Summer is the busiest time of year in family land for me. With so many birthdays and anniversaries it's tough to think of gifts that mean something for each one of them. Theme gifts are an easy and thoughtful way to show people you thought of them, without killing yourself over getting your hands on that wishlist or breaking down and getting them a giftcard. Here's a quick tip that constitutes neither as cheating nor insincere if you read it and adopt the formula.




Easy formula: Book on a topic + stuff that goes well with that topic. Easy peasy.


Think of something your recipient enjoys. Reading? Cooking? Travel? Video games? Sports? Think back to a conversation where they may have mentioned in passing that they'd like to get into a new hobby like gardening, or learn how to do DIY house fixups. Anything that will legitimately warrant you saying "I remembered you were interested in this..."

Take that thought with you to the bookstore. Browse through the bargain book section for something to the effect of "[Big number] [interest-related nouns] to [verb] before you die". Something to keep in mind is that almost every interest/hobby/pastime/thing has a book of "need-to-knows" devoted to it.

Once you have your book picked out, choose a few things to go with it. Did you pick a book on travel? Why not pick out some luggage tags, a travel journal and a passport case to go with it? A book on music, books, or movies? Go through the book and pick a few titles to include as a little bundle. Whatever the subject matter, there's stuff (big or small) to complement it. Even funny stuff works. Complement a golf book with chocolate golf balls. Or a cookbook with all the ingredients for one of the recipes. Almost anything goes, and as long as you pick something the recipient likes or has an interest in, you're golden.


Here's an example, using just one book and one lovely eco-friendly Etsy shop:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

How could anyone not love getting this gift? Love that Marmalime swag.

Consider this an eye-opener for those out there who needed that little extra push, just to get away from the giftcard section at the drugstore twenty minutes before every birthday dinner... ;)

Happy gift-giving.


Love Clementine