Buying a book-lover a gift can be a challenge. Do you buy them a book that you think they’d like? Do you buy them some bookish merch? Or do you buy them something they would enjoy while reading? There are so many options.

Gift-giving is one of the best things about Christmas time. Seeing someone’s face light up when you hand them a gift that you put so much thought and effort into is always such a magical feeling.

So, in the spirit of gift-giving, I decided to create a list of gift ideas for any book lover in your life. Or maybe this is just a list of things that you wish to treat yourself to. Either way, let’s get listing some gift ideas!

Any book lover would be so thankful to receive a book as a gift. But what if you feel like getting the book lover in your life something slightly different..?

So, here’re some gift ideas for the book lover in your life…

Bookmarks

Okay, so we are starting off with a simple one. If you know a book lover, you will probably know that they can never have enough bookmarks. That’s why bookmarks are a perfect gift! They are reasonably priced and you can find bookmarks to suit any kind of reader. Etsy has some lovely bookmarks but you can find them in most book shops or you could even make your own.

Blankets

There’s nothing a book-lover enjoys more than curling up under a blanket with a good book. Since we aren’t talking about books to give as gifts, blankets are the next best option for this situation. In my opinion, you can never have enough blankets. One of the greatest parts of gifting someone a blanket is that they don’t just have to use it when they are reading. It’s a practical gift too. If they are feeling chilly one evening then they can grab the blanket you gave them and snuggle up with a hot drink. A blanket is basically the gift of warmth and cosiness, so you can never go wrong there.

Candles

Candles make the perfect gift if you know what scents the giftee would enjoy. But why not take it one step further? That’s where literacy candles come in. You can find so much general bookish themed candles available from small businesses or you could even go one step further again and look for a candle that’s based on a particular book. I’ve not done a huge amount of searching for these but I did see that Etsy has some beautiful Anne of Green Gables candles.

Snacks or baked goods

I’m going to make a pretty broad statement and say that everyone enjoys snacks and baked goods. That is one of the reasons that they make such good gifts. If you are planning on giving a book-lover something edible this year, you could give them some of their favourite snacks, or even go further and make some bookish foods. There are so many ways that you could approach this. You could bake some book-shaped cookies or cake, cook some food that is a prominent part of their favourite book or even grab some snacks based on the personality of their favourite character. No matter how you choose to approach it, I don’t think anyone would be mad at receiving some yummy treats.

Mugs

Who doesn’t like receiving mugs?! I’ve even seen people who don’t actually drink hot drinks enjoying a mug. Whether you drink from them, store pens in them, use them as decoration or keep them in the cupboard to collect dust, there’s guaranteed to be the perfect mug out there for the book-lover in your life. If you’re anything like me, the idea of sitting down with a good book and mug of tea just sounds heavenly.

Personal Library Kit

This might not be the perfect gift for all book-lovers but it might be something that some people will enjoy. If you have a friend who is constantly lending out their books and encouraging everyone to read them, then this gift would be perfect for them. A personal library kit allows the giftee to lend out their books without the worry of trying to remember who has what book and whether or not they have been returned.

Tote Bags

A book-lover is likely to own at least one physical book. In fact, some book-lovers will own hundreds of books. So what better gift is there for a book-lover than a way for your giftee to carry around their books. A tote bag is perfect for anyone who likes to take their books out with them in case they find a little moment to read, or for someone who is forever buying new books even though they probably have many unread books at home. Everyone needs something to carry their books around in. You could even find a literacy themed tote bag.

Book Sleeves

If you’re in the bookish community and haven’t heard of book sleeves yet then where have you been? Book sleeves are a newer trend in the bookish world. I’m adding them to this list under tote bags because they effectively have the same job, which is to carry your books around. The only difference is that a book sleeve is just big enough for one book rather than a tote bag being able to store lots of different items. If you need a gift for a book-lover who take lots of things out and about with them then a book sleeve may be preferable over a tote bag as they can throw it in their daily bag and be on their way. Besides, there’s no better gift for a book-lover than one that tells them you care about keeping their books safe.

Bookish Subscription Box

This one might be cheating a little as it could possibly include a book. However, I’m going to include it anyway because it’s not a direct book gift. There’re so many great book subscription boxes out there that you’ll be sure to find one that’s perfect for your giftee. My personal favourite book subscription box is Fairy Loot, but I’ve also heard great things about Book of the Month for any readers that are based in the US. Unfortunately Book of the Month isn’t available in any other countries yet so I haven’t been able to check it out for myself. But anyway, one of my favourite thing about bookish subscription boxes is that they often come with little book-themed goodies. There’s often candles, bookmarks, figures, enamel pins and so much more that any book lover is sure to enjoy.

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Now that you’ve read all my bookish gift ideas that aren’t books, I would love to hear what gift ideas you have for your bookish friends. Do you buy them books or bookish items? Or do you skip the book aspect altogether and get them something completely different?

No matter what you gift your loved ones this gift-giving season, I hope it’s a magical day!