11 Thoughtful Gifts For Word Lovers

It’s easy to spot the logophiles in your life: They’re the people who are addicted to word games, have full libraries at home, or who are always quick to provide you with the word that’s on the tip of your tongue. This holiday season, indulge your loved one’s passion for words with a gift they’ll appreciate.

1. Creative Crafthouse Store Word Wheel Scramble; $24

This 4.1-inch handmade wooden puzzle has 143 word-related challenges—which means it’s sure to keep your favorite logophile occupied for hours.

Buy it: Amazon

2. The Curious Compendium of Wonderful Words; $22

Yes, we’re biased, but we’re also willing to bet that the word lovers in your life won’t be upset to find Mental Floss’s latest book under the tree. The Curious Compendium of Wonderful Words features everything from phrase origins and tips for your Wordle game to the 20th century’s best slang and scathing old-timey insults—and that’s just the tip of the etymological iceberg.

Buy it: Amazon

3. Wordle The Party Game; $20

Take everyone’s favorite word game from the computer screen to the living room with Hasbro’s four-player Wordle the Party Game. Each player comes up with a five-letter word that their friends have to guess; according to one reviewer, the game also comes with rule cards “where you have to remember to do certain actions, such as bowing before starting a round, during your turn” that “make the game more challenging and adds tons of laughter.” Other modes of gameplay include fast mode, timed mode, and team mode.

Buy it: Amazon

4. Book Couch; $30

The better the book, the more exhausting it is to hold up. Give a rabid reader’s tired arms a rest with the Book Couch, a plush lap rest that props up books, e-readers, and tablets so they can gorge on words with minimal effort. It’s available in blue, gray, llama, red, diner booth, sloth, and hot lips.

Buy it: Amazon

5. Moleskine Book Journal; $33

The new year is a great opportunity to start a book journal. This one from Moleskine is specifically designed for documenting someone’s reading history, with sections for recording general information about the title as well as jotting down impressions and memorable quotes. Like other Moleskine products, this notebook comes with useful features like ribbon bookmarks and an expandable inner pocket.

Buy it: Amazon

6. Flexilight Xtra Booklight; $10

Got a young reader to buy for? Grab one of the Flexilight Xtra booklights. Unlike most booklights, this LED-powered light is flexible enough to conform to most any book and comes in fun designs like penguins, ducks, and unicorns for kid word buffs. It’s also thin enough to double as a bookmark.

Buy it: Amazon

7. Novel Teas; $13

Few things go better together than a good book and a cup of tea. Now readers can elevate their cozy book appointments with Novel Teas, a set of 25 individually wrapped teabags that each have literary quotes on them. The product also has one of the great slogans in advertising history: “Read ‘em and steep.”

Buy it: Amazon

8. William Shakespeare Engraved Inspirational Quote Pen; $20

Keep the wisdom of the Bard close at hand with this engraved pen sporting the classic Shakespeare line: “To thine own self be true.” The ballpoint pen is compatible with G2 ink refills.

Buy it: Amazon

9. Retro Series Scrabble; $22

Scrabble has been updated several times since its debut, but the original edition remains a classic. This Retro Series-edition of Scrabble is the same version of the game that appeared on shelves in 1949, complete with vintage wood tiles and racks. Whether or not the players stick to words that were dictionary-official 70 years ago is up to them.

Buy it: Amazon

10. Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers; $14

No true word lover can resist a good pun. Punderdome makes a game out of wordplay, tasking players with taking two prompts from the deck and making one terrific (i.e. awful) pun out of them. You can even play virtually for socially distanced game nights.

Buy it: Amazon

11. The New York Times A Puzzle a Day; $14

This book was edited by New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz. Like the puzzles in the newspaper, the crosswords are labeled with days of the week and increase in difficulty, with Monday being the easiest and Saturday the hardest. (“Sunday’s puzzle is bigger or longer but isn’t necessarily the hardest,” one reviewer notes.) It’s sure to keep your word nerd busy all year long.

Buy it: Amazon

A version of this story ran in 2018; it has been updated for 2023.