The holiday gift list has changed. Etsy's Fall and Winter 2026 trend report calls it "Family Reimagined": personalized gifts for friends are up 1,400%, searches for pet gifts have doubled and sales of Friendsmas party supplies are up 37%. For print shops, that means the most valuable customers this season are buying for their friend group and their pets, not only for relatives. This guide covers which wholesale sublimation blanks fit Friendsgiving, Friendsmas and pet gifts, case prices from Photo USA and a simple calendar from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
Short answer: Shoppers now treat close friends and pets as family. Etsy reports personalized friend gifts up 1,400%, pet gifting searches doubled and pet ornaments up 22% compared with last year.
The figures come from the Etsy Seller Trend Report for Fall and Winter 2026, which compares searches and sales from mid-June to mid-September 2026 with the same period in 2025. The pattern is clear. People are hosting Friendsgiving in November and a Friendsmas party in December, and they want a small personalized gift for every person at the table. Pet owners want their dog or cat in the holiday photo, on the tree and on the gift list.
This is good news for anyone selling personalized blanks. Friend gifts are usually bought in groups of four to ten, so a single order covers a whole friend group. Pet gifts carry a photo and a name, which is exactly what sublimation does best.
Short answer: Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026, and most Friendsgiving dinners happen the weekend before or after. Friendsmas parties run through early and mid December, ahead of Christmas on Friday, December 25.
| When | What customers are buying | What to promote |
|---|---|---|
| Late October to early November | Friendsgiving hosts planning the table | Name coasters, frosted wine glasses, host gift cutting boards |
| Weekend of November 21 to 22 and November 28 to 29 | Friendsgiving dinners | Place card coasters, "Thankful for my people" mugs |
| Thanksgiving week and Black Friday, November 23 to 27 | Early Christmas shopping and gift sets | Friend group shot glass sets, pet bowl and ornament bundles |
| December 1 to 14 | Friendsmas parties and gift exchanges | Shot glasses, inside joke mugs, pet photo ornaments |
| December 15 to 25 | Last minute and local pickup orders | Ornaments and mugs pressed same day |
Plan your production backward from these dates. Customers who order matching gifts for a group want everything at once, so stock the blanks by early November and set a clear order cutoff for shipped orders before Christmas.
Short answer: Shot glasses, mugs and coasters are the easiest friend gifts to sell as a matching set. Each one carries a name, a group photo or an inside joke, and customers usually buy one for every friend.
Ceramic shot glasses with a colored interior are a natural Friendsmas set: print each friend's name, a group nickname or the year, and sell them in fours or sixes. The 15 oz two-tone latte mug gives a softer, giftable look for friends who would rather have coffee. Round sandstone coasters work as a low price add-on, or as a set of four with a different friend on each one. For more on choosing glass sizes, see our shot glass, pint glass and beer stein size guide.
Ideas that work well for friend groups:
Short answer: Pet gifting searches have doubled and pet ornaments are up 22% on Etsy. Personalized ceramic dog and cat bowls and oval photo ornaments let you sell to the same pet owner twice: once for the pet and once for the tree.
A ceramic dog bowl or cat bowl with the pet's name and photo is a gift people buy for their own pet and for friends who just adopted one. The 3 inch oval ornament is the best shape for a pet portrait, because it fits the head and ears of most dogs and cats without cropping. Offer the bowl and the ornament together as a holiday pet bundle, and add a memorial version of the ornament for pets that have passed. Our guide to photo ornament ideas that sell has more pet ornament designs.
Short answer: Friendsgiving hosts buy place settings and a thank you gift. Frosted stemless wine glasses and square coasters work as named place cards, and a wine bottle cutting board is a strong host gift.
Sell the table as a package: one frosted wine glass and one square coaster per guest, each printed with the guest's name, plus a cutting board for the host. Guests take the glass and coaster home, so the table setting doubles as the party favor. The same pieces carry straight on to Friendsmas in December with a new design. If you are also selling to businesses this season, our guide to bulk Christmas gifts for employees covers larger orders.
Planning a Friendsmas or pet gift line? Photo USA sells by the case with a one case minimum and no minimum number of cases, and most orders ship within 24 hours from Fremont, CA and Shepherdsville, KY. We also offer a wholesale imprint service if you would rather receive finished pieces. Email hello@photomugs.com or contact us with the items and quantities you need.
Short answer: At Photo USA, the dog bowl is $88.08 for a case of 12, sandstone coasters are $139 for a case of 100 and colored interior shot glasses are $177.40 for a case of 120.
| Blank | Case price | Pieces per case | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 oz ceramic shot glass, colored interior (red, pink, yellow) | $177.40 | 120 | Friend group sets |
| 15 oz two-tone latte new bone china mug | $113.28 to $114.28 | 36 | Friend gifts, gift exchanges |
| Sandstone coaster, round or square | $139.00 | 100 | Add-ons and place cards |
| Ceramic dog bowl, 3 x 7.25 in. | $88.08 | 12 | Pet gifts |
| Ceramic cat bowl, 6 in. | $133.92 | 24 | Pet gifts |
| 3 in. oval ceramic ornament | $141.00 | 100 | Pet photo ornaments |
| 390 ml frosted stemless wine glass | $321.84 | 48 | Friendsgiving place settings |
| Wine bottle cutting board | $210.92 | 48 | Host gifts |
Short answer: We recommend 365 to 390°F (185 to 200°C) for 120 to 180 seconds in a mug press for mugs and wine glasses, 400°F for 150 to 360 seconds in a flat press for ceramic ornaments, and 365 to 390°F for about 1,020 seconds for shot glasses and pet bowls. These are recommended settings only.
Shot glasses are pressed with a shot glass heater, and ceramic pet bowls go in a preheated sublimation oven with a bowl wrap. Because both take longer than a mug, batch them early in the day. Temperature and time work against each other, and every machine runs differently, so test one piece of each blank before a big order. The full list is in our sublimation time and temperature chart.
Short answer: Sell sets, not single pieces, and use the words shoppers are searching for: Friendsgiving, Friendsmas, best friend gift, dog mom and pet ornament.
Friendsmas is a Christmas party or gift exchange with friends rather than family, usually held in early or mid December. Etsy reports that Friendsmas party supply sales are up 37% this year, and personalized friend gifts are up 1,400%.
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. Most Friendsgiving dinners are held the weekend before, November 21 and 22, or the weekend after, November 28 and 29.
Shot glasses, mugs and coasters. They are easy to sell as matching sets, each piece can carry a different name, and they work for both Friendsgiving and Friendsmas with a change of design.
Ceramic dog bowls and cat bowls with the pet's name and photo, and 3 inch oval ceramic ornaments for pet portraits. Selling the bowl and ornament together as a bundle is a simple way to raise the order value.
The 3 inch oval ornament. Its tall shape fits the head and ears of most dogs and cats, so the photo needs less cropping than on a circle or a star.
We recommend about 365 to 390°F for around 1,020 seconds in a preheated sublimation oven with a bowl wrap. These are recommended settings only, so press one test bowl first and adjust for your oven.
At Photo USA, the ceramic dog bowl is $88.08 for a case of 12 and the 6 inch ceramic cat bowl is $133.92 for a case of 24. There is a one case minimum and no minimum number of cases.
Frosted stemless wine glasses and square coasters printed with each guest's name work as place cards and party favors, and a wine bottle cutting board makes a good host gift.
One last note: the press settings in this guide are recommended starting points only. Temperature and time work against each other, so a higher temperature needs less time and a lower one needs more, and every heat press and oven runs a little differently. Press one test piece and adjust for your own machine.
