---
title: How to Create Custom Gift Templates
description: Create custom gift templates in the Corporate Traditions portal with your own graphics, colors, default message, and subject line for birthdays and more.
---
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October 19, 2026
# How to Create Custom Gift Templates
Gift templates let you design the gift email and PDF certificate your recipients see, with different graphics, colors, and messaging for occasions like anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays. This guide walks through building a template and applying it when you place an order.
### Find the gift template section
1. Log in to the Corporate Traditions portal. You will land on the **Dashboard**.
2. Click the **Organization** tab at the top.
The Organization tab has three sections. The first holds your **logo** and **brand color**. The second lists the **users** on your account. The third is **Gift Templates**.
### Start a new template
Click **New** on the right side of the Gift Templates section. The editor opens with your settings on the left and a live preview on the right showing both the **gift email** and the **PDF certificate** version.
The default design pulls in the logo on file and uses your brand color as the accent color. You can use the default as-is on any order, or edit everything on the left to build a new design.
### Customize the design
As you make changes on the left, the preview on the right updates in real time.
- **Template name**: Give the template a name you will recognize when ordering, such as “Birthday 2026 Design.”
- **Graphic**: Upload an image or animated GIF to feature in the email and certificate.
- **Template color**: Set the accent color. Use the **eyedropper** to pull a color directly from your uploaded graphic so the design matches.
- **Default message**: Set a standard message that loads automatically whenever you use this template. Use the **personalization codes** shown in the editor to insert each recipient’s first or last name from your order, so a message like “Happy Birthday, \[first name\]” fills in on its own.
- **Subject line**: Write the subject line for the gift email, for example “Your Birthday Surprise Has Arrived.”
- **Attachments**: Optionally attach files to go out with the email.
When the preview looks right, click **Save**.
### Use the template on an order
1. Start a new order from the **Orders** tab. For example, choose the **Gift Card+** program with **Digital** delivery and click **Create**.
2. Click **Add Recipient**.
3. In the **Gift Template** field, choose your saved template instead of the default.
4. The template’s default message loads automatically. Adjust it if needed, then add the recipient.
In Section 2, each recipient row shows the gift template name, so you can confirm the right design is applied before you submit.
### Tips for gift templates
- Build one template per recurring occasion, such as birthdays, work anniversaries, and year-end holidays, so ordering becomes a quick select.
- Put the year in the template name if you refresh designs annually. It keeps old and new versions easy to tell apart.
- Keep the default message generic and let the personalization codes handle names. You can still override the message on individual gifts when you want something specific.
- Test a new template by sending one gift to yourself before using it on a large order.
### Need help?
If you have questions about building gift templates or applying them to an order, reach out to our team at [clients@corporatetraditions.com](mailto:clients@corporatetraditions.com). We are always happy to help.
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