The holidays are here and if you’re anything like me, you’ve fallen way behind in getting gifts for everyone. Here’s a handy guide to help ease the last-minute shopping panic with a list of fun small gifts and stocking stuffers for the literary enthusiasts in your life. As an added bonus, these affordable and fun gift ideas are all under $20, so you can give from the heart without breaking the bank!
1. Pun Bookmarks, $5
Wordsmiths rejoice! Nothing’s better than when two great things come together—in this case those two things are reading and puns! For only $5, you get a set of six bookmarks, two of each design that are 2×6 inches in size and are printed on heavy, premium matte paper. With quotes like “Cool Story, Poe,” and “I Kant Even” what English major wouldn’t love these?
Source: Etsy
2. Literary Teas, $12
A good book and a nice up of tea go together like milk and cookies. This time, literature and tea come together in one awesome package with these literary teas by First Edition Tea Co. The literary collection is a sampler pack with five 10g resealable loose leaf teas (enough for two cups of each variety) and features flavors like Alice in Wonderland, which is an almond and marzipan rooibos black tea, The Great Gatsby, a lemon and lavender green tea, Jane Eyre, a currant and spice black tea, and more. All tea is hand blended in small batches in Toronto, Canada from high quality ingredients.
Source: Etsy
3. Little Thinkers Finger Puppets, $6.95
As far as stocking stuffer gifts go, the “little thinkers” series from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild are by far my all time favorite. Every year during the holiday season I make a point to stop by their pop-up shop at the Union Square Market in NYC. Their “Little Thinkers” are plush figurines depicting various icons from throughout literary, art, and pop culture history and run anywhere from $18 – $22, but I prefer the miniature-sized versions that serve as both finger puppets and magnets. My refrigerator is currently covered in a few I’ve collected over the years, including James Joyce, Edgar Allan Poe, and Kurt Vonnegut among others. These are sure to delight the lit nerd in your life!
4. “Great Drinkers” Shot Glasses, $16.95
Who said stocking stuffers only had to be for kids? Give your stocking an adult upgrade with these awesome “Great Drinkers” shot glasses (though you may need a pretty big stocking to fit the entire set). The full set includes six standard sized shot glasses featuring the likeness of and quotes from literary greats including Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Lord Byron, Charles Baudelaire, Dorothy Parker, and Winston Churchill.
5. Book Darts, $9.98
For those who prefer more sleeker, upgraded devices to mark their place while reading, book darts are a perfect gift. These paper-thin, metal line markers attach to the page, so not only will you remember what page you stopped reading, but the exact line too. Ideal for avid (but forgetful) readers like myself!
Source: Amazon
6. Personal Library Kit, $16
The bibliophile in your life will fall in love with this personal home library kit from Knock Knock Stuff, which revives the old-fashioned library techniques complete with a date stamp and return date cards. This is perfect for anyone who loves loaning out books, but finds themselves frequently forgetting who they gave what book to and when.
Source: Knock Knock Stuff
7. Banned Books Socks, $10
Out of Print has a wide array of awesome literary-themed gifts, from t-shirts, to tote bags, to notebooks, and everything in between—but what’s more of a quintessential stocking-stuffer gift than socks themselves? While Out of Print has quite a few fun sock designs, (how cool are the library card socks?) the banned book socks are by far my favorite. What’s even better is that for each purchase, Out of Print sends one book to a community in need. How’s that for the season of giving?
Source: Amazon
8. Literary Tights, $17
Why just stop at just socks when you can also have literary-themed stockings? Ever since I first discovered the TightShop, I’ve been dreaming of owning a pair. I’m hoping someone reading this who knows me will take this as an official hint (hey, it’s not so bad to receive as well as to give!). While most of these clock in at just over the $20 mark, each pair is lovingly handmade with high quality material in a variety of vibrant colors from a married couple in Israel.
Source: TightShop
9. Postcards From Penguin
You should never judge a book by its cover… but you can most certainly take the time to appreciate a gorgeous or classic book cover. Now you can share your favorites with this collection of 100 postcards, each featuring a different and iconic Penguin book jacket.
Source: Penguin Random House
10. Harry Potter Spell Pencils, $8.75
It’s not an official literary Christmas without Harry Potter! Perfect for kids and adults, this set of five black #2 pencils are carefully hand printed in silver foiling with famous Harry Potter spells such as: “Expecto Patronum,” “Wingardium Leviosa,” “Expelliarmus,” “Alohomora” and “Riddikulus.” These pencils are great for both writing as well as drawing.
Source: AdoptAPencil
What’s the best literary-themed gift you’ve ever given or received?
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