A grand opening draws people who are curious once. The entire job of what you hand out is to still be in their house next month, with your address on it, when they are deciding where to go. That is a different brief from a trade show, where you are trying to be memorable among competitors.

Put the address on it, not just the logo

This is the single most common mistake. A beautiful logo-only tote tells someone nothing about where you are. Street address, or a landmark, or the phone number. A fridge magnet with your opening hours outperforms almost anything more expensive, because it goes on the fridge and stays there.

The bag advertises to the street

Anyone who buys something on opening day walks out carrying your bag past everyone who did not come in. Reusable totes rank at the top for this event and they earn it — it is the only giveaway that markets to people who were not there.

Order for the whole first quarter

Nothing about a good tote or a decent pen says grand opening. Design them as your standard items and the opening becomes the reason you finally ordered, rather than a box of dated stock you are stuck with in month two. It also gets you into a better price break. Worth reading why 250 units can cost less than 200 before deciding quantities.