the countdown's on :: gifts for stationery lovers

My name is little macaroon and I am a stationery addict. There I've said it. I can't always spell it (I have to look it up every single time, ary? ery? whatevs) but I LOVE it. I might love it more than flowers and chocolate and puppies. More even than flowery chocolate puppies.

I love stationery so much that, for five years (while working a full-time job and then quitting to have a baby work another full-time job), I made elaborate wedding stationery for dozens of friends and relatives... for free! Some of it was rather nice even if I say so myself.

do you think anyone is allowed to help themselves to the contents of these drawers? I think not.

All of which brings us (now that our American friends have got Thanksgiving out of their systems) to the C word. I think it's time we talked about Christmas. About the wee baby Jesus. About peace on earth. And about gifts.

Come on, you know you want to. 

So, combining my twin loves of stationery and gifts with a magic sprinkle of Christmas fairy dust, I have to share some of these brilliant new things with you - just in case there's a hoarder of tissue-lined envelopes and pretty sticky tape in your family. And if there is one of that breed in your brood, you need to take note (on a nice pad, using a lovely pen, natch). Now make yourself comfortable, here goes:

Living in Singapore was very very bad for my stationery addiction. Those red dotters do paper shops well. And there are few better than Prints, the Scandi/Sing collaborative daddy of them all. Notebooks, calendars, diaries, files. In plastic, fabric, leather, card. Covering every colour of the rainbow (and more) and embossed with flowers, checks... I could go on. And on. And on. You won't believe the beautiful quality and, as special stationery goes, it's really affordable. (And they've just launched an international online shop, Hallelujah!)

Look at this little beauty! Under a tenner from Prints

Now when was the last time you used an eraser? Hmm, me neither. But that isn't the point. Just look at this lovely, lovely thing from the Design Museum. I would thoroughly enjoy making many mistakes in my homework if I had one of these. In fact, I promise to write all my thank you letters in pencil... with my left hand.

Eraser pot, just £16.50 earth pounds from the Design Museum shop. Yum.

Regular readers may notice that I have a bit of a thing for kikki.K, an Australian brand with a Scandinavian lineage, and another dangerous weakness that I cultivated in Singapore. Their "My organising" binder series has revolutionised my filthy old shambles of a recipe folder, and I would love to extend those powers to the rest of my chaotic life. Probably in the form of this fabulous new product... I think I would even manage to do my tax return on time if I had one of these. It's not cheap, but they do seem to have free standard delivery over US$150, which could justify it. Especially if it saves me a fine on my tax return.

Santa Baby, slip these binders under the tree, for me! 189SGD from kikki.K

Brothers and sisters-in-law are always tricky aren't they? What to give to people who must be given to, but who you don't see that often. I decided upon a Christmas hamper. And on further inspection found them to be largely filled with marmalade, coffee, stilton and wine. My brother doesn't like marmalade, coffee, stilton or wine. And my sister-in-law is a divinely glamorous size zero (at a generous estimate), so I'm guessing she doesn't eat all that much of anything at all. Therefore, Christmas hamper = crappy unimaginative cop out idea. Until...

The brilliant company I buy coloured envelopes from for all those weddings sent me a Christmas catalogue containing (deep breath now) STATIONERY HAMPERS! (The Hallelujah chorus is now coursing through my veins.)

And because good gift giving is buying something you really love and giving it (ungrudgingly, ahem) to someone else (right?), big bro and his lady love will be given all colours of gorgeousness in the form of this and this and a couple of these. Yes, yes, I have mailed off my application for sister of the year. And while we're here, let me just share this with you. A stationery hamper worth £350. Don't drool now.

tiny picture, fabulously ginormous price tag, from bureau direct

Sit still at the back, we're nearly done. And this last one's a real cracker. Urban Cottage Industries is a family of small businesses doing totally genius stuff. I could wax lyrical about the personalised letterpress birthday card I got this year. I could gush about the MoleskinePress, CardPress, and PencilPress. And that's before even getting on to the clever things they do with lighting. But what I'd really love to share is Kornflake - business and greetings cards, letterpress printed onto recycled cereal boxes. Their Christmas cards look hard to beat, and I want all my business cards made of old packets of coco pops.

I want that hard. I'll just have to think up a business first.

You're welcome stationery lovers. Now where's my 12-step programme.

snowflake cards made of Frosties packets, they're grrrrrreat! from Kornflake