The 2025 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide is Live! Plus Five Favorite Stationery Gifts

Our annual Holiday Gift Guide has been updated and is live on the site! Each year we revise this page to reflect new gift ideas and trends from the past year of stationery, and everything featured in the guide is not only available for online shopping but in person at our Brick-and-Mortar store, located in Nashville, Tennessee! We will have regular hours through the Holiday season and possibly open on a few additional Sundays between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day so stay tuned. If you’d like to make an appointment to shop on days that we are not showing as open please do reach out because I know everyone’s holidays are chaotic and we want to be as flexible as possible.

My Thoughts on Gifting Stationery and My Favorite Gifts I Give Every Year

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I give stationery as gifts every holiday season (and birthdays, etc.). But what I give does sometimes surprise people, because I try to keep it simple and relatively inexpensive as I don’t want the recipient to be afraid to actually use the item. Here are five of my personal favorite stationery gifts for family, friends, and colleagues. Most of these are featured in the Guide but I figured I’d add a bit of personal color for fun. I love recommending gifts for people, and find it one of the most fulfilling parts of running the retail side of T.G.S.

• Pocket Pens. Even if they don’t know it, everyone needs a pocket pen, and there are several out there that even the most non-stationery obsessed person can appreciate. The Lamy Pico was our top seller last holiday season, but we’ve also added Rite-in-the-Rain bullet pens which are great options for outdoorsy types. Rite-in-the-Rain makes a “nice” metal version, as well as a two-pack of the pressurized plastic pens.

• Pocket Notebooks. Field Notes always make a great gift for non-fountain pen users because you can usually find a theme to match their interests. (The National Parks series is a perennial favorite). For those with recipients who might want better paper, the Lochby versions aren’t as ornate but feature 68gsm Tomoe River Paper, and the Lochby Field Journal Mini or Pocket Journal makes a nice complement if you want to scale up the gift.

• Pencils. Some of my favorite gifts ever were thoughtful pencil gifts, and I’ve never had a pencil-themed gift go bad. Turns out may people like wood pencils, especially if you can find good ones because most non-stationery nerds assume that all pencils made these days are poor quality. Favorites include Camel pencils from Japan with the integrated erasers, Uni and Tombow “handwriting” pencils, and all of the novelties from Begoody that despite their quirkiness are good writers with excellent graphite. For recipients who enjoy technology, the Uni Kuru Toga KS or Alpha Gel Switch are inexpensive mechanical pencils that feature the Kuru-Toga’s auto-rotation mechanism.

• Bookmarks. I’m a reader, and most of my family and close friends appreciate a solid bookmark (or pack of “writable bookmarks” that you can use to take notes and annotate). Small and inexpensive, bookmarks make great stocking stuffers or small items for gift exchange parties.

• The Lamy Swift Rollerball Pen. Do I have a go-to recommendation for a gift for a nice pen for a “non pen person” (or even a pen person whose preferences you might not know)? Yes, and it’s the overlooked Lamy Swift retractable rollerball. Most people are sold when they see how the clip retracts into the barrel, which should keep you from trying to stick the pen in your pocket with the tip extended - NOT a good thing to do with a liquid rollerball. :)

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No, these aren’t made anymore (in 20 years) and I don’t sell them, but they remain one of my favorite holiday gifts ever received. (I later bought up several dozen on eBay.)

Get Your Holiday Orders in Early (Or Shop in Person), and Other Tips for Surviving the Holiday Season

Thanksgiving is late this year (and the weather here has felt like Spring), so there’s been a delayed start to the traditional holiday shopping season. While our shipping times have remained fairly fast, with orders typically out the door within 2 business days, we have no control over carrier delivery times and things like carrier strikes. I would advise giving yourself 10 days grace if you need something for a gift by a specific date. Note that during the holiday season, due to unpredictable delays, some carriers are not considering a package “lost” until 20 days have passed on a domestic delivery, and up to 6 weeks for international shipments. If you need something expedited, please send us an e-mail and we can explore overnight or express shipping options. And of course, you can always come by and shop in person all the way up to Christmas Eve!

As stressful as it is, I always love the holiday season! Enjoy the gift guide, thank you for your support, and as always, please reach out if you have any questions.

The T.G.S. 2024 Holiday Gift Guide is Live!

Our annual Holiday Gift Guide has been updated and is live on the site! The biggest difference this year has been our ability to offer everything in our gift guide for in-person shopping at our new Brick-and-Mortar store, located in Nashville, Tennessee! We plan to have regular hours through the holidays, and will possibly open on a few additional Sundays between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. We are usually at the shop for a few hours every day, even those days we are officially “closed,” so if you’d like to make an appointment to shop on days that we are not showing as open please do reach out.

A few highlights on holiday shopping from T.G.S., in addition to what is mentioned in the updated Gift Guide:

• Certain Items Are Limited. Roterfadens, Sunderland Pens, Diamine Inkvent Calendars, and some of the new Kawecos that recently arrived, such as the new Classic Piston Filler and the AL Sport Olivine, are available in limited quantities and it’s been hard to get timely restocks this year. If you’ve been considering one of these items, and it’s available, please don’t wait.

• We Have a Ton of New Ink In-Store. All of our recent ink shipments, including new inks from Diamine, Teranishi Guitar, and Platinum, arrived at around the same time! While we’re working as fast as possible to get these listed online, they are all available immediately for purchase in-person.

• Shipping/Delivery Times. While our shipping times have been pretty fast since we’ve moved to our new space (orders are typically out the door within 2 business days), we have no control over carrier delivery times, which always slow during the holidays. I would advise giving yourself 10 days grace if you need something for a gift by a specific date. Note that during the holiday season, due to unpredictable delays, some carriers are not considering a package “lost” until 20 days have passed on a domestic delivery, and up to 6 weeks for international shipments. If you need something expedited, please send us an e-mail and we can explore overnight or express shipping options.

