The Old Fashioned Girl Gift Guide

Christmas is rapidly approaching (don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving, there'll be a post about it next week), and with the holiday coming, I thought it would be fun and helpful for me to create a gift guide!

This is your ultimate bookish girl gift guide. These are fun and practical gifts for all kinds of bookish girlies. Most of the items on this list are gifts I have received or would love to receive and I think you guys would too! Use this guide as inspiration for what to ask for, or for what to buy your friends and family. I have four bookish categories, Cozy Cafe, Vintage, Fantasy, and Little Women. I hope this list helps you this holiday season.

Cozy Cafe Gifts

This first category is perfect for the girls who love a fun drink. Wether they like coffee, tea, or other drinks, I have a gift for each of them.

A Nespresso Machine (or other coffee maker). Espresso machines are all the rage right now, Nespresso machines are a more streamlined way to make cafe style drinks (using pods kind of like Kcups).

A Matcha set. These can vary from super cheap to very expensive and high quality. These sets usually include a matcha whisk, scoop, sifters and sometimes a matcha bowl and matcha powder. You can buy these pieces separately and put them together yourself, or premade sets. I love things from Jade Leaf Matcha.

An electric tea-kettle. I have one of these and I use it so much! They're perfect to easily heat up water for tea.

Photo by Maria Lupan on Unsplash

​If you have a tea drinker in your life, they might love to receive a china tea set. These come in so many different designs, you can buy them new on Amazon (or other online retailers) or you could thrift one too.

Mugs are the perfect gift for any girl who likes to be cozy. Here are a few adorable and affordable ones.

These trendy floral ceramic mugs are from Amazon. I love the purple tulip one!

This Jane Austen mug is from a company called The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, I have a mug from them already (Roald Dahl) and love it, so I can fully recommend this one!

This mug is a little more expensive, but I couldn't resist. It's from my favorite stationary company, Rifle Paper Co.

Cold cups, these are the mug for people who don't drink hot drinks. I love glass ones like the one pictured above, but tumblers can be really great too.

Tea assortments are great gifts! It gives someone the chance to try different teas they may not normally try. I have had both this Harney and Sons one and this Twinings one. It's a really affordable gift that would be great paired with a mug.

In the same vein ground coffee assortments, coffee bean assortments, or K-Cup/Nespresso pod assortments can be great gifts for coffee lovers.

​Vintage

As you likely know, I love all things vintage. The gifts in this section are reminiscent of your favorite historical fiction novel.

A Victrola. I have this vintage inspired record player and love it so much. It is a more expensive item, but it's perfect for a vintage lover.

If the person you are getting a gift for already has a record player, I would recommend buying them a record or two, especially albums from their Spotify Wrapped or Apple Music Replay.

A clothing item from Simple Retro. Simple Retro is my dream closet. I was given a dress from them for my birthday and I love it so much. They have so many fun and vintage inspired items on their website. The clothing pieces are pricey but so high quality.

Mary Janes or Oxfords. Continuing with the vintage fashion thing, you can't go wrong with Mary Janes or Oxfords. I have a pair of Oxfords and am obsessed with them.

Photo by Natalia Y. on Unsplash

Antique copies of their favorite books (or childhood favorites). Etsy and Ebay is full of sellers selling thrifted and vintage books. You can find cute, odd, and charming books on these sites. In the same vein, vintage Jello cookbooks or other such vintage cookbooks can be great gifts.

Vintage jewelry like brooches or pearls. This goes without saying I think, in order to have a vintage wardrobe you need to have a string of pearls. EBay and Etsy are great places to look for genuine vintage jewelry, but you can find replicas on any online retailer.

A selection of lipsticks. I lately have been loving lipsticks for vintage looks. There is something so timeless about them. Buying someone a few colors of lipstick (especially in vintage inspired colors) would be a great gift.

A vintage inspired stocking. Wether or not you are the person who fills someone's stocking, a stocking is a great vessel for small goodies. I think it would be so thoughtful if you gave the history loving girl in your life a vintage inspired stocking. This article (though UK based) outlines the kinds of gifts people could find in their stockings from the Victorian era through the modern day.

