In this post, I’m sharing some thoughtful gift ideas for Christians. These would all make great Christmas gifts, but they can be given any time of the year–for birthdays, baptisms, or just because.
Gift giving can feel materialistic and like we’re getting away from the real meaning of each celebration, whether it’s Christmas or a birthday, so I always like giving a few thoughtful, faith-based gifts that can bless the recipient for the whole year, and not just for a moment.
8 Thoughtful Gift Ideas for Christians
Dwell App
I gifted the Dwell app to my grown-up kids and several other family members last Christmas, and it was a hit. If you’re not familiar, the Dwell app is a minimalist and beautifully designed digital Bible and devotion resource. You can choose from a variety of translations, narrators, and background sounds to completely customize your listening experience. If you choose to read, you also have numerous options for that–fonts, backgrounds, colors.
They also offer a variety of reading plans (Psalms Daily, Words of Jesus Daily, and more) and devotions. I wrote more about the Dwell app in this post on digital Bible tools if you’d like to learn more.
It requires a subscription (currently $40 per year), and it works great as a gift. This time of year, they offer gift-giving deals, so check it out.
Thinking of giving this as a gift? Click here for Dwell’s help.
Behold: A Study of the New Testament
Behold: A Study of the New Testament guides you through the New Testament over the course of a year, reading one chapter every day for five days each week. I haven’t gone through this, but my daughter and some of her church friends are enjoying it! I’m not familiar with the theology of each study, but their website reflects what I would call Christ-centered and Biblically sound teaching. I would also say that their materials are some of the prettiest I’ve seen.
According to their website, this study is designed to “help you grasp the major themes in each book of the New Testament, assist you in understanding the context of each book, give you a fresh perspective on familiar passages, [and] make it possible for you to read the entire New Testament in just fifteen minutes a day, five days a week.” Such a beautiful goal!
Every book begins with a summary and context. Each day includes a brief summary and explanation of the day’s reading, and each week wraps up with reflection questions.
Purchasing the full set at one time is a little bit of an investment, so it makes a thoughtful, generous gift for someone who would enjoy it but wouldn’t necessarily purchase for themselves. They also offer discounts, so it’s worth it to check frequently!
The Daily Grace Co. has many other Bible Studies, handbooks, and accessories that could make great gifts as well.
ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
The Illuminated Scripture Journal contains the full ESV New Testament. Each book of the New Testament is individually bound and beautifully decorated with hand-lettered, gold-ink illustrations.
Scripture is printed on the left pages in an easy to read font while the pages on the right are blank with lightly colored dots to give you room for Bible journaling, taking sermon notes, or writing prayers. With a lay-flat binding and thick, opaque paper, these Bible journals would be a joy to give and use.
Enduring Word Bible for Journaling
I am currently using the Enduring Word Bible (ESV) as my journaling Bible. It contains the entirety of the Bible with wide margins for notes or Bible journaling. I love that it also has pre-printed designs at the start of each book as well as on many of the pages. You can color those and add your own. A great idea for anyone who is new to Bible Journaling!
Mr. Pen Bible Highlighters
These Bible Highlighters are no-bleed and come in a variety of colors ranging from soft and subtle to loud and bright. Find a set that matches the style and personality of the friend or family member you have in mind and give them the gift of organizing their study time. Great stocking stuffer!
Personalized Prayer Bible
I recently gifted my daughter a compact Bible which I turned into a prayer Bible personalized for her. I found a number of videos online to give me ideas!
Basically, you come up with specific prayer categories that would bless the recipient’s prayer life. Then, using the concordance, you find and highlight all of the verses that fit that theme. Some ideas here for categories: peace, hope, strength, patience, attributes of God, friendship, forgiveness, joy, finances. Part of the joy in putting this together is that YOU get to dive in Scripture to find the verses that work best. You can do simple searches online for themes in the Bible to guide you.
Finally, I added color-coded tabs and an index so everything would be easy to find. These tabs work great because they are repositionable. I matched the tab colors to the highlighter colors so everything is color coordinated. I stopped there, but you can make this as personal as you want by adding photos on the inside covers, stickers, or notes.
Portals of Prayer App
The print version of this quarterly devotional has been my go-to daily devotional for years, and I love that they now have it available on an app. In the app, you can listen to the devotion as well as the Scripture readings. It also has over 10 years of archived devotions, lots of prayers, and other devotional resources beautiful for any Christian on your list.
The annual subscription is under $10/year. You could gift your friend or family member and they’d be blessed by a short but rich devotion every day of the year.
Search your phone’s app store to find the version for your phone. If you’re giving it as a gift, you might just gift the money and explain the intention in a card.
Spiral Bibles
Such a simple but brilliant idea! These spiral-bound Bibles might be a delightful surprise for those on your list who already own every Bible resource out there. My guess is that they don’t have these! I love that they lay flat and have plenty of room for note-taking. This is the Poetry edition which includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.
T-shirts and more!
Elly and Grace offer dozens of great gift ideas from t-shirts and mugs to stickers and postcards. This “It Is Well” tunic is super cute for all ages. Have fun browsing their site for lots of ideas.
PureJoyCreative on Etsy also offers a fun and Christ-centered variety of gifts for all ages. Here’s a simple pencil case with a beautiful quote on the outside to help us remember we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
How cute is this sweatshirt? Allie Beth Stuckey’s merchandise shop on the Blaze Media website is full of cute, faith-based merchandise for men, women, and kids. Hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, yard signs, onesies, totes–you name it. Cute and cozy with a loving reminder.
My Bible Quiet Book
My Bible Quiet Book is the perfect gift for the little ones in your life. Made of fabric with a few meaningful words on each page and plenty of interactive, playful elements, this makes a wonderful first Bible.
Books, books, books.
Yes, I love to give and receive books, and obviously you need to know your recipient’s book-love language to pick the right one.
One type of book that is always welcome is a Bible study or devotional book, there are so many good ones out there, ladies. So many. Some of my favorites come from authors I’ve read/studied, and I know these are solid studies. Check out anything by these female authors: Deb Burma, Sharla Fritz, Donna Snow, Michelle Dierks, Christina Hergengrader, Lindsay Hausch, and Martha Van Buskirk’s new release Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Grace. (I have a long list of excellent study books by men too, but I’ll share that another time!)
Or if you’re looking for a good fiction or nonfiction read, check out my 2024 Book Club features and this list of authors to check out–both feature many Christian authors.
For families with little ones, these Sing, Move, and Memorize books are a lovely gift.
Arch books are classic and children love them! They are colorful and the stories are told in fun and easy to read rhymes that your littles will remember for years. If you don’t own any of these, please do yourself a favor and buy one or two for yourself or to give as gifts to families with young children. This collection is their classics for Christmas.
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