As stressful as it is, I always love the holiday season! Enjoy the gift guide, thank you for your support, and as always, please reach out if you have any questions.

The 2023 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide is Live!

Sure, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but since I’ve been getting “Black Friday Sale” alerts since the Fourth of July, why not? ;) You can find the 2023 version of the Gift Guide here, and since new arrivals tend to trickle in from distributors through November and early December, I will likely update it periodically.

Each year, I don’t revise the Gift Guide from scratch, since the different categories of recommendations don’t change much. Since the store has grown exponentially in the past year, however, you’ll find new items in each category, most of which are targeted gift ideas for those who you think might appreciate stationery but may not necessarily be as “enthusiastic” about it as many T.G.S. readers.

A Note on Shipping

This looks to be a busy holiday season, so the earlier you get your orders in the better. The holidays always suffer from shipping delays - we have no control over USPS, UPS, or Fedex - so please give yourself time by ordering well in advance of when you will need your package to arrive. Finally, please review our shipping polices, particularly as they pertain to international shipments as those are more delay-prone due to customs issues.

As always, many thanks for your support! The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases through the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

The 2022 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide is Live!

As part of my recovery from last night’s Pelikan Hubs festivities, I updated the annual T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide this morning! Each year’s gift guide is slightly different from the last, featuring an annually updated selection of stationery-themed gift ideas. As you’ll discover in the guide itself, I generally don’t give fountain pens as gifts, since fountain pen lovers are hard to buy for, so the guide tends to focus heavily on accessories and other items with a wide appeal to those who appreciate analog-living in general. Enjoy!

P.S. - for those who missed out on the Pelikan Hubs, I have some of the “Pelikan Passion” magazines and the T.G.S. party favors left over. I’ll plan to add them to orders over $50 until they’re gone (with the price threshold set due to the higher cost of shipping the magazines). They are nice magazines and I don’t want to just throw them out, plus the T.G.S. goodie bag will get you a store coupon and a button + sticker.

Pairing Items for Stationery Gifts: Different Ideas for Different Interests

Let’s face it: We’re all scrambling for last-minute gifts. Whether it’s a friend or family member, there’s always at least one person who I either forgot or who is impossible to shop for. In these situations I always appreciate suggestions, so I thought I’d put together a series of proposed stationery gift pairings targeted to different interests, drawn from the full range of items available in The Curated Shop.

For the Journaler

Consider pairing a Midori MD notebook with a refillable cover that your recipient can continue to use long after they fill the notebook. Not only are the notebooks themselves high-quality, featuring 176 pages of fountain pen friendly Japanese paper, but the covers present a range of options, from luxurious natural goat leather, to durable paper or clear plastic. (Note that the paper cover is made from a thick Japanese craft paper that is tear resistant and will take on its own texture and patina as it ages.)

While the notebook itself makes a thoughtful gift, you can further customize by adding smaller items such as unique Washi Tapes or a pack of colored pencils from Midori or Caran d’Ache + Paul Smith, for those who like to use their journal as a scrapbook or sketchbook. Midori products also pair particularly well with Traveler’s Company accessories, including the full range of TRC Brass Pens.

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For the Writer on the Go

Know someone who always carries a notebook with them, no matter where they go? Some of my favorite pocket notebooks at the moment include these hardcover Kokuyo “Sketch” notebooks, currently stocked in five different colors. With 80 pages of 6.5” x 4” paper, these notebooks last longer than your typical pocket notebooks and the hardcover holds up well to daily use.

The perfect pairing? Consider adding a Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint pen, available at a variety of price points. The standard edition starts at just $20, with special finishes also available, including the “Metal-X”, the “Black Code,” the “Gold Bar,” and several limited editions. Someone who enjoys mechanical pencils might appreciate the Giuliano Mazzuoli Nobile ITALIA, a portable ballpoint pen that ships with three refills and a mechanical pencil insert.

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For the Reader

At a time when readers are increasingly pressured to “go digital,” it can be hard to find gifts for those who appreciate actual books. For this holiday season, I’ve stocked the store with reading accessories, including sterling silver page markers and book weights from WMS & Co. For the particularly active reader who enjoys annotating and marking up their book so they can come back to it in the future, consider pairing one of these bookmarks with a pack of Book Darts or double-ended annotation pencils, available in both red/graphite and highlighter/graphite combinations.

For Those Newly Working from Home

As someone used to working from a designated office outside the home, the pandemic required me to make significant changes to my remote work setup. Give someone a hand in boosting their productivity with desk accessories such as a 30, 15, 5, or 3-minute Sandglass from Hightide, a folding metal bookstand (that can also hold a notepad or tablet), or a sturdy, old-school oversized clipboard for those moments when everyone needs to get away from the actual desk.

Pair any of these with a high-quality desk pad from Midori or Write Notepads, and if you’re really feeling generous, consider gifting someone the ultimate desk pen: a CW&T Pen Type-A or Pen Type-B. The Pen Type-A comes with a handy ruler sleeve, and who doesn’t find themselves needing a ruler?

A Note on Holiday Shipping

For additional gift ideas, be sure to check out the T.G.S. 2020 Holiday Gift Guide. To be safe, if you want to ensure that something will arrive by December 25 (or even New Years, at this point), please place all domestic U.S. orders by December 15, though given today’s circumstances there can be no guarantees. Unfortunately, international orders are unlikely to arrive until after the holidays.

Many thanks for your support!