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Shakespeare & Beyond

9 Christmas gift ideas for Shakespeare fans

We’ve got nine Shakespeare-themed Christmas gift ideas for you, selected from the Folger shop and all under $20. Find something for your friend, your sibling, your favorite English teacher, or yourself!

1. A Shakespeare quotes mug

Drink hot chocolate from a mug with Shakespearean insults on it —”You rampallian!”— or one with quotes about love— “The course of true love never did run smooth”.

2. Christmas tree ornaments

Choose from Queen Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare himself, or one of his characters: Bottom, Hamlet (skull in hand), Romeo, or Juliet.

3. Shakespeare playing cards

“Come, sweet, we’ll go to dinner / And then we’ll play at cards.” (The Two Noble Kinsmen) These playing cards feature quotes from Shakespeare’s plays.

shakespeare-playing-cards

4. First Folio poster

Have you seen the First Folio on tour? This poster, with the title page portrait of Shakespeare, makes a great memento.

first-folio-poster

5. Lady Macbeth soap

Your house guests will definitely get a kick out of this cleverly packaged soap. “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (Macbeth)

Christmas gift ideas - Lady Macbeth's guest soap

6. Shakespeare Christmas cards

This set of notecards features a delightful riff on the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song.

shakespeare-christmas-cards

7. Globe Theatre model kit

Get the whole family involved with building this model of The Globe.

globe-theatre-kit

8. Shakespeare action figure

This tweet from The New York Times shows some of the cool things you can do with a Shakespeare action figure (and in this case, one of Jane Austen too).

9. Shakespeare audiobooks

Shakespeare’s language is meant to be spoken aloud. These Folger audio editions of Shakespeare’s plays are perfect for long car trips or plane rides this holiday season.

Folger Audio Editions A Midsummer Night's Dream