Gifts for Creative Thinkers

If you've got a creative in your life who you'd like to get a gift for, I've got some great ideas for you. I come from a family of creative thinkers and artists, and creative gifts are the top choice at birthdays and holidays. Here are some of the most favorite gifts for creatives that we've given and received.

Personalized Creativity Kit

One of my favorite gifts ever was when I was about 10 years old and my mom gave me a toolbox with my name on it filled with art supplies. It felt awesome to have my own stash of creative goodies, and I still have the tool box to this day!

But you don't have to be a kid to enjoy a personalized art box. Putting together a personalized creativity kit is a unique gift.

Here's how I'd make a personalized art kit now: 

• Take an Artbin with lots of neat compartments.
• Add some of your creative person's favorite kinds of art supplies. It'll depend on their favorite ways of creating, but it's fun to purchase something that they might not splurge on themselves, but would love to try out. A couple art supplies that have been hits as gifts around here include these Posca pens and also a set of metallic watercolor paints.
• Once you've found a few art supplies for their kit, you can personalize it with colorful alphabet stickers.

Beginner's Knitting Kit

Knitting is a great hobby for people with busy brains, and Vogue knitting is excellent for teaching knitting skills. You could get this Knitting 101 book from Vogue along with a beautiful skein of yarn and some knitting needles, or a gift card to a craft store so they can pick out their own supplies.

If you're shopping for a younger creative thinker, then Kids Knitting is a great book for teaching kids (or grown-ups, honestly) to knit. The pictures and instructions are very clear, and it includes *actually* fun projects, not just boring ones. Add knitting needles and some soft chunky yarn for a Beginning Knit Kit.

Journal or Drawing Kit

A lot of creative thinkers are journal keepers or at least love a good sketchbook. I am a life-long journaler, and these are some of the supplies I truly love.

• Notebooks:
  • For writing- Moleskin notebooks were my pick when I was doing mostly writing journaling. I love the smooth feel of the paper for writing on. I like the ones with the Kraft Brown covers because I can draw or write a title on the front to let me know what that journal is about. If you prefer one without lines, they make blank or quad ruled versions as well.
  • For drawing – Paperage notebooks I've found are a good, affordable choice for doodle journaling. The paper is nice; it's smooth and decently thick so you can use fairly wet pens or markers on it. They come in a lot of colors with a band to hold them closed, and the price is low enough that I feel fine about scribbling in them. (Anything to help keep perfectionism at bay!)
• Good Pens – I have a few that I use over and over:
  • Sharpie Pens – Good standard writing pen (these are not permanent markers. They're a felt tip fine point pen).
  • Prismacolor Premier Markers – I Discovered these while getting into hand lettering. I like the 05 for regular writing.
  • Schneider Topliners – I am in LOVE with these, and they have colors!
• Upon discovering Sketchnotes (Check out this book if you're a visually oriented person; so helpful!), I began to use a Strathmore Sketchbook for day-to-day planning and note-taking. The larger size helps me see plans and add notes all in one place.

Nature Drawing Kit

Give your creative thinker a portable microscope to take on hikes and record observations in a Field Notebook. For days when heading outdoors isn't an option, practicing nature drawing with this how-to-book might be just the thing to pass the time.

You may also consider adding a hiking backpack, a waterbottle and a sunhat. We particularly love the sunhats from Sunday Afternoons, as they give great coverage and come in a variety of styles.

Happy Creative Gift Giving!

I hope these ideas help you out with gift ideas for the creative people in your life. You can't go wrong finding a way to support their creative endeavors, whether that's by way of a surprise gift, a gift card or simply asking what supplies they wish they had more of and purchasing extras of those. Who knows what creativity your gift will spark! No matter what, it's sure to be appreciated.