Etsy gift guide

Etsy Gift Guide – for journals and planners

Who doesn’t love a good gift guide? It’s like someone else doing all the legwork and you get all the credit! And an Etsy gift guide makes for truly unique and wonderful gifts.

enjoy the little things notebook
Photo by Miesha Renae Maiden on Pexels.com

While we all know what Black Friday is, you might not be aware of Small Business Saturday. I love shopping small businesses, to support folks who are going the hard road of doing their own thing and doing it on their own.

The pinnacle of small business owners are Etsy shop owners – people who create and produce their own goods and put them out into the world. That’s why I’m so excited to talk with you about these planners, journals, and planning accessories straight from Etsy!

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click the links but at no additional cost to you.

The editors over at Etsy have put together a beautiful collection of journals and planners that you have to check out! I do want to point out a few of them in particular that caught my eye:

  • This customizable birth flower name journal would be perfect for your mom or a new mom you might know.
  • I saw this terrific bundle of 5 mini leather journals and immediately thought of stocking stuffers or coworker gifts.
  • I love a guided journal and this gratitude journal would be a beautiful gift for someone who needs a boost of self-reflection.
  • If you’re searching for something with a more professional appearance, you have to check out this personalized padfolio.

An Etsy gift guide would not be complete without mentioning several of my own favorite vendors. I want to introduce you to:

  • If you’ve never checked out Planner Kate, you’re missing out! She offers all kinds of planner stickers, including stickers that are the perfect size and shape for all your Erin Condren planners.
  • Sunshine Sticker Co also offers stickers, and my favorites are the sticky tabs you can add to any planner or bullet journal.
  • I just love my planner pouch from Naptime Craze Designs, not only does it hold my discbound planner together but it has all kinds of storage for my pens and supplies.
  • If you’re looking for some fun and unique stencils, you have to check out Moxie Dori. It was one of the first stores I discovered when I started bullet journaling.

4 people who would love to get a journal as a gift

Many people choose to start journaling because of the unique benefits that it can provide. For example, it can help you to de-stress and to even get through some very difficult times.

Others start journaling because they believe that family or friends may be interested in learning more about their life many years or decades from now.

While some people buy a journal for themselves, a journal is a very thoughtful gift for someone special in your life. In fact, these are some of the people who may enjoy receiving a journal as a gift.

A new parent

Bringing a new child into the world is one of the most emotionally-charged experiences that a person can go through. Regardless of whether this is the person’s first child or fifth, the act of creating a life and being responsible for raising that child successfully to adulthood and beyond can stir emotions that the person may not have even known they had.

Some new parents understandably may want to share their thoughts and feelings with their child at a much later date. After all, the overwhelming sense of love that a parent innately feels at this important time can be difficult to share later.

The parent’s hopes and dreams for the child, lessons that he or she wants to share and more may be written down so that the child can read them when he or she is mature enough to handle them.

A high school or college student

High school and college years are some of the most formative and challenging years of many people’s lives. These are years when people generally transform from a child into an adult.

Each person has a unique coming-of-age story, and a journal gives them an excellent space to capture those memories. More than that, the stress and drama associated with the transition into adulthood can stir many emotions.

Teens and young adults may be able to use their journal to explore their feelings and to gain great insight about who they are and what they stand for.

A retiree

You may think that a retiree’s life is on a downward swing, but retirees may tell you that this is when their life is truly beginning.

Retiring is a new and exciting chapter for many people. It may be filled with experiences of being a grandparent, of traveling to new places and making incredible relationships with people who they meet along the way.

In fact, retirement can actually be much more thrilling and exciting than a younger adult caught up on the mundane mediocrity of a nine-to-five work life. Many older adults also understand that younger generations may want to learn more about their life at some point.

A journal can be used to preserve thoughts and even to share memories from many years or decades ago. These documents may even be handed down from generation to generation so that your experiences become a part of family history.

Someone dealing with a hard time

Journaling is an excellent way for anyone to deal with an emotional crisis. Everything from dealing with a new disability or a divorce to overcoming grief after losing a loved one may take years to move past.

When you give a journal to a close friend or relative who is going through a rough patch, you are showing them that you care. This is a way to tell them that you are thinking about them and that you are trying to be supportive, but you also understand that their journey at this time of life must be experienced fully on their own.

A journal gives them a place to let it all out, and it may even help them to get through this period of their lives more easily.


Frequently Asked Questions

What do you include in a journal or planner gift?

When I give a journal or planner as a gift, I like to include a few nice pens, some relevant or pretty stickers, and an accessory or two like a snap-in bookmark or a pencil case.

Why give a planner as a gift?

Journals and planners make great gifts, for so many people. Especially if they are going through a transition time such as changing jobs, graduations, retirements, etc.

What do people like in a planner?

The biggest components that a planner needs to have are a calendar system and notes pages! Everything else can be adapted to the design of the planner itself.


You may also be interested in…

gift planner

Do you plan out your gifting – for the holidays and for the year?

