viewed from across a room.

• Enjoy Your Retirement
• Thank You for Everything
• The Next Chapter
• With Thanks From the Team
• Best Wishes for Retirement

Add a date if it helps mark the retirement, such as the date of the presentation or the retirement itself. Put individual names, a detailed career message and the full contribution list in a card rather than making the map line too long.

How ordering works

1. Choose the design that matches the recipient and the story you want the print to tell.
2. Enter the chosen location in the online designer and centre the map on it.
3. Add the short line of text and, if wanted, a date beneath the map.
4. Review the location and wording, then place the order.

Prints are made to order. If you are deciding between a framed or unframed as a gift, the framing guide explains the choice, and the guide to UK frame sizes can help if you are checking how it will fit your presentation or display plans.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good personalised retirement gift?

A personalised map print is a good retirement gift when it centres on a workplace, a set of career locations or a destination linked to the retiree's next chapter. A short message and optional date make it specific without turning it into a plaque.

What location should go on a retirement print?

Use the workplace for one long-serving site, a Career Journey Map for several offices or postings, or a destination or new home for a confirmed next step. When buying for a colleague, the workplace or career is usually the safer choice unless the future destination has been checked.

Can a retirement print show more than one place?

Yes. Where We've Lived and Our Family both show multiple locations on one print, and the Career Journey Map is suited to a set of places spanning a career.

What do you write on a retirement gift from a team?

Keep the line beneath the map to roughly two to six words, such as Enjoy Your Retirement or With Thanks From the Team. Put the full team names and a longer personal message in a card.