Making Presents Out of Ebooks

There are a LOT of options for gifting an ebook. Amazon has gifting options that couldn't be more easy. All Romance allows you to gift a book from your library by clicking on the little present icon once you've purchased the book. Barnes and Noble also allows gifting – as do other digital retailers like KoboBooks. (I couldn't find a book gifting option in the iBookstore, alas).

So it's actually really easy to click and send an ebook as a gift. But what if you want to present the ebook as a present for someone to unwrap on one of those upcoming gifty-typoe holidays?

That might take some creativity.

Some retailers, like Amazon, for example, allow you to have the gift certificate sent to your own email address, so you can print out and then give the redemption code for the book you've purchased. But you're giving someone a piece of paper – and sometimes, that doesn't quite feel like awesomeness, even if the book you're gifting is something the recipient wanted and was hella expensive.

There are a few options if you're looking to give an ebook to someone as a gift.

First: Livrada is a company that sells redeemable gift cards good for a specific book. Their selection is very limited, focuses mostly on bestsellers, and their cards are available online or at Fry's Electronics. They should be on shelves in Target soon, if they're not there already. But their selection has no romance. Woe! I love the idea of a gift card for a specific book, and I hope there are romance options soon.

So what can we do to make a gifted ebook into a present?

 

Books and Cards!

Are you the person who buys all the awesome sumptuous paper in the crafts store and knows what to do with it?

You can make a greeting card using card stock, a printout of the cover, and paste the redemption code from the online bookstore inside. There's a lot of room for creativity among you people who buy all the glitter, stickers, and sexy fun-to-touch paper in the craft stores. (I love the sexy fun-to-touch paper).

 

Books as pranks!

Aside from paper crafts, there are silly options like hiding the book gift card in a huge box filled with paper or packing materials, if you wanted to annoy the ever living hell out of someone.

(I like this idea a LOT, given how much Hubby HATES packing materials.) (Mwaaaahahahaahah.)

You can also stash the book certificate and make the person hunt for it. Nesting dolls? Inside a stuffed animal? Disguised as a parking ticket on someone's windshield? FUN AND GAMES!

Just don't put it in the washing machine or the fireplace, obviously.

 

Books and food!

Most of us read while noshing on something. One option might be to package the ebook certificate with some cookies (homemade or store bought) or chocolates.

Another option is to find teacups or mugs at a thrift store or home good store, and wrap the book certificate up with a cup, and a bag or two of tea or hot chocolate.

 

Books and comfort.

Extremely fuzzy socks? Awesome. Soft throws on sale? Woo! Anything comforting and inexpensive can be paired with a book, right? Hand cream samples and lip balm could also work.

And while I was looking for fuzzy socks (few of which have good reviews, oddly enough) I found these socks, which aren't super inexpensive but are SO ADORABLE. DUDE. They have CAPES.

It's a wonderful thing to give someone a book, or a few books they've been hoping to read and I understand the feeling that handing someone a piece of paper is somewhat anticlimactic. I feel the same way sometimes. If you have ideas or suggestions as to how to present a digital book certificate as a present, please share!