Holiday Giving Made Easy (Really.)

Thankfully we survived 2020's Friday the 13th, and now we're preparing in earnest for the next several weeks. We've written on this blog about why it's a good idea to start holiday shopping early this year, and the holidays already feel different. For us, there will be less (if any) gatherings and a heck of a lot more meaning. We find ourselves wanting to extend our gift giving to more people - people we miss and want to send a little packaged hug to. That got us thinking about how we might make that easier for all of you, too.

Conversations at Skylark tend to be filled with "what if we did this" moments, and the more we talked, the more ideas we came up with. In the end, we settled on four new things to offer you. Hopefully, at least one of the links below will make your life easier and allow you to focus more on the love this year . . . less on the details.

Each of the links below will take you a Google form. Fill it out, and we'll be in touch with you soon!

Jolabokaflod

Every time* Carrie says "Jolabokaflod", Alex replies with, "Bless you." For those of you whose Icelandic is a bit rusty, jolabokaflod translates to "Christmas book flood." It's one of the most perfect traditions ever: books are given as presents on Christmas Eve, so that friends and family can spend a cozy night in curled up with a good story. Skylark is ready to help you make this happen for you: let us choose a book for each member of your household. You unwrap and retreat to your couch corners and celebrate the night before Christmas with wordy wonder. Every last one of you gets a surprise (including the giver, and we all know it doesn't always work that way.)

* Really, every time.

Holiday Helper

Want us to take care of your entire shopping list? With our Holiday Helper, leave all your loved ones' bookish needs to us. We'll do the brainstorming and wrapping and mailing, and you get the glory. Our test run customer had this to say: "Five minutes of typing, a five minute phone call, and everybody on my list has something personalized coming their way! Eerily spot-on selections."

Oodles of Holiday Goodness

We wanted to create some book bundles for the kiddos in your life - a book a day for Advent, the 12 Days of Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, or whatever holiday you feel like celebrating. You fill out the form and we send the lucky recipient a stack of wrapped books to mark the days with stories. These take a bit of time to put together, so pay attention to the reply-by dates!

Your Own Personal Book Club

Do you have a book you want to share, something to talk to your friends and loved ones about for months to come? Do you want to start your own regular zoom meeting to make sure they are really reading THE MOST AMAZING BOOK EVER?! Fill out the form and let us help. Not sure which title actually isthe most amazing book ever? We can totally help with that, too.

Don't Forget Subscriptions, Book Spas, and Gift Certificates!

We are, of course, still offering the old Skylark favorites, which are always hugely popular gift options. Book subscriptions are the personalized gifts that keep on giving throughout the year; Skylark Book Spas offer unparalleled book pampering for the book lover in your life; and a gift certificate is always a good option if you're unsure what to choose.

Oh, and Good Old Fashioned Recommendations, of course

If you're in need of inspiration for possible gift ideas, our new e-commerce website has got pages of enthusiastic staff recommendations (in the menu at the top of the page) and we'll soon be adding some holiday-specific pages too, with suggestions for certain kinds of hard-to-please friends and family members. And of course you can always drop us a line or call us or pop in for a visit and we'll be happy to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.