by Allana Luta

Christmas day is only a little less than two weeks away and if you’re like me, you’re probably panicking about what to buy for friends and family. (Poetry!)

Buying gifts for our loved ones can be a bit stressful, especially if you want to give something meaningful, practical, and a little out-of-the-box all at the same time. While Santa Claus may have his privacy-invading magic that tells him our wishes for Christmas, and an army of elves to build all the things, we mere mortals have to rack our brains (and strain our wallets) to come up with the one gift to rule them all.

If you’re having trouble finding the best present for your bookworm friends or family members, don’t worry. We are here with some gift ideas for the beloved bibliophiles in your life.

1. Moleskine Passions Book Journal

Moleskine is popular for its varieties of notebooks but the Moleskine Passions Journals are specially tailored to an individual’s passion. The Moleskine Passion Book Journal is perfect for creative readers who also blog about books or, at the very least, like keeping tabs on what they’ve read. If you’re feeling even more generous, there are journals for recipes, wine, wellness, movies and music as well.

2. Bookcouch from Booktique

When we featured Booktique here, there was one product I couldn’t get out of my head: the Bookcouch. I mean, it’s exactly what I need as the kind of person who reads before I sleep, or until I fall asleep, because it can also double as a pillow!

3. Fandom-related anything

Want to give someone the gift of obsessing over Pride and Prejudice but with a modern twist? Here’s Lizzie Bennet’s Diaries for ya.

Do you know of a certain Stark who’s afraid of winter? Get them a hoodie. (The Perfect White Shirt alternative isn’t bad either.)

How about an aspiring novelist with a penchant for mojitos? Inspire them with Papa Hemingway’s talent in both writing and drinking with this Hollow Book Safe & Flask. (Buuut apparently Hemingway’s is sold out. They have other Hollow Book Safes, with and without flasks.) A coaster or shot glasses would be cheaper substitutes.

Having a literary fandom makes it easier for people to look for gifts, from tote bags to accessories to kitchenware. Find out what fandom your Secret Santa is a part of and start from there.

4. Paid Scribd membership

Scribd is an online library of more than 400,000 books and literary works which you can access anywhere on your mobile device. Do I sound like an advert yet? Anyway, my sister currently has a 12-month subscription and has access to all these books we can’t find in our local bookshops. There are so many good books that she’s actually complaining about reading too much (uhm, what?). If you want to give this as a gift, Scribd gives you the option to pay for the first three, six or 12 months subscription for your darling book nerd.

5. Reading lights

Do you know why so many readers wear glasses? Aside from genetics, it’s most likely because we read in the dark all the time! If a book is on “unputdownable” levels, the lack of natural light or the importance of our roommate’s beauty sleep won’t stop us from finishing a story. Booktique has some pretty cool reading lights for you, too.

6. Book-scented candles

I didn’t know these were a thing??? If your friend or family prefers candles over lamps and the possibility of burning the house down, what with all the flammable pages lying around, there are candles that have the old-book smell! Now, I personally find it weird receiving candles as presents because it makes me feel old (read: an actual adult who likes receiving candles), but I wouldn’t mind walking around in that familiar woody, wordy aroma.

7. Bookmarks

An office mate of mine told me she uses a different bookmark for every book she reads. It didn’t matter if it was just an old receipt or a pretty napkin from a random restaurant; she just wanted to have something to remember each book by. At first I thought, “How wasteful!” But as I mulled it over, I realized I liked the idea. Because as a book lover, you can never really own enough bookmarks.

If you think a regular bookmark too boring, head on over to Etsy to find the quirky bookmarks that match your taste.

8. A music playlist inspired by their favorite book

Now this is probably one of the cheapest but more personal and time-consuming gifts on this list. Not only should you know what your buddy’s favorite book is (or are), but you should also have read it yourself or else you wouldn’t be able to make a proper playlist for it.

Next, you scour through your music library for the most appropriate songs and then arrange them according to how you see fit. It’ll take some introspecting and a kind of personal literary analysis but if you get it right, the feeling of having made the perfect mix is more than worth it. Just make sure you’re giving this to someone who is open to all kinds of music so that your efforts won’t go to waste, okay.

9. Signed copies of books by their favorite author

This is a tough one and should have been prepared at any other time in the year when you had the opportunity to meet said author. However, if your loved ones happen to love Bianca Gonzalez, we are giving away a signed copy of Paano Ba ‘To?! How to Survive Growing Up. Hurry up and join!

10. Books

The thing about buying gifts for bookworms is that you know there’s at least one present they won’t be disappointed to receive: books! ☁