Holiday Gift Ideas

(Yes, I couldn't avoid the Disney picture. You know me...)

It’s that time of year again. The glorious season of Christmas where we give presents to friends and loved ones to show them how much we care.


Only this year you’re stumped for ideas. Or maybe your not, and you just want some ideas. Never fear, I’m on the case! Here’s a list of ideas to get you started on your holiday shopping adventures.

First of all where to shop?


You can really go anywhere, but I personally like Amazon.com. Why? Several reasons. 1. They usually have discounts off the cover prices, something you won’t find at major bookstores. 2. They have excellent service. 3. You can get free shipping on orders over $25. Cool huh? Just keep these in mind:

• Watch your prices. Sometimes you can get better deals by buying something on the New & Used link on each page. Just make sure you factor shipping into your total. Sometimes those used discounts can become not so discounted.


• Pay attention to shipping rates/amounts. You still have 10 days to order from Amazon and get their Super Saver Shipping guaranteed to arrive for Christmas. All you have to do is spend $25 dollars worth of stuff from Amazon (no third parties here). So if you’re going to buy something, you might as well spend $25 and get it shipped for free! Likewise, if you’ve qualified for free shipping, pick up something you maybe would buy anyway.


• Buy using the Amazon Associates program. I have Amazon links on this site, and many other blogs use them as well. Since you’re going to buy the stuff anyway, you might as well support one of your favorite sites. You can read my previous post on why I use Amazon links (basically to keep groceries in my fridge), or you can go to any of your favorite book websites. Simply use one of their many links to go to Amazon, and continue shopping from there.

So once you’ve decided where you’re going to shop, you need to know what to buy. So here’s a few ideas:

1. Books! (of course) But you need help deciding what to get. So here’s a few lists that may be able to narrow things down.
The Shady Glade Review list (all the books reviewed on this blog)
The Cybils nominees
Retold Fairy Tales
The 2007 Shady Glade holiday guide
The Shady Glade store also has some good ideas, so hop over there as well.

2. If you know a child who is hooked on Webkinz , then the new Webkinz bookmarks are a great gift for young readers. They get a bookmark to use in real life and book from the W shop to play with. If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, you’re a bit behind. :-) To learn more about Webkinz , you can read all about them at my other blog. Combing books with toys is a great way to promote children literacy, so be creative!

3. The new Amazon Kindle is interesting. This is the first eReader I’ve actually been tempted to buy. You can learn more about this amazing new device by visiting the link.

4. And the gift for the person who has everything…? Gift certificates! Seriously. The days of gift certificates being taboo is over. I love getting these for Christmas. They are better than money, and still have all the freedom. A gift certificate says, “I’ve put enough thought into this gift to know that you like this store. Now go get yourself something great!” The nice thing about shopping on Amazon (once again) is that you can email your certificate right to your receiver. And they don’t even have to spend it on books. Amazon’s got all sorts of great things for sale.

So that concludes our Holiday gift ideas. I hope you find something wonderful this season!