A farewell is the one occasion where the format is the easy decision and the collection is the whole job.
Twenty people, a fixed leaving date, and everything you need scattered across twenty camera rolls belonging to people who will not reply promptly.
The format follows from how many voices
| Contributors | Format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One or two | 8–16pp magazine | A single point of view, told properly |
| A team of 5–10 | 16–24pp, one spread per person | Everyone visible, nobody counted |
| 20+ | A card deck, one card each | Structurally equal, no running order to argue about |
| A whole batch or year group | 24–40pp, organised by time | Chronology decides, not seniority |
A card deck is under-used for large farewells and unusually well suited: one card per person means nobody is on page two, which is the political problem a book creates. Photo card deck against a photo book →
The written line is the gift
Everyone has photographs. What nobody has is twenty people each writing one specific sentence, and that is what people actually reread years later.
Ask for one line and one photograph per person. Not “send me your memories” — a specific small ask gets answered, an open one produces four replies and silence. How to collect messages for a group gift →
The deadline nobody enforces
A farewell has a real date, and somebody will still be “about to send theirs” the day after the party.
Set a collection deadline a week before you order, say it twice, and print without the stragglers. A book that exists beats a complete one that does not, and the person leaving will never know who was missing.
Then add 5 to 14 days from order to doorstep, 5 to 12 to Delhi NCR, on top of that. In practice, start collecting three weeks out.
What to include that people forget
The ordinary desk, the ordinary room. Nobody photographs the office or the hostel corridor on purpose, and it is what the person will most want in two years.
The person who took all the photographs. In every group there is one, and they are in none of it. Ask around specifically for pictures of them.
Something unflattering. A farewell book of only good photographs reads as a leaving card. The bad haircut is the bit that gets pointed at.
When it is a manager or a teacher leaving
The register changes. A group gift for someone senior wants to be warm without being familiar, and the safest structure is one line per person, kept short, rather than in-jokes that only half the room shares. Farewell gifts for a manager →
Frequently asked
What is the best group farewell gift? For a large group, a card deck with one card per person. For a small team, a magazine with a spread each.
How do I collect from twenty people? Ask each for one photograph and one line, set a deadline, and print without whoever misses it.
How far ahead should I start? Three weeks. A week of collecting, then 5 to 14 days from order to doorstep.
What should I ask people to write? One specific sentence, not a paragraph. A place, a joke, something that happened. Specific beats heartfelt.
What gets forgotten? The ordinary office or room, and the person who took all the photographs and appears in none of them.
Part of our guide to which photo gift suits which occasion. See also: best format for a reunion and farewell gifts for college seniors.
For a farewell: Farewell gifts · Photo card decks