8 Editor Gifts for Under $30
Eric and I went to J.C. Penney the other day and they already had their Christmas trees and decorations up. Y’know, why not just leave the trees and garlands up all year ’round? That way on December 26, you’re already reminding people to start shopping for Christmas 2007.
But it did remind me that now is the time to start thinking of how we’ll thank our editors for putting up with us all year. I usually send my editors nice holiday cards from the Museum of Modern Art Gift Shop, but sometimes you have an editor who really deserves something more: maybe she took a chance on you as a new writer, or it’s your 10th anniversary of writing for the magazine, or the publication made up a huge portion of your income in the past year.
Buying gifts for editors is a sticky business — you want to come across as genuinely thankful, but not brown-nosing, stalkerish, or desperate. Then there’s the issue of what to get someone you really don’t know very well.
Back away from the fruitcake display. Here, the Renegade Writers scoured the Web to find ten gifts under $30 that will make your editors swoon with delight.
1. The New Yorker cartoons make us feel all smart-like while making us laugh. The framed prints are pricy, but you can get your editors New Yorker cartoon note cards or T-shirts. My favorite editor-related cartoon is the one where the cat editor says to the dog writer, “I can see it going even a little more feline.” Go here for a directory of all the editor-related cartoons that you can have emblazoned on shirts, notecards, and more. (Note cards $29.95 – T-shirts $24.95)
2. Your editor will feel like a fashion plate wearing a T-shirt that reads “Stet” from CafePress. (For those of you who don’t know, a stet is a proofreading mark used to instruct the writer to disregard a change.) (Prices vary.)
3. Editors see every cliché in the book from us writers. Help your editor blow off steam (yes, I meant to use that cliché) with the Magnetic Poetry Mixed-Up Cliches kit. The 240+ magnets let your editor invent new chestnuts like “Has a sleeping dog got your tongue?” ($9.95)
4. You can’t go wrong with chocolate. Well, unless your editor is diabetic. Or he hates chocolate. Or he’s on Atkins. But if you want to take the chance, give him the Fairytale Half-Dozen, a box of six scrumptious brownies from Fairytale Brownies. A friend sent me these brownies as a gift last year and I can attest to their deliciousness. ($22.00)
5. If you really, really know your editor and she has a snarky sense of humor, she’ll love desk accessories from Office Playground (their slogan: “fun stuff for your desk”). My personal fave: “Bite Me” memo clips shaped like mouths.
6. Editors and word games go together like, well, editors and words. Apples to Apples is an insanely fun party game where players select from their hands of cards the noun they think best goes with the adjective card played by the judge. Sounds simple until the adjective that comes up is “sweet” — and all you have in your hand is cards like “Berlin in 1944,” “Charles Manson,” and “stubbed toes.” The game gets even more fun when players try to convince the judge that their card is the best. ($23.95)
7. Handmade journals are always a thoughtful, useful gift. You can look at them! You can write in them! You can regift them! We found some beautiful and inexpensive ones at Handmade-Paper.us. ($5.99 and up)
8. Editing is a stressful job (not all writers are as easy to work with as you). Help your editor lose the stress and omm his way to serenity with the Zen Board. Dip the natural bristle paint brush (included) in water (not included) and make strokes on the 9″ by 12″ board. The image looks like ink but then disappears, leaving a blank slate to work with again. The kit also includes a reference sheet of over 100 kanji characters, and is packaged in a natural textured portfolio with a silver tie. ($24.95) [lf]
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Oct 10, 2006 Advice, Cool products, Editors
Fruitcake RULES.
Here’s another suggestion for sweet-toothed editors: Flippin’ Fudge (www.flippinfudge.com). I was just sent a box of this stuff to review and it’s really good. They package it very festively (is that a word??)– the fudge is wrapped in purple foil and the box is filled with multicolored paper shreds. It makes a nice gift for a newsroom, too, since there are lots of pieces. Anyhow, the best part is the price: $20-$35. (I’m not in cahoots with them. I just like to see small businesses survive.)
A few years ago, I sent editors one of those sweet-smelling hot pads (cinnamon buns, cherry pie, etc.) to park their morning coffee on. It was easy to mail in a bubble envelope from the dollar store, and since I bought 20 of them, the lady at the gift shop gave me a price break. With shipping, I paid something like $11 each for them. Not to mention it’s genderless, so I could send one to everyone on my list.
Julie Sturgeon
Last year was the first year I bought my editors gifts. I got some gift baskets from Godiva Chocolates for around $30; others got Starbucks gift certificates and for a really stressed out editor who has two toddlers, a gift certificate for a nanny service. This year, as I developed relationships with more editors, I tried to fish for their hobbies and other personal info, as the personal gifts really seemed to make them happy.
Interesting reading – I’m not so sure that sending gifts to editors is the ‘done thing’ in the UK (I think it could well be perceived as brown-nosing!) but you know how brittle we Brits are! They do get a card, though.
If you really, really, REALLY know your editor, you can send them an abusive stamp from http://www.wishingfish.com‘s desk boutique. I love the “I haven’t got time to read this crap” stamp but don’t have the you know whats to send it to anyone!
Thanks for your comments! Love the additional ideas — and especially the stamp that says “This is f%^&ing URGENT!”
Loved the idea of sending your editor a stamp with a message on, but I think this needs to be someone you know well enough and has your same taste in humour. But, fruitcakes are a nice gesture, especially if they look and taste homemade!