🎁 Lord of the Rings Gift Guide — 2023

Tolkien Treasures #012: November 2023

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also—I launched some Jokien with Tolkien merch yesterday! I’ll mention it again down below, but be sure to check it out and see if there’s anything that catches your eye!

The Fellowship participating in a White Oliphaunt gift exchange with the Elves of Lórien. Wait…er…. Credit: New Line Cinema

Mae govannen, friends!

The holiday season is fast approaching and you may be looking for the perfect gift for that Lord of the Rings fanatic in your life (maybe that’s you!). If so, you’re in luck. I’ve put together some ideas in the following gift guide that should cover a wide range of gift options, categories, and budgets. So read on to check out some ideas for gifts as perfect as the ones Galadriel gave to the Fellowship as they set out from Lothlórien on their journey.

Two quick notes: first, Substack is warning me that this post is “too long for email.” If it cuts off at some point, just open it in the app or online or click “view entire message” and that should take care of it! Also, some of the below links are affiliate. This doesn’t add anything to the cost of your purchase, it simply throws a few pennies my way for being the one to show you the particular item!

Is it really an LOTR gift guide if this line isn’t referenced? Credit: New Line Cinema

Table of Contents

Tolkien Books

Tolkien in Other Media

Life Accessories

Splurges

Tolkien Books

Let’s start at the beginning. BOOKS. None of the rest of the items on this list would exist without the books Tolkien wrote. So what are some gift-worthy Tolkien books?

The Lord of the Rings — there are many, many editions of The Lord of the Rings that would make great gifts. My current favorite? The recently released Illustrated by the Author Edition of LOTR, which contains illustrations and sketched by Tolkien himself throughout and is an excellent choice as a gift, especially together in a set with the Illustrated by the Author Silmarillion and Illustrated by the Author Hobbit

The Hobbit — in addition to the edition illustrated by Tolkien above, there is an edition of The Hobbit illustrated by Jemima Catlin that would be perfect for a child reading through the story. Also check out this 70th Anniversary Edition, which would make an excellent upgrade from a paperback copy.

Hobbit/LOTR Box Sets — I love this Deluxe Pocket Boxed Set with The Hobbit and LOTR. It’s affordable, looks incredible, and you can take any of the volumes with you wherever you go! This set of The Hobbit and LOTR Illustrated by Alan Lee (both on the covers and throughout) is stunning. I personally received it as a gift and it’s incredible!

The Silmarillion — if the above Illustrated by the Author Edition listed in The Lord of the Rings section doesn’t do it for you, I’d also recommend this hardcover edition of The Silmarillion with illustrations by Ted Nasmith.
Editor’s Note: want to go above and beyond for your LOTR fan? Do your research and hunt down a first edition Silmarillion for them! The first edition was a large print run, so they’re still readily available and don’t cost as much as you might think (less than $50 if you just want a general first edition, closer to around $100 if you want a first edition that’s a first impression as well).

The History of Middle-earth — volumes 1–5 of The History of Middle Earth are collected in this paperback box set. If you’ve mastered The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion and want even more, this is where you should head next! (Of course, there’s a gorgeous hardcover set coming out in January that you can pre-order too)

The Great Tales of Middle-earth — though you can find versions of all three stories in The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth, The Great Tales of Middle Earth collects The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin in one box set. These books contain not just the “final” versions of these tales as they appeared in The Silmarillion but also other versions from earlier or later in Tolkien’s life.

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded — just this month a revised and expanded edition of Tolkien’s letters was released and it would make a wonderful gift for the Tolkien fan in your life whether they’ve already read the previously released letters or it would be the first time for them.

Tolkien in Other Media

While everything began with the books, that’s hardly how it’s stayed! Here are a few other ways to experience the world of Middle-earth.