Is it just me, or does everyone plan gifts in advance?  Not every gift is planned out; every so often I come across something that I just have to get for someone.  But I love my gift tracker pages!  It comes in so handy for planning when I need to get the nephews’ gift cards or the mother-in-law’s scarf.  Not to mention how wonderful it is during the holiday season.  Especially if you tend to buy gifts throughout the year, it’s terrific for keeping up with what you’ve already bought.  You can also take advantage of sales when they happen throughout the year and just mark down what you’ve stashed away.  (Erin Condren seasonal surprise boxes, Paper Me Pretty stationery subscription, and Current Catalog card sets, I’m looking at you!)  Whether you are planning for birthdays at any time during the year or the holiday season specifically, the whole process is so much easier when you plan ahead!

Within the first five pages of my planner, I always include these Year at a Glance and Year in Color pages.

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Download your Year at a Glance and Year in Color today!

2022 Year at a Glance and Year in Color
is your planner ready

Is your 2022 planner ready to go?

It’s October and 2022 is right around the corner.  I’ve already started next year’s planner!  I love checking out what options are available from my favorite places like Erin Condren but I also like to shop around for other items.  Some of my favorites include Sunshine Sticker Company, Planner Kate, Coco and Opal, and Paper Planner Club.  It’s always so much fun to decorate with the tabs and stickers!

But the first thing you should do is sketch out what you want your planner to look like for 2022.  Do you want to focus on your financial goals?  Do you need to improve your calendar system?  Do you want to keep better track of birthdays?  Do you want to start journaling?  Do you need to focus on project planning?  Do you want to start a home business?  Once you decide a path for 2022, you can fill in the pages that you will need.

If you want a full printable planner, check out this beautiful 2022 dated planner!  So much easier than dating or making your own!  It includes a full annual calendar, Year at a Glance, dated monthly pages, a weekly planner page, a project planner page, a bill payment page, and two different notes pages.  You’ll be ready for the entire year!

Get your printable calendar today!
Get your printable calendar today!

Within the first five pages of my planner, I always include these Year at a Glance and Year in Color pages.

2022 Year at a Glance and Year in Color
planner supplies

So many planner supplies!

There is something about that blank planner page that makes me want to pull out my entire sticker collection!

Some pages are better off with a minimalist design, but some just beg for decoration and stickers and gel pens.

Left to right: Coco and Opal from CrateJoy, Erin Condren, Planner Kate from Etsy

  • I fell in love with the Coco and Opal Design Planner Stickers as soon as I opened my first packet! They are a reasonably priced monthly subscription from CrateJoy. The above stickers are from the month of July with a delicious lemonade theme, and I actually laughed out loud at the text stickers on the bottom section of the picture — “Stupid To Do List”.
  • One of the biggest names in personal planners and planner stickers is Erin Condren, and with very good reason. I have not tried her actual planners yet (truthfully, I didn’t want to switch styles mid-year) but I had to try out some of her stickers and accessories. My favorite feature is that a majority of the stickers are customizable. The larger sheets pictures above (the watercolor and the lacy ones) are in colors that I selected. I love that you can coordinate them to your existing color scheme or to the season! The little hexagon ones above are brilliant – they are page markers that wrap around the paper so you can find something quickly!
  • In all honesty, PlannerKate1 is one of the most successful shops on Etsy. I don’t mean the most successful sticker store or planner accessory seller, I mean one of the most successful shops PERIOD. Remarkable! And I just had to try them out. They are mostly designed for the Erin Condren planners (in sticker shape and size) but could be used in just about any planner you have on hand. I tend to use more functional stickers and these certainly fit the bill.

Behold the Erin Condren seasonal surprise box! It seems to have already sold out so I don’t think I am spilling any secrets….

There was so much in this beautiful box that I could barely fit it all in the picture. The fall color scheme is gorgeous shades of navy, purple, and teal with silver highlights. I always appreciate silver highlights over gold but that’s just a personal preference.

  • Padfolio Set *sneak peek* – navy vegan leather containing two to-do list pads and one weekly calendar pad
  • 2-pack of folded paper ornaments *sneak peek* – haven’t opened them just yet but can’t wait to hang them in my home office
  • Hexagon Sticky Note pack *sneak peek* – who can’t use pretty sticky notes in their planner, on their calendar, on the fridge at home, anywhere really
  • 3-piece ballpoint pen set *sneak peek* – three pens in purple, navy, and teal (please note that the ink is a smooth black ballpoint)
  • 2 sticker sheets *exclusive* – I love the fact that these fall leaves aren’t the normal fall colors of orange and yellow
  • Interchangable covers *exclusive* – snap into the EC planners but they might fit other spiral notebooks too
  • Large eraser *exclusive* – because life is about learning from your mistakes
  • Asterisk decorative tape dispenser *sneak peek* – roll out the sparkly stars to decorate your fall calendars
  • Stationery set *exclusive* – gorgeous notecards with silver envelopes