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Last minute Christmas gifts for the writer in your life

On December 16, 2020 by Lauren Elkins

Christmas gift lists are fun to peruse and they’re fun to write. So here’s my third version of great holiday gifts for the writer in your life, whether that’s you, a loved one, or a secret crush.

For reference, you can also hop back to my lists from years past: More gifts, and the original gifts.

So here we go. These year’s list has 11 unique ideas. It just might be what you’ve been searching for! (Some affiliate links used, thanks.)

For the writer that can grow things: Hydroponic Mason Jar Garden Superfoods

I enjoy plants in my home office. These would be nice to add, not only to add the green, but also to add a little healthy to my writing snacks. With these, I can grow beet and radish microgreens as well as wheatgrass. I feel healthier just thinking about it. Plus, these are from a woman-owned business in Arizona, Coco and Seed.

For all the sitting and typing: Gaiam Balance Disc Wobble Cushion

If I have to get my word count in (or more specifically for my work as a tech writer these days, need to finish my documentation for Linux steps), I’ll be in my office chair for hours each day. I do have a standing desk for a separate workstation, but I don’t do my writing there. If you prefer a standing desk, I’m impressed. If not, adding this can help with all things posture. And apparently, you can toss it on your kid’s chair when they’re doing online school to help with their hyper tendencies. My son would probably need this the most for our online Fridays. (Our current school schedule is in-person, masked M-Th with online Fridays.)

Every list must include pens: Prismacolor Illustration Markers

On my previous lists, I shared favorite pens and technically, these are markers. While they’re marketed for artists, what writer wouldn’t want to fill their journals and notebooks with color? I like that these aren’t your typical pen colors. And when I write my notes or jot down ideas, I prefer to use multiple colors. It helps store the memory with a color so when I go looking for it again, I can remember how I wrote it in my notes, based on that color (as well as things like I drew a box around it, I put it in a numbered list, etc).

Growth from the mind of Jane Austen: Succulent Planter

Here’s another option for putting a little green in your writer’s office: a succulent planter. Succulents are easier to care for and this one can grow in a Jane Austen bust. Pretty cute, right?

One succulent is nice. More succulents are even better. So you could add other bust planters to the mix for fun: William Shakespeare, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, or Vincent Van Gogh (with both ears).

A great looking website: launch it with WebFlow

Writers need an online platform. If they’re looking for more than social media accounts, you could point them in the direction of a tool that gives them the ability to go above and beyond WordPress (which is how I built my site). Webflow makes it approachable to design a site with modern web foundations. Specifically, it’s built on responsive web design. You can buy them a year of hosting with WebFlow. (It also has the option to export the code and upload it to your own hosting server.)

For sipping a warm beverage: this mug

Can you possibly go wrong with this? I’d argue, you cannot! I have a shirt that says this, although they didn’t include the ‘you’re’ correction. I enjoy starting my morning with sipping on some hot cocoa (I’m more of a soda caffeine person than coffee). Pair this with an almond croissant and I’m a happy woman. One time, I actually followed a recipe to make almond croissants. Have you ever attempted that? It was a task and a half. They tasted incredible. Perhaps I’ll do it again in ten years. #notabaker

For silence: Sennheiser noise-cancelling headphones

Noise-cancelling headphones can help your writer focus. Unless they miss those days gone by when they took their kids to the McDonald’s Play Place, hooked their laptop up to the WiFi (and connected to a VPN, because security/privacy), and started typing away at their word count. Or was that only me? I actually found all of the noise there rather helpful. Until it was my kid crying from the net area near the top where I couldn’t possibly climb up to get them.

While working at home, sometimes the noise of the house gets almost too quiet. And then there’s the noise of online school this year as well. Once I have my kids set up on their iPads with their teachers on Zoom, I could pop these on and get in the flow. Also, these headphones are well scored by Consumer Reports, especially for the price (compare them to Bose, for example).

So their laptop bag smells like coffee: A Starbucks gift card

If you’re really in a crunch for time, send an instantaneous gift with a Starbucks eGift Card. You can add a personal message. I suggest going with a haiku. Confess your love of coffee. Or if you’re not into coffee, your love of the smell of coffee, or of hot cocoa, or of steamers, or of almond croissants, or even of supporting the C.A.F.E. Practices (Starbucks’s ethical sourcing guidelines, Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices). Or go with a specific 2020 theme and write a COVID haiku. Here’s some inspiration: 20 Haiku about 2020.

For writer’s block: The Writer’s Toolbox

Want to send something fun that’s a wee bit helpful, too? This is a little writer’s block kit. It might help dish out a little inspiration, provides a variety of ideation tools to mix things up, and is great for adults. Some of the topics are a little mature so don’t gift it to your teenage writer, but also don’t expect a writing teacher in a box. It’s a game. Have fun with writing. It’s difficult enough! Sometimes, you need a little light heartedness to get over that writer’s block and start spinning out golden threads of fantasy again. Unless you’re a technical writer. Then you don’t need this. Just sit down and write your stuff.

Expand their magazine collection: Journal of the Month

Everyone knows that one of the keys to being a good writer is to read. A lot. And the more literary styles and genres you consume, the better you’ll hone your craft. This subscription is perfect for that: a different literary journal delivered to your mailbox each month. In addition to reading good, published writing, it’ll also provide a glimpse at some of the places they might publish their own work.

Keep the writer warm: a cozy throw

I can’t write when I’m cold. It’s distracting. I feel very sleepy. And my fingers can’t fly across the keys capturing my incredible ideas when they’re cold. It’s nice to wrap a blanket around my shoulders. Then I can go nuts on my word count. Or at least take a nap at my desk in warmth. Napping brings on some inspiration, doesn’t it? Perhaps I’ll dream an excellent fiction and wake up with the perfect plot in mind. Oh. Except I don’t usually write fiction.