Holiday Shopping for Your Bookish Friends

Hey all, Dani here.

So, the holiday season is upon us. Seriously, yesterday I went to Starbucks and had a peppermint mocha. Of course the holidays also mean it is time to do your Christmas shopping. Now if your life is anything like mine then people worry about trying to buy books for you. What if they buy something you already own? What if it’s something you aren’t interesting in reading? For me this means that my mom (and other people) just get me Barnes & Noble gift cards.

Don’t get me wrong. I am completely fine with getting gift cards. It means I can get what I want. Typically what I do is keep track of which books I buy with each gift card and then I’ll take a picture of them and tag the person on Facebook so they can see what their money got me.

But, if you don’t want to get a gift card, how do you choose gifts? Obviously you can always ask the person what they want. Doing that means that they’ll know exactly what you are getting them though.

What I know from my many years as a book lover is that book accessories are extremely helpful and always useful. And with all the creative shops and such open now, there are all kinds of other book related merchandise available. So I’m going to give you just a few options for some great gifts for the book lover in your life.

First up: Bookmarks! You absolutely cannot go wrong with a selection of bookmarks for the reader in your life. Some of us choose a bookmark to match what we’re reading. Some of us just misplace bookmarks constantly. Having a large stock of these is always great. And they come in a lot of varieties as well. There are standard paper/cardstock ones, wooden ones, magnetic ones, and even metal ones.

A quick search on Etsy reveals sooo many bookmark options, so I recommend starting there. Of course one of my favorite places to get bookmarks is Colorworld Books. Their bookmarks are made of metal and they feature comic, video game, and anime characters, so they are perfect for the geek in your life.

My next bookish gift recommendation is: Candles! Yes, that’s right. There are so many people doing book themed candles and it is wonderful. The scents are based on characters or locations or food/drink in books, and they smell wonderful. Again, searching Etsy for bookish candles is a good place to start. I recommend trying In the Wick of Time, Bookish Flame, Meraki Candles, Frostbeard Studios, Novelly Yours, and Geeky Candles Co.

Of course, another bookish gift option is: shirts/apparel. For this one I really only have one store to recommend, but I’m sure an internet search will turn up other options. (I’m sure there are plenty of Etsy shops with this kind of merchandise). Anyway, I have to mention Litographs here. They take the text from books and use it to create fun art designs on shirts, scarves, tote bags, and even posters. It’s really cool.

Going along the same lines as my previous recommendation, you can also get the bookworm in your life pillows or tote bags or a variety of other book inspired accessories. A store I definitely recommend is Evie Seo‘s. She has pillows and tote bags and clothing and stationary and phone cases and more, all with beautiful designs based around quotes from a variety of different popular books.

My fifth bookish accessory item that I would recommend as a gift is: a book light. Chances are the reader in your life likes to read at night or while traveling, and it isn’t always wise or possible for them to have a room light on. There are so many varieties of book lights out there, so finding the right one may take some in-store or online browsing, but trust me when I say that they are helpful. And if you do choose a book light as a gift, might I also recommend including some spare batteries.

The next item on my holiday shopping recommendations list is: bookish mugs. Seriously, I love having an assortment of mugs for drinking hot beverages, and having mugs that are geeky or that showcase books I love is just wonderful. Again, there are a lot of options out there, so be prepared to wade into places like Etsy, but it is so worth it.

To go along with those mugs, I should also recommend bookish beverages. Yes, people have created tea or coffee blends, or hot cocoa flavors, inspired by book characters or settings or food/drink. And the book lover in your life will appreciate having an assortment of hot beverages when they are curling up with a book in the winter months.

Finally, if all of those options sound great but you can’t decide which one to choose, might I recommend a mix of most/all of the above? Subscription boxes make great gifts and have a variety of items in them. Some boxes just have books, while others have an assortment of bookish accessories. Some subscription boxes are specialty one-time boxes, while others are a month-to-month subscription, or even a quarterly release. Many have options for a one month, three month, or even six month subscription, so you could really spoil the reader in your life. Some of my personal favorite boxes are: OwlCrate, Lit-Cube, FairyLoot, Quarterly, LitJoy Crate, and SpearCraft Book Box. But there are many options so I suggest looking for book boxes on CrateJoy.

Well, that wraps up my post for today. Are there any other book related items you would recommend for holiday gifts? Let me know about them in the comments. Also, feel free to share this with fellow readers, as well as your friends and family. Who knows, it might help them find the perfect presents for you and/or other readers in their lives.