Life, as of Late

Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through them. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support the content I create. I only recommend products and services that I genuinely believe in and think will be valuable to you. Thank you for your support!

I did it – I started a book club! I always wanted to join a book club to share and discuss thoughts and ideas with other readers, and figured I’d simply start my own, so I did.

Yesterday was our very first meeting hosted by me in my home. As someone who enjoys all things hosting, planning, and decorating, I knew I wanted to gift everyone with a goodie bag. In these bags, I would include thoughtful, practical, and creative book club favors to get everyone excited for what’s to come.

So, if you’re considering curating favors for your book club, or simply searching for gift options for an avid reader in your life, I have five simple ideas for you.

1. Colored Annotation Tabs

The first rule of book club is… Don’t talk about book club.

I’m kidding. 😉

To encourage conversation, annotation tabs were at the top of my list for book club favors. I wanted to use sticky tabs (that were also conveniently and very cutely colored) so everyone could mark noteworthy sections they’d be interested in discussing.

I found this affordable multi-pack on Amazon that came in a variety of colors, perfect for a large group.

2. No Bleed, Fast Dry Highlighters

I love highlighting the parts of books I resonate with so that I can come back later and, at a quick glance, locate each of my favorite moments.

For this reason, I included a few cute, pastel highlighters. This specific brand not only dries quickly to prevent smudging or smearing, but also won’t bleed through any pages.

3. Leather Bookmarks

Of course, we have to include bookmarks in a goodie bag for a book club. I chose this pack of thin, leather bookmarks, which will hold up well.

There are a number of diverse bookmarks available on the market for you to customize or tailor to your book club’s vibe and aesthetic. Magnetic bookmarks are popular and do a thorough job of preventing you from losing your page. There are also smaller, pocket-sized bookmarks that simply dog ear the page.

Amazon offers huge packs of over 100 paper bookmarks for a reasonable price, which would be a great affordable favor to offer at every meeting.

I love the weight of a leather bookmark and plan to host a future meeting in which we emboss our own initials on them.

4. Public Library Due Date Coasters

The aforementioned favor ideas are fairly predictable, so I really wanted to include a few ideas that aren’t as expected.

I found these adorable wooden coasters that resemble a public library due date card and knew I wanted to include them in our goodie bags.

Not only is this unique, but also a great practical gift that can be used daily.

5. Gummy “Book Worms”

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so clever! I picked up a few enclosed plastic bags from The Dollar Tree, stuffed a few gummy worms inside, and wrote, “Book Worms”, across the front.

This was a huge hit and brought a smile to many.

6. Book-Related Stickers

Who doesn’t love a good sticker? These are incredibly affordable and, similar to paper bookmarks bought in bulk, can be offered as a book club favor at every meeting!

Favors can be creative, thoughtful, but also inexpensive.

I plan on providing a goodie bag with each of these five favors included to all of our new members. What would you include in yours?