Kicking off December with a gift guide for book lovers <3 If you’ve got bookworms for friends, and you’re at a loss of what to maybe get them as Christmas gift, look no further (; I’ll be linking small businesses throughout this post!
Obvious gift idea #1: A Book! Or books!
Here’s the most obvious gift, and one that your book-loving friend or family member will definitely love: a book! A series of books! An amalgamation of books!!
Hopefully, you listen to your friends and have an idea of what kind of books they like to read, haha! If not, maybe have a little scroll through their socials or Goodreads and see what they’ve mentioned. Next time you’re at their place, scan their bookcase, or look at the current read they’ve taken with them to your coffee date. If they like film or series adaptations, try and nose around if they’ve already own those books. If they have a very favourite book or book series, maybe get them a special collector’s edition of that read. There are so many options!! (;
If you’re really stuck, go to the bookstore and try picking out a book that you really think they would like. Ask an employee for some help in recommending something based off of your friend’s general interests and personality. You never know, you could end up gifting them their next favourite read, and in any case, they’re likely to love that you took time to pick something that reminds you of them.
Obvious gift idea #2: Bookmarks
There are sooo many options for this. You can simply pick one that fits your friend’s personality or their vibe, or you can pick one out that’s themed according to their interests, or even ones that are designed around their favourite books and/or characters.
Please consider supporting small businesses in this particular endeavour as well! Etsy and Instagram are a great place to start, given that there are so many talented, bookish creatives out there who make gorgeous bookmarks and other literary accessories.
Here are a couple of places to start:
https://www.instagram.com/pagepetal/
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=bookmarks
Gift idea #3: Character/Book prints
Again—endless options. You can gift anything from a map of a fictional world, an illustration of a character, a concept print that encapsulates the cover of a book, etc etc etc!
Here are some places and ideas to get bookish-themed prints:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DareToDreamPrints
https://www.etsy.com/shop/crealivity
Gift idea #4: Bookish apparel
T-shirts? Yes. Sweatshirts and hoodies? Yes, please. Jewellery? Give it allll to me. I got my sister a Ketterdam Crow Club sweatshirt for her birthday earlier this year, and she lovvvves it. We, lovers of books, characters, and settings, would absolutely LUV something wearable which nods prettily and heart-warmingly at our favourite novels. There are soooo many fantastic options out there.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignButterflyArt
https://www.esty.com/shop/iprintasty
Gift idea #5: Totes
For your Pinterest bookworm girlies 😉 Give us allll the totes please. Again, there is no shortage of these out there. We love to flaunt and blast our faves in a chic but also very helpful and efficient way.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FancyLifeStudio
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GiftShop038
Gift idea #6: Adaptations
Now, this can be a bit tricky to be sure. So, make sure your friend definitely loves the Pride and Prejudice (2005) before you get it for her—she might very much prefer the 1995 BBC series. I know DVDs aren’t necessarily the mode anymore, but I think they’re a very valuable and sweet gift in 2022. Or, maybe consider gifting a subscription to a streaming website that has multiple favourites of your bookish-adaptation loving friend.
Gift idea #7: A Book-tracking journal (w/cute little stationary to complement!)
I gifted one of my best friends a darling little book journal for Christmas last year, and it was perfectly complete with a way to track and list all of your reads, with pages for your own notes and analysis on the book itself. This gift, I think, nicely promotes mindfulness in reading, and it’s perfect for all of our book-reading friends who don’t post reviews (on bookstagram, a book blog, or even Goodreads), but still like to reflect on what they have just read, so they have a record for the future.
This same friend returned the favour for my birthday a couple weeks ago, and she gifted me a gorgeous Moleskine journal with coloured sticky tabs, pens, and more! :’) I think the addition of these stationary items really completes a gift like this.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/lucysaysido (this is where i got the book journal from!! so many gorgeous options to choose from ;))
https://www.etsy.com/shop/InkandZenPlanners (for aesthetic sticky tabs)
Fin
I hope you enjoyed these seven creative ideas in this gift guide for book lovers!! As a huge book lover myself, I would love to receive any of these gifts, and I’m sure my fellow bookworms can say the same. Have you started your Christmas shopping?? I’m a bit behind on mine, but I’m writing my Christmas cards this week, so that’s a festive win :’)