It’s the countdown to Christmas, and for me the best and worst part of the festive season is wanting to shop for everyone’s presents and not knowing what’s quite right. So here’s a quick guide to the books that make perfect presents for just about anyone and can still be quite cheap and different from your usual chocolate selection box and cosmetics!
For the Bakers and Homemakers: If you’re looking for something for your mum or nan this Christmas, the “Hummingbird Bakery: Home Sweet Home” book is a necessity! If not just to buy a present they’ll love and use, think about the cakes they’ll make on your return home next semester! As a big fan of the Hummingbird Bakery, there would be nothing better than having them freshly made in your house. Equally, you could follow the trend and buy “Mary Berry’s Christmas Collection” and look forward to Boxing Day food and treats, or learn them yourself and impress your housemates in January!
For the Starving Students: Over the last two months I have experienced first-hand the much-warned-about stress and monotony of cooking for myself at university and am now open to any advice on eating something other than pasta (Morrison’s own brand of course). This is where Nigel Slater’s “Eat – The Little Book of Fast Food” becomes a perfect present for any of your friends who you think might be starving at a university across the country – much easier than ordering a pizza to be delivered to their house! Deemed the ‘Best Food & Drink Book of the Year’ by Amazon, it’s ideal for the start of 2014, where no doubt we’ll all be on a strike from our new university-formed carb-based diets.
For the Munchkins: Christmas is best when you’re surrounded by kids because, as much as I want to defend the existence of the main man himself, some of the Christmas sparkle dims when you’re past the age of writing a letter to Santa! So for anyone who needs to buy a present for a little human in their family, there are so many books to choose from and the classic Christmas stories are never in short supply. The classic Dr Seuss story of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” is perfect and will make you feel better about willingly watching the film version at least three times this December!
Alongside a set of Despicable Me pyjamas, I’ve bought my little brother “The Dinosaur that Pooped Christmas”, (yes that was a purchase highly motivated by the title), which I will actually be willing to read to him. If there is ever an excuse to buy books that you wished you owned as a child or that you still find hilarious, Christmas is the time to indulge, which I quite clearly have!
For the Brats: As the elder of a thirteen year old sister who despises the thought of reading anything other than tweets from the members of Little Mix, I’ve made it my mission to find a book she’ll actually want to finish (it’s the English student coming out in me, what can I say?). For anyone needing similar ideas, I believe that you can never go wrong with a classic, and J.D Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” is a good choice. Despite mixed responses from everyone I’ve spoken to whose ever read it, the book is a teenage rite of passage and, if only to understand the many references to it in movies and television, I think it makes a worthy present!
Another book that is equally fitting for slightly older friends and relatives is John Green’s “The Fault In Our Stars”: an easy read which, as one of my favourite books, I think would make a great present. The book is in the process of being made into a film to be released in 2014, and as one of the bestsellers of the year is just one of the many worthy teen-fiction books by this author!
However, if anyone has to suffer the same struggle of living with an obsessed pop fan, you can give in and buy the Little Mix and One Direction annuals for just £3.95 off Amazon… not actual fiction but sometimes it has to be done!
For the Lads: With very little interest or expertise in the buying of presents for the boys in my life, following the trusted football theme seems a safe bet. Perhaps Alex Ferguson’s new release “My Autobiography” alongside the standard purchase of a tie and pack of socks for your dad is ideal. Recounting his life and the 27 years spent as manager of Manchester United, Ferguson’s book is relatively cheap for £12.50 from Waterstone’s and solves the tricky present selection. Another option is the Guinness World Book of Records 2014 for just a tenner, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to know about the world’s most famous skateboarding goat?
For the Bookworms: Buying presents for friends or family who already love reading means there are so many presents to choose from, including personalised, old-fashioned style kindle covers from notonthehighstreet.com, which make the perfect present for any techno-savvy reader! Also, the leather-bound Barnes and Noble versions of literary classics, available from Waterstone’s, look amazing on a book shelf and bring to life firm favourites such as “Little Women” and “Alice in Wonderland”.
Whoever you’re buying for, there are so many books available that make great, timeless presents. So take advantage of the Christmas offers and buy something a little different this year!
Image Sources:
1) http://www.eattravellive.com/food-drink/cookbooks/the-hummingbird-bakery-cookbook/
2) http://www.empire-of-books.com/2010_09_01_archive.html
3) http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/klevercase/product/classic-book-case-for-kindle
Laura Roche