Fantasy

This is a gift guide for many different kinds of fantasy lovers. From Lord of the Rings, to fairytales, to Harry Potter.

Sword earrings and/or sword necklace. I don't know why, but a girl wearing sword jewelry to me is a cool girl who reads chunky epic fantasy. (The link is to a cheap pair. It's definitely better to do your research when it comes to earrings, so don't just buy these because I thought they were cute.)

The Encyclopedia of Tolkien is the perfect gift for the Lord of The Rings fan who has read all Tolkien himself has to offer.

Staying with the LoTR theme, these Middle-Earth location stickers would be a great small gift or stocking stuffer.

For LoTR fans, you could also go the jewelry route, a replica of the one ring, Arwen's necklace, or elven leaf brooches.

For the Harry Potter fan, I personally believe the perfect Christmas gift would be a Weasly sweater. Like a real wool, hand knit sweater with the initial of the person you're giving it to, or their favorite HP character. They can be expensive, but so worth it (I'm personally asking for one this Christmas)

The Wizarding World is known for having its own candy. You can buy selections on Amazon, and places like 5below carry fun HP candy.

If you lean more towards fairytale, a red-riding hood style cloak could be great gift.

For something less crazy, a castle puzzle or wall art.

Little Women

Who would I be if I didn't have a list of gifts themed specifically on Little Women? I would love all of these just in case you were wondering ;)
P.S. almost all of these gift ideas can be found for other classic and popular books. A lot are even sold by the same sellers. So even if you don't love Little Women use this as a guide for other books.

Specialty books. there are so many specialty Little Women books, from special editions, to annotated editions to coloring books, cookbooks and everything in between.
These are three special editions that any Little Women fan will love. The Barbra Heller Little Women with Handwritten Letters, the Little Women Devotional by Rachel Dodge, and The Little Women Cookbook by Winni Moranvill. I own all three of these and love them so much!

You can never go wrong with a t-shirt. I think this one from Etsy is so perfect. (if this one isn't your style, I'd highly recommend searching Little Women Shirts on Etsy)

In the same vein, I love this crewneck!

Christmas and Little Women collide with this candle.

If you are a tea lover, this Louisa May Alcott green tea blend is perfect. Plus the company is a small business.

There are so many Little Women stickers, I had such a hard time narrowing it down to one to feature. But this one is adorable and subtle (and too real).

This last one is a very expensive gift idea... but... it's so incredible I just had to add it. Louisa May Alcott's home, Orchard House in Concord Massachusetts offers a one-two hour time slot for creative time in Louisa's room where she wrote Little Women. That's time in the space to work on your own masterpiece. Yes it's expensive, but it's an experience that won't be soon forgotten. Here is the link to the registration form, ​https://louisamayalcott.org/sharing-space-visit

I Still Don't Have Any Ideas!

If you've read your way through this entire guide and still have no idea what to buy the bookish person in your life, never fear, here are a few more general gift ideas.

A Kindle or other E-reader - this is perfect for someone who is on the go a lot.

Book sleeves - these are fabric pouches that protect books. Amazon and Etsy both have lots of options.

Annotate a copy of your favorite book - If you have a small budget, thrift or buy a copy of YOUR favorite book, then go through it, underlining or highlighting your favorite passages, then gift it. This is such a personal and throughout gift.

Sweatshirts or t-shirts that say books, bookish, bookworm, or reader.

Bookmarks - more than just slips of paper, you can buy custom or specialty bookmarks pretty much anywhere. It can be themed off of a favorite book, metal, embroidered, handmade etc.

And when all else fails, a new edition of their favorite book, or a Barnes and Nobel gift card.

I hope this gift guide gave you some ideas for what to buy and ask for for Christmas!

What do you want for Christmas? What is your favorite kind of gift to give? What are your favorite items on this list?

Belle Thomas

Belle is the writer and dreamer behind An Old Fashioned Girl. She is passionate about reminding girls of their identity in Christ, classic books, history, Louisa May Alcott, and earl grey tea. ​​​​