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings — upgrade your DVDs of these classic films to the 4K UHD trilogy (or the remastered Blu-ray trilogy)

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit — look, I’m not going to say much about these movies…but if you want to give them to someone you know who loves them (no judgement!) you can get them in 4K UHD or on Blu-ray

Rankin/Bass and Ralph Bakshi Films — the animated versions of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Return of the King are each charming in their ways. If you didn’t see them as a child you might not see them quite as fondly, but they’re worth seeing and all entertaining

The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide — alright, does this Official Movie Guide really belong in books or here in other media? I don’t know! What I do know is if you want to get a look behind the scenes at the Peter Jackson LOTR films, this Official Movie Guide will scratch that itch.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria — order this latest LOTR videogame for PC or PS5 and help the dwarves reclaim Moria after the events of The Lord of the Rings have passed and the Fourth Age begins

Life Accessories

You’ve read the books, you’ve watched the movies, now you want to take with you every day to help bring some of that LOTR-related joy with you!

Jokien with Tolkien Gear — Yesterday I launched some shirt and sweatshirt designs and every one of them would make for an excellent gift! Order soon and you’ll ensure they arrive in time for the holidays.

Speak Friend and Enter Doormat — welcome visitors to your humble abode with a doormat inscribed with instructions for how to open your doors. Speak, friend, and enter (watcher in the water for your front yard pool sold separately).

The Lord of the Rings Scentless Candle with Ring of Power — this LOTR candle burns longer than all the extended editions combined and reveals a hidden secret as it burns: One Ring to rule them all! (That is, there really is a real ring in there apparently!)

Mugs and Tumblers — I absolutely adore this Lord of the Cats Mug. Does this mean the Eye of Sauron is a laser pointer? Is Old Toby catnip?? I also can’t get enough of this ceramic mug with the Map of the Lonely Mountain on it! (seriously, I really really do want this one haha). How do I like my coffee? Darker than the mines of moria and stronger than a balrog! And who doesn’t love a Lord of the Rings tumbler that’s good for hot or cold drinks and looks as sharp as Andúril?

Lord of the Rings Playing Cards — this deck of playing cards is incredibly detailed and looks amazing! One deck to rule them all

The Prancing Pony and The Green Dragon Pint Glasses — It comes in pints?? I’m getting one

No Admittance Except on Party Business Sign — hang wherever you’d like to minimize the pesky relatives and relations intruding

Lord of the Rings Cutting Board — I especially like the options with “What about second breakfast?” and “Po-ta-toes!” on them, but they’re all great! Bonus: here’s another one with a list of all the hobbit meals. And speaking of the hobbit meals, here’s a kitchen towel with them listed!

Pop Sockets — the White Tree of Gondor, One Ring Inscription, and Banner of Rohan can adorn your phone grips

Lord of the Rings Map of Middle-Earth Notebook Cover — refillable with Moleskine or A5-sized notebooks, this notebook cover will make everything you write just that much more epic

Splurges

Want to give a kingly gift whose worth is greater than the value of the Shire? Well, these aren’t quite as valuable as a shirt of Mithril, but they’re close.

LEGO Rivendell — it’s so beautiful! It would make a magnificent gift for the LOTR fan in your life. Just look at it:

Deluxe Illustrated by the Author Editions of The Hobbit, LOTR, and The Silmarillion — each of the editions of these books that has an “Illustrated by the Author” edition I mentioned earlier has a deluxe edition as well.
Find them here: Deluxe The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion

Prop Replicas from Weta Workshop — this is the ultimate gift for a fan of the Peter Jackson movies: get a replica of one of the very props from the movies! Currently they have replicas of Bilbo’s contract from The Hobbit, Gandalf’s hat, and the key to Bag End. There’s even a One Ring replica…though at $4500, it’s significantly more expensive than anything else on this list. One gift to rule them all!

There we have it, my Tolkien Gift Guide for 2023!

Special shoutout and thank you to M Young, Shawn P, and Zeb for upgrading to a paid subscription yesterday! “I’m trying to pay for the art I love,” one of them shared with me via a paid subscriber message.

If you’d like to join them in paying for the art you love and supporting artists, a final reminder that today is the last day of the flash sale for the 1 year anniversary of Jokien with Tolkien existing!

Thank you so much for reading! Hope that you find something that you can give as a gift or that you can get yourself. I’ll be back in your inboxes next week. Farewell, friends. Go towards goodness!

To Discuss:

1. What’s a Lord of the Rings gift you either received or gave that you think should get added to this list? Let’s help each other out in the comments and get some more ideas going!

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