Written by: Tiffany Watson
Tis the season; how it comes so fast. In gift giving, I am always last minute and, if you are anything like me, you too don’t have a list to check twice.
I depend on half panic and half serendipity to find my Christmas gifts. I love walking into a shop and seeing that one gift—you know the one—that just makes me think of the person I am shopping for in that moment. To have that happen in a single month is near impossible. And this year, I am on even tighter a budget and a stricter deadline.
So I am going to try force a bit of serendipity and share my three step strategy with you:
- Trade in Big Box for Little Boxes: On November 23-25 (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Sunday) you can support small, independent businesses and be rewarded for it! Little Boxes is an app you can download on your phone and check in at participating small businesses in order to earn raffle tickets for prizes. Overcup Press has participated in the past by donating raffle prizes and will have a pop-up shop this year at The Salty Teacup in St. John's where all of our books.
- Gifts that Spark a Memory: I recently found the perfect gift, a sign with a saying that my mom had given to my grandma nearly 20 years prior. Memories are a great way to bring about wonderful gifts. For my dad I tried to recall something from my childhood—large prints of the Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges which are currently in storage. When I began interning at Overcup Press an idea struck: Tilikum Crossing! It's the perfect book for my architecture loving and bridge loving dad; I can even write a little note to him recalling those memories and their significance to this gift.
- Avoid the Bluelight: Every year, I have scrolled through website after website searching for the perfect item and, admittedly, to procrastinate. To date, the perfect gift hasn’t been found and, as convenient as it may be to shop online, making the extra effort to go into the stores can really pay off. Give your eyes a break. Have lunch meeting downtown? Why not wander around a few store fronts. Or, better yet, head to your local bookstore and check out what they have to offer!
No matter what, or how, you decide to gift shop this Holiday Season I hope that these tips help you find exactly what you've been searching for!
(Bonus Gift Giving Idea: If you're shopping for a particularly bookish person—bookshelf minutes away from collapse bookish—try wrapping up a book and slipping it onto their bookcase. If you try this, let us know how many days, weeks, or months it takes for them to spot your gift.)