2024 Folger Holiday Gift Guide

It’s the most wonderful time of the year—and the Folger is here to help you find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.

We’re sharing some favorites from our online Folger Shop in the holiday gift guide below, just a small selection of all that the Folger Shop offers.

Need more ideas? Visit our bricks-and-mortar Folger Shop located just off our west lobby. In-person shoppers enjoy 10% off their purchases this weekend and December 20–22.

Plus when you visit the Folger, enjoy the festive decorations, free activities including special fun for younger visitors, and more at our first Folger Frost Fair.

Kids play

Small wooden dolls inspire hours of imaginative fun. Pick Shakespeare or Elizabeth I, each available as a 7” individual doll, or choose a set of four smaller 3.5” figures: women in power, beloved writers, trailblazers, even a chalkboard family who can be personalized over and over again!

Pair it with a miniature activity and coloring book, with whimsical color-in illustrations by Anna Donado and a petite set of colored pencils.

For older artists, a  coloring poster (23.5” x 35”) featuring a lovely floral garden lit by paper with gleaming highlights of gold foil to illuminate your coloring creativity!

Fashion fit for a queen

A vibrantly colored, 100% handmade silk scarf of Elizabeth I, inspired by the Folger’s Plimpton “Sieve” portrait which hangs in the Fred Wilson installation in the Shakespeare Exhibition Hall. The painting is reimagined in vibrant colors by the design studio of Hellen van Berkel. Created exclusively for the Folger.

Other collection-inspired scarves include Visscher’s map of London in silk and the Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608 in cotton or wool.

Inspiration for jewelry designs comes from all parts of the Folger, including Elizabethan ruffs as contemporary necklaces to architectural features of the Folger’s historic building. Geometric silver earrings echo details of the art deco grillwork on the windows and doors lining the north façade.

Fun and games

Playing cards illustrated with Shakespeare characters—hearts for lovers, clubs for fools, diamonds for heroes and heroines, and spades for villains—will elevate any game. And there are decks for fans of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, too!

Or perhaps a 1,000-piece puzzle will amuse, whether it’s the world of Shakespeare, Austen, or Dickens! There’s also an elegant jigsaw puzzle featuring Elizabeth I.

Home and hearth

A mixed pack of six striped candles—also available in sets of four—in an array of bold bands of British Colour Standard archive colors. The elegant palette is derived and inspired from nature, flora and fauna, as well as semi-precious stones and spices, and even Royal colors, designed and used for coronations and special events. Each candle in the pack is unique.

Add a little Shakespeare to your holiday tree with fanciful felt ornaments: Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway, a Stratford jester, and beloved characters Bottom from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Juliet and her Romeo from Romeo and Juliet.

Books for the great variety of readers

For the youngest on your list: Romeo and Juliet: A Counting Primer board book and Shakespeare’s First Folio: A Children’s Edition with Illustrations by Emily Sutton which includes all the plays in the original volume, each edited so it can be performed by eight to twelve children age seven and up in under 20 minutes. The Imprints in Time exhibition catalog—specially priced at $65 for the holidays—shows the extraordinary items on view from the Stuart and Mimi Rose Collection in 271 full-color illustrated pages. There are titles from our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast and our virtual Book Club, guaranteeing that there’s something for every type of reader to enjoy.

Especially for teachers

The new Folger Guides to Teaching Shakespeare are the perfect gift for any English teachers on your list. The series offers educators fresh insights and detailed lesson plans for some of Shakespeare’s most frequently taught plays, based on the proven Folger Method of teaching and informed by the experiences of classroom teachers. The first three volumes—Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet—are available individually or as a specially-priced bundle for all three. The consummate complement? Give the gift of a Folger Teacher Membership which brings together all the resources of Folger Education, professional development webinars, and a supportive community of inspiring educators.

Still looking for the perfect gift?

Give a gift certificate

Good for tickets to any Folger program including Folger Theatre and Folger Consort performances, readings in the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series, and virtual events. You can choose any dollar amount and the gift certificate are good for three years from the purchase date.

Give the gift of Folger membership

Your friends and loved ones can enjoy the benefits and discounts of membership while supporting the Folger. For the teacher in your life, give a teacher membership which includes a subscription to Folger Teaching, online resources and professional development opportunities, special conversations, and more.

Thank you for shopping with us this holiday season. Every purchase supports the Folger Shakespeare Library.