Christmas is lighting up the horizon and I am excited. It’s hard to deny that Christmas magic! I love the indulgence of a mince pie with a steaming cup of mulled wine, and there’s nothing quite like ending a walk on a crisp winter’s day by catching up with friends in a cosy, fairy-light wreathed pub. However, the one part of the season that can be either a treasure or a torture is buying Christmas gifts. There’s nothing worse than struggling to think of the right present for someone. And although I really love taking my time to find thoughtful gifts for my friends and family, I don’t want it to take over the whole of Christmas! So, to help you start ticking presents off your Christmas list, we’ve put together the Billy Christmas Gift Guide 2022.
Need some extra help? Jump to our Three Guidelines of Christmas Gift Buying or How to Customise a Gift section!
And, if you’re trying to keep your Christmas gifting within a budget this year, check out our newly available Billy Gift customised mugs! Featuring some of our most popular designs, our mugs can also be personalised and are a perfect under-a-tenner gift.
For the Office Secret Santa
A Billy notebook makes the perfect Secret Santa gift. With the monogram range you can keep it simple by adding your colleague’s name or initials, or add a cheeky, work-related phrase for some festive fun.
There are so many colours to choose from and don’t forget you can change the font on the cover too! Browse the collection here.
For Teens
With plenty of playful patterns and cute colours, gift the teenager in your life an opportunity to unplug with a personalised notebook. Customise it to create a 2023 diary, a mindfulness journal or even a sketchbook depending on their interests!
Our top picks for teens:
- Sleepy Tigers Custom Notebook
- Tales From the Jungle Custom Notebook
- Icepop Monogram Custom Notebook
- Painted Dots Custom Notebook
- Retro Monogram Custom Notebook
For her
Inspired by sunshine and serenity, these are our top picks if you’re looking for a gift for your Mum, Sister, Auntie or BFF. Yellows and turquoise promise warmer days and a cheerful spring for 2023, grounded with modern earth tones.
Our recommendations for her are:
- Icepop Monogram Custom Notebook
- Follow the Sun Custom Notebook / Follow the Sun Mug
- Gingham Custom Notebook
- Papillons Custom Notebook
- Making Waves Custom Notebook
For him
No matter what his favourite hobby or pastime, our Sigil range has something that will delight. Our Viking Wyrm design is a great pick for fantasy fans. And you can’t go wrong with a simple but classic notebook monogrammed with his initials.
Our favourites for him:
- Hop Sigil Custom Notebook
- Viking Wyrm Custom Notebook
- Victorian Study Custom Notebook
- Compass Sigil Custom Notebook
For the nature lover
You might have noticed that many of our designs are inspired by the flora and fauna of the natural world. For those who love all creatures great and small, we have designs that feature four-legged, feathered, furred and flying friends.
Our favourite designs for nature lovers:
- Barn Owl Custom Notebook / Barn Owl Custom Mug
- Moongazing Hare Custom Notebook / Moongazing Hare Custom Mug
- Seaweed Custom Notebook / Seaweed Custom Mug
- Kaleidoscope Custom Notebook / Kaleidoscope Custom Mug
- Wild Boar Custom Notebook / Wild Boar Custom Mug
For the foodie
While our Patisserie and Takes the biscuit designs are perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off, and make fantastic books to write down favourite cakes and bakes! Cover designs in our Orchard and Grove Collection can be customised to create wonderful recipe books that foodies can keep in the kitchen and add to for years to come.
Our top picks for foodies:
- Lemon Cookbook Custom Notebook
- Takes the Biscuit Custom Notebook
- Patisserie Custom Notebook / Patisserie Custom Mug
- Gingerbread Custom Notebook / Gingerbread Custom Mug
For fans of magic and fantasy
Some people hold Halloween in their heart all year round and our wonderfully witchy designs are the perfect place to record secrets and spells. For lovers of astrology, we have a full selection of zodiac constellations, so you can choose their star sign and customise with their name or initials.
Our most magical gift recommendations:
- Lunar Phases Custom Notebook
- A Cold Spell Custom Notebook / A Cold Spell Custom Notebook
- Zodiac Constellations Custom Notebooks
- Unicorn Forest Custom Notebook
For the gardener
We all know someone who’s crazy for plants! And for these folks a gardening journal makes a wonderful Christmas Gift. Planning your garden during winter adds a bit of sunshine even on a dreary January day. And the book will really come into it’s own in spring to keep track of planting schedules!
Our favourite covers for Gardening Notebooks are:
- Gardening Tools Sigil Custom Notebook
- Midsummer Custom Notebook / Midsummer Custom Mug
- Folk Custom Notebook
- Bee Sigil Custom Notebook
The Three Rules of Christmas Gift Buying
There’s something so heart-warming about imagining a happy reaction to a present. But there can also be a lot of pressure and anxiety around buying Christmas gifts, so I try to keep my three core guidelines in mind:
- Would I enjoy receiving this present? I use this guideline as a starting point to help avoid buying gifts just for the sake of having something to give. I try to keep in mind that I enjoy gifts that are useful and thoughtful.
- Focus on the person the Christmas gift is for. What do they enjoy doing? Do they have any hobbies? What is an item they might not buy for themselves? Or one that they could use and enjoy most days?
- Try to have fun! Christmas gift giving is meant to bring joy. If you find yourself stressed out by buying gifts, take a step back and give yourself some time to enjoy whatever you love most about the festive season. Return to the Christmas presents when it feels fun, and you’ll be much happier with the gifts you give.
Customising the Perfect Christmas Gift
Giving a customised item makes a gift so personal and thoughtful. But we understand that it can also seem a little daunting to choose the right customisation options for someone else! We have a few thoughts on this to help you create the perfect gift.
Custom text
Adding the recipient’s name or initials to a book adds a personal touch and is very low risk. Additionally, all of our notebooks have default fonts and colours that we think match the design so you don’t have to worry about changing them unless you’re feeling creative. If you want to make a notebook even more specific to the recipient, think about their hobbies. Do they enjoy cooking or gardening? Do they like to draw or write? Adding a dedicated title to a notebook relating to their hobby could give them a push to put more time into their hobby by creating a recipe book, gardening journal. Or a sketchbook or even start writing a novel! With Billy, the possibilities are endless…
Cover and binding type
For gift notebooks we always recommend hard covers as they are beautiful and highly durable. Choosing the correct binding style really depends on how you think the notebook will be used. Wiro / ring bound books offer more flexibility which is great if you think the book will be used on the go or for more practical activities or may need pages to removed eg. for lists or drawings.
Paper type
Again, this will depend on the function of the notebook. We’re all used to lined notebooks and this is a good choice for most! Plain paper will be better for more creative notebooks eg. sketchbooks, scrapbooks or photo journals. If the recipient loves being organised, dotted pages may suite them best. The grid of dots allows you to draw boxes and organise your notebook in a more freestyle way that some people find very useful and inspiring. To read more about bullet journaling (using a notebook with dots) you can take a look at our article here.
We really hope that our Christmas Gift Guide 2022 has helped you find some customised gifts that you’ll look forward to giving to your friends and family next month!
