Firefly’s (local, homemade, budget-friendly) gift list for writers
A small fuchsia card displaying the word, beauty, with some felt flowers behind it. There’s a wooden clip board and some fresh flowers in the background.
Hello Kind One,
If you give gifts in December, or any time, finding the right one for a writer can be hard.
Writers are hard to shop for. We’re particular, and we don’t know how to ask for what we want. We don’t always even know what we want.
But over the years at Firefly, we’ve gotten to see writers feel deeply supported by their loved ones, and we’re gathering up our ideas to share with you here. We’ve touched on a variety of price points and levels of engagement, from quick-and-easy things to order to deeper, more involved gift giving.
So, here we have it: Firefly’s top 9 gifts that writers actually want.
Give them time away from the grind. As writers, one of the things we struggle with the most is finding the time. There are so many ways to gift this. Set up a day when you cook or have food delivered to your giftee. Consider taking on other tasks if you can, like snow shovelling or childcare. If you have the budget for this, you could even consider booking some time away — we have a great list of special writing spots in Ontario here.
Record, recite or copy out a poem you know they’ll love. When we closed the studio, my friend Ronna asked if we could get together so that she could read me poems about closure and moving on. It was a tremendous gift; I’ll never forget it. Where do words connect you to your giftee, and how can you package them? This might be in person, on the phone, or you could mail one every month of the year.
Help them find the writerly support they crave. There are a myriad of writing courses, retreats, mentorship programs and workshops out there. Help your person navigate this by pulling out 2-3 that you think might be a fit. You can also be their encouragement team if there’s an application process to wade through. (Writers are nervous little mice at heart.) If you have budget for this, you could give them a gift card to help them make it happen — and yes, we have those.
Make them ink! Is there a more beautiful way to support writing than to create the vessel for it? One of my class participants, Kat, recently started making her own ink and now I’m obsessed. There are loads of things in nature that create great ink, and it’s surprisingly easy to make — here’s one of many blog posts explaining it.
Get (or make) them a subscription to something nourishing. Setting up a subscription lets a writer feel supported long after the initial gift has been received. Raven Reads delivers Indigenous books and giftware. My Tea Box sends a monthly tea. Our subscription program Hello Writer sends writing prompts, direction and chocolate. You could also make your own subscription, mailing them something every week or month for a set period of time.
Be their cheering committee. It can be terrifying to share our work, whether it’s at an open mic, sending it to a publisher, starting a blog or applying for a grant. Ask your pal about their writing dreams, and then pour yourself into supporting them as they move towards it.
Support the wider writing community. As writers, we are part of a much larger circle, much of which has had a hard time in the last 2 years. You could make a donation to a local writing festival (we especially love this one), or our bursary program, which directly supports low-income writers to access our services. PEN Canada has an emergency fund to help writers facing immediate persecution for their work. There are so many ways to help bolster the writing world.
Buy them a new pen. Does all this sound really complicated? Then pens. They never gets old. Wonder Pens is a delightful little family-run shop with lots of selection, and they have a gorgeous online store.
Those are our ideas!
Feel free to write back if you have more, and feel VERY free to forward your favourite ones to anyone who might be shopping for you, now or in the future.
Ask for what you want.
Your writing deserves love and attention.
Here’s one gift we’re grateful we get to keep opening…
We’re here. We’re listening. We’re making new things. We’re figuring out how to keep doing this better. We’re setting the table for writing (yours, ours, all of it), over and over.
Thank you for that.
We are wishing you a winter full of unexpected sweetness.
In it with you,
