From the practical to the entertaining, Gabriella Aldeman offers 15 gift ideas for the writer in your life.
If you have someone in your life who is passionate about language, writes, edits, or does translations, you likely know that word people love their careers, need to read and write to feel balanced, and spend a lot of time trying to get comfy.
(The Best Books We Received as Gifts: From the Editors of Writer's Digest)
Whether you want to celebrate their passion for the written word or give them a special gift to motivate and inspire them, here are 15 things for all who love to write (and read) in three categories: unique gifts for language lovers, productivity gadgets, and offerings of wellness and comfort.
5 Unique Gifts for Writers and Language Lovers or pencils
1. Inspirational or grammar pencils
Writing tools are essential for taking notes and drafting outlines. Give your favorite author a lift with inspirational pencils inscribed with phrases such as: “Follow your dreams” and “Embrace your wanderlust.” Editors and other grammar police may prefer pencils with friendly reminders: “Alot is not a word” and “I before E, except after C.”
2. Aqua Notes
Most writers agree: The best ideas come when you are in the shower. Save your writer friends from leaping out mid-shampoo to grab pen and paper with these 100% waterproof notepads. These notepads are life savers! They suction to the shower wall so authors can write down their next brilliant idea for a thriller or blog post before it goes down the drain.
3. Stet! Game
A game for language and grammar lovers. Each sentence will challenge players to spot the error and call out “STET!” (a copyeditor’s term that means “let it stand”). The first player to correctly spot the error gets the card. The person (or team) with the most cards wins. Stet! is a challenging game for word people to play with colleagues, friends, or on their own.
4. Enamel pins for writers, journalists, and translators
Not all writers work in isolation. A lot of writers work as freelancers and need to market their services. Fun enamel or lapel pins from a professional organization, like the American Translators Association, are great conversation starters! They will help the writer in your life stand out from the crowd and get noticed by potential customers or collaborators.
5. Writers Playing Cards or Language Playing Cards
The traditional deck of playing cards is transformed to feature 52 literary figures, including Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Vladimir Nabokov. Alternatively, opt for the gift of language with Lingo Playing Cards, a traditional deck of cards that feature useful phrases to practice your language of choice as you play poker, rummy, or even go fish with the kids!
5 Gifts that Spark Productivity
A true writer spills their heart and soul onto the page. They must follow their muse’s song … which is so often interrupted by the garbage truck, construction workers, babies crying in coffee shops, and life in general. Noise-canceling headphones are a must-have, and extra pairs never harmed anyone.
2. A self-heating mug that also charges your phone
A writer’s desk is prime real estate. Besides a personal computer and notepad, every writing desk needs a caffeinated mug (preferably warm) and a cell phone (preferably charged). With the Ohom Ui Mug, the writer in your life will enjoy warm coffee all morning long and a wireless charger when their phone batteries are running low.
Writers have special relationships with notebooks. They hold big ideas, little reminders, and the promise of something new at the turn of a page. Personalize these notebooks with your writer’s name, a motivational phrase, or a special date that needs to be immortalized.
Writing down thoughts and ideas help writers get organized. This magnetic notebook takes it a step further. The pages are bound to a magnetic spine, so they can be pulled out and put back together—in any order! Or mix and match striped pages with blank ones to include sketches and illustrations.
Sometimes writers can get in the zone. Most of the time, it’s a struggle. This little cube is a timer that helps boost productivity by breaking down work into manageable (Twitter-free) time chunks. Writers can set the timer to write for 25 minutes without distraction, take a five-minute break, and start again.
5 Gifts for Wellness and Comfort
1. A literary candle and matches that spark creativity
The ultimate comfort bundle with a fun twist! Writers will love lighting up the candle and easing into work, or cuddling up with a good book and its matching scent at the end of the day.
2. Writers’ gloves or a pair of warm slippers
Whether your writer is typing away in a drafty coffee shop or a cold cubicle, fingerless gloves are a great way to keep their hands warm all year long. To complement, add a pair of warm slippers and a hot beverage and you may just become your writer’s favorite person.
3. Massager for neck and lower back pain
Sitting all day hacking away at a computer can take a toll on the body, especially the neck and lower back. Give the gift of a massage! Get a gift card from their favorite local massage place or give them their own massager to ease their discomforts from home.
Treats are a classic gift that are always well-received. If your writer is a tea aficionado, these Novelteas are sure to warm their heart. Blends include War & Peach, Anne of Green Tea Gables, and Don QuixoTea-Man of La ManChai.
Water is life! Revive your writer’s overly caffeinated body with this eco-conscious water bottle that encourages you to drink water during the workday. Soon, they will be sipping their way through two bottles of water a day and feeling more awake and productive.
Gifts outside of the box
Still looking for ideas? Give the writer in your life the gift of time. Purchase a gift certificate to a writer’s retreat or a little cabin by a lake where they can disconnect from everyday life and work at leisure. Strapped for cash? Offer to clean their house or babysit for a morning or afternoon. Or give them support: donate to their favorite local bookstore, organization, or charity. If they are just starting out, ask them if you can help them pay for a conference, certificate, or writing class. No matter how hard you think it is to buy for a wordsmith or bibliophile, time, support, and professional development will always be valued and cherished gifts.
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