My Bookish Secret Santa 2019

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents!” – Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

It’s year 2 of the BGPH Book Club Titas Christmas Book Exchange! I first talked about our book club here. We basically started as online friends, sharing our love for books and taking photos of books, but more than a year later our relationship has evolved to more like family. Our tradition of gift giving (bookish or not) continues throughout the year but we do have major book exchange events for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Huge thanks to my Secret Santa Tita Jen of Jen D Bibliophile for the thoughtful gifts and to Tita Diane of @backpackreads for organizing and hosting 🎁

For this year’s gift exchange, we agreed to add more to our bookish wishlist and decided to add a Kris Kringle theme: something green, something yummy and something instagrammable.

꧁ * Bookish Wish * ꧂

First up is my bookish wish: One Day in December by Josie Silver is one of those books that as soon as I saw it I fell in love with it and just knew I’m going to enjoy reading it, but I always hesitate to get it because it might just be a cover-buy and I don’t really have enough space in my bookshelves, so I don’t bring it home with me but I end up still thinking about it a year later (yes I have lots of feelings even though it’s “just a book”). I included around five titles in my wishlist, and it’s just so wonderful that my Secret Santa picked this for me. Perfect for holiday reading!

꧁ * Something Green * ꧂

The Cats and Plants sticker set is the perfect combination of two of my favorite things aside from books 😺🌿 My Secret Santa also picked an artist that I have been following and collecting for years now. You may check out more of their artworks, merchandise and cat care advocacy at @theoffbeatcat

꧁ * Something Yummy * ꧂

I love that my Secret Santa did not think of giving me literally yummy food, because this way they will last longer. Of course she knows I’m crazy for milk tea and ramen 🍜

꧁ * Something Instagrammable * ꧂

Everything in this book mail is instagrammable, but just look at the detail and glitter of this journal ✨ What I love most about this one is its message, to “Think Happy”–something I honestly struggled with this year, mainly because of my father passing away. Journalling has helped me a lot with the healing process. I plan to do more gratitude journalling, and I think this is the perfect home for my future writings. 💕

That’s it for this year’s Bookish Secret Santa. I will be reading One Day in December for Christmas, so if I don’t get to post again in the next few days, I am wishing you all a Merry Christmas!! I hope you enjoy the holidays with your loved ones. If it’s a tough season for you, please take it easy, and know that I am sending you all the positive vibes I can spare. Hugs! 🎄🌟❄️☃️✨