Giving gifts is fun but can also become a chore if we’re not careful. Watch your budget: not just money but also time and energy. Your own needs are real. Honor them, too! To help with that whole pesky balance thing, here are a few ideas gift ideas for your story-loving friends as we move into the winter holiday months. (I get no compensation for suggesting these items; they just looked cool to me. I do not own them, so can’t attest to their value or the website’s honesty. All the links were functional at the time I wrote this blog in October 2023.)
Gifts of Time
Theater. One of my favorite things to give kids is an outing to a holiday play. A small, relaxed venue like a community theater or college troupe might be better for your very young kids than an excursion to the latest spectacle at the big theater downtown. (Although that can be fun, too!)
Travel. Get out and about. A tiny trip? A day away? A meal? A walk? Sometimes time together with your life partner or best friends is a great gift. If you have a writing or other creative support group, consider organizing a write-in day or retreat weekend as a present for everyone.
Gifts for the Brain
Learning. What better time to review (or learn for the first time) logical fallacies? Enjoy these Critical Thinking flashcards. At this price, you could pair them with the Creative Thinking brainstorming tools, as well.
Subscription. Subscription boxes are a great gift in general, and this snail mail story, The Norah Aven Chronicles ticks a lot of boxes for me: interesting mail, story, and cool ephemera! From The Flower Letters. Other stories available as well.
Organization. This RPG calendar seems just the thing to engage with real life, but not too much. From Quest Calendars.
Games. There are lots of great games for holiday gifts, but I’m going to point out The Sticker Game! (Reviewed here) Although a solo game, you can totally enjoy this activity as a “parallel play” group. And what a good excuse to give cool stickers as stocking stuffer!
Stylish Gifts
Wearable stuff. “Bold bandanas inspired by books.” Check out these gorgeous textiles from Heading. Nothing is more practical and versatile than a cotton bandana.
Creepy stuff. While Fragrant Jewels has a lot to choose from among candles, bath products, and jewelry, this Tell-Tale Heart bath bomb really caught my eye. Perfect for a little candlelight Poe reading in the tub!
Useful stuff. This key/fob case is practical and cute as can be. One of those things I didn’t know I needed until I saw it.
Shiny stuff. Perhaps this is a gross overgeneralization, but a lot of book lovers also love cats. And cat lovers certainly love books. I don’t know what cats love. But please everyone with these Cat Bookshelf Earring or necklace. So fun!
If you want more ideas, check out my suggestions from the past: 2022, 2021, and 2019.
And Now a Word from Our Sponsor
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And, of course, I’m selling books. My novel, The Big Cinch from Montag Press won a best urban fantasy novel award at the Imaginarium Convention in 2022! More supernatural noir stories: The Resurrectionist and Water of Life, available at Amazon.com. Order my novella, Wolfhearted, or from Barnes and Noble if you prefer, here. It is also available as an audiobook, here.
St. Louis Writers Guild’s Love Letters to St. Louis, is anadorable letter-shaped volume of short stories, poems, essays, and illustrations included my first science fiction story, “Welcome to Earthport Prime: A Self-Guided Tour.” A perfect gift and profits benefit the guild’s young writers’ program.
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