What Are You Giving Your Family and Friends These Holidays?
If you're struggling for ideas for Christmas or Chanukah, come into the store and let us help you! To get you started, here's what we have picked out from the store for our friends and family this year. And don't forget, we do free gift wrapping!
Here's one great idea to get you started: Robert Sabuda's stunning pop-up book, The Christmas Story, is on sale! We're offering 30% off this amazing keepsake right up until Christmas! Buy this beautiful book for your own family or a friend's--it's the kind of book that will become a Christmas tradition, to read and enjoy.
Judy
I sent Robert Sabuda's beautiful
The Christmas Story to three college friends, and to my cousin and her husband, to share with their grandchildren. I'm giving
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women by Melissa Sweet to my nine-year-old granddaughter and David Shannon's
Duck on a Tractor to the preschoolers in my family. I'm sending family gifts to my son and his family, including the illustrated version of
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and two games,
Mobi, which is similar to
Bananagrams, but with math, and
Bugs in the Kitchen, a hilarious game in which you guide a HEXBUG Nano around the board. Other books I am giving include:
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles,
The Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins and Sharon Robinson's
The Hero Two Doors Down. Oh, and I love
How to Bake a Book by Ella Burfoot!
Karla
I'm giving two fun new things this year. First are these great
IQ puzzles and games from
Smart Games - makers of our beloved
Three Little Piggies game. These games are for slightly older kids and they build logic skills in a really fun way! And, for anyone, young and old, who needs a total brain break, I love our mini Pac-Man game. So cute and so fun.
Tracy
I have to give credit to Karla for this idea! I have four families to whom I always send theme-oriented gifts. I was contemplating what to send this year when Karla suggested the adult coloring books. I then thought of
Have a Colorful Christmas as my theme. So, for each family I picked out a couple of different coloring books based on the ages and personality of the recipient. In particular, I love the intricate coloring books of
Joanna Basford. I added sets of pens and pencils from the store. I will also add bags of colored caramel corn and put a tree ornament on the wrap. And.... voilà! A "colorful" gift!
Ginnie
I have purchased two of our newest games.
SLAPZI is from the makers of
TENZI and is a fun fast game where you can match images to a clue card, based on color, shape or more absurd criteria. Whoever gets rid of their cards first yells SLAPZI!
Bugs in the Kitchen is a fast-paced game where you try to herd the bouncing bugs into your kitchen first. It had us all laughing when we trialed it at a recent game demonstration.
Marianne
I love putting together gift packages! Here are some of my favorites for this year--everything comes from the store:
For the dog lover:
Being a Dog: Following the Dog Into a World of Smell by Alexandria Horowitz and dog biscuits from local non-profit
Women's Bean Project.
For the woman on the go: a purse packed with goodies - a flashlight, lip gloss, sunglasses, eyeglass repair kit, small notebook, fold-up shopping bag and a purse light.
For the family present:
Women's Bean Project soup, cornbread and brownies with a puzzle to assemble, and
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson to read aloud while it all cooks.
For younger kids: a picture book and a stuffed animal - either the official one from the book, or something fun from our endless collection. And for young
Elephant and Piggy fans: a few books from the series, along with book ends, a poster and stuffed toys.
For the budding writer: blank journal, pens, a story starter from the Teachers section, and the Haiku Cubes. And for the chef with a sense of humor: cookbook (like our current bestseller,
Simple), monkey pizza cutter, smiley toast and rubber gloves.
Susan T.
For my five-year-old granddaughter who LOVES the
Princess in Black, the new book in the series (#4),
The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation by Shannon and Dean Hale is perfect. For one of my sons-in-law who is always curious about the natural world,
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery is a beautifully written adult non-fiction. And, for another son-in-law who enjoys thrillers and action-packed books, I've picked out
Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima, a local author who also wrote the critically acclaimed
Killing Trail. Both books are set in a small Colorado town.
Shona
I'm completely in love with our crazy, colorful socks--pretty much everybody I know can look forward to a pair of mad socks this year. My cheeky nephew is also getting the game
BeanBoozled--spin the spinner for a delicious or disgusting treat! My 13-year-old daughter has been
in the store, trying out some of our new games, and she'll find her two favorites,
SLAPZI and
Rubik's Race (a puzzle race from the makers of the Rubik's cube) under the tree. Finally, a couple of my closest friends can look forward to carrying their cash around in beautiful soft leather
Hobo wallets. I'll be so jealous. Maybe I should get one for myself!
Completely Stuck for a Gift Idea?
Look for more inspiration on our Christmas and Chanukah displays! And if you're really stuck, we have a suggestion for that too--our Bookies Gift Card is always a welcome gift for anyone! If you can't get into the store, just give us a call on 303 759-1117and we'll mail it to you, or the person you want to give it to.
