I hate Christmas and Christmas shopping but… I’m not anti-social and I still have a family and friends, so as long as I’m still interacting with people I love, I won’t be able to avoid the Christmas season.
I hate Christmas for many reasons and one of them is that it’s very hard for me to find useful and great gifts ideas. I always want to be original and I don’t want to fall into the trap of giving the trendiest item. I always take it very personally when, for example, I offer a book and the person doesn’t read it. I know I shouldn’t, but I’m like this.
I know finding useful gifts is challenging and we never have enough time to prepare our Christmas shopping. In this article, I will help you find useful, fun and 18 interesting gifts ideas related to the French language. Bye bye boring and horrible Christmas gifts!
Here you go with my personal selections. I want to add that I’m not sponsored to talk about these products and I’ve been working on this article for many many months.
Credit photo: www.brusselsisyours.com
Why choose gifts related to French language?
There are several advantages to giving gifts related to a language, such as French. Firstly, these gifts are both useful and fun. They allow you to learn while having fun, which helps to keep you motivated. Unlike purely decorative objects, educational gifts offer real added value as they stimulate daily learning in an interactive way. Whether it’s a book, a game or a French map, every gift becomes an opportunity to revise and make progress without any apparent effort.
What’s more, these gifts have a direct impact on motivation. They show your beloved ones that you support their learning efforts and believe in their ability to succeed. In fact, receiving an object linked to their language objective can support them to continue along this path.
1. Posters in French
Why it’s a good gift idea?
A French poster is both a decorative and educational gift. Whether it’s inspirational quotes, idiomatic expressions or themed lists (such as films to see or wines to taste), a poster adds an aesthetic touch to any space. It’s also a great way to learn through passive exposure.
What’s more, a poster can act as a “conversation starter”, creating opportunities to discuss your knowledge of French with your guests. It’s a fun and interactive way of integrating the language into everyday life without having to sit down to study formally.
Some examples of posters to give as gifts
- How to swear like a native speaker: Poster to swear like a local,
- The dreamer poster: make your 100 dreams come true before you die! Dreamer poster,
- The 100 things you should do before you die. In case you don’t have a list already, why not have a list in French? 100 things to do before you die,
- If you or your friend is a fan of movie, this poster with the 100 most important and must-see movies of all time can be a nice gift. 100 movies to watch before you die,
- If you (or your friend) are wine lover, while visiting the fair of the independent winegrowers’ association, I’ve found the best gift ever: Poster about wine, grapes, maps of French wines, Argentinian wines, How to choose your wine and based on your cheese, wine and yoga… La carte des vins-svp.
2. Decoration in French
Why it’s a good gift idea?
Giving the gift of French decoration is a creative and subtle way of encouraging the learning of French while adding a touch of elegance to your home decor. There are many online boutiques offering all kinds of made in France products. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, many of these products feature centuries-old French craftsmanship. If you know your loved ones’ tastes, this gift is sure to be a hit!
Some examples of posters to give as gifts
- If you are trying to help someone learn French in a fun way, this gift might be nice as it helps people to create sentences on their fridge: Magnetic words in French,
- Buy some light for your friend. This is a French company I discovered on Instagram and they create amazingly cute and customizable candles: Bougie personnalisée végétale by BougiesVolige on Etsy.
3. Books in French
Why it’s a good gift idea?
Giving books in French is a precious gift for someone learning the language. Whether it’s a novel, a comic book or a children’s book, there’s something to suit all tastes and levels. It’s a great way to improve your language skills while discovering the culture of the country.
Some examples of posters to give as gifts
- Les monsieur Madame d’Amazon.fr : Adam Hargreaves are available in many languages. There are very cute and little, easy to read books for kids and adults. You can personalize your gift and choose one character that defines your friend the most. For my boyfriend, who is French and very grumpy, I’ll certainly choose the Monsieur Grincheux!
4. Calendars are always a good gift idea
Why it’s a good gift idea?
French calendars are practical and inspiring gifts for language learners. A quotation calendar, for example, offers a new quotation each day, providing an insight into French language and culture.
Humorous calendars, meanwhile, allow you to explore another essential aspect of mastering a language: humor. By offering a humorous calendar in French, you allow the learner to immerse themselves in the subtlety of the French mind, whether through puns, jokes or comic drawings. It’s a fun way to make progress while discovering popular French culture.
Finally, an organizational calendar helps not only to structure time and tasks, but also to integrate the language into everyday life. By using a calendar with notes, reminders and objectives written in French, learners practice organizing their lives in French, making them more confident in their practical use of the language.
Some examples of posters to give as gifts
- A calendar with beautiful quotes so you or your friend can enjoy inspirational quotes everyday and be in a good mood. Les plus jolies citations du monde.
- If you think you should be able to laugh about absolutely everything and you have no filter, this calendar is for you. Calendrier humour noir.
- Le saviez-vous? : in French “did you know” is as you may have guessed, the calendar to become smarter everyday. As you know, the French loooooove culture and being (or thinking) they are super smart. Le saviez-vous?
- In the same approach, this calendar will teach where expressions come from and why: Calendrier 365 jours d’où vient cette expression ?. There is also a website, I highly recommend for French expressions : www.expressio.fr.
- You can learn French and be very positive. Yes, trust me, being positive is still something you can do in 2020. Calendrier des idées positives.
- The calendar for a well organized family. Are you a well organized family ? Calendrier de la famille organisée.
- Enjoy 365 French expressions. Everyday, you’ll learn a new expression or quote. If your aim is to speak like a native, this gift will be your daily partner in crime in 2020. Calendrier 365 jours d’expressions françaises – L’Année à Bloc.
5. What about a bit of geography and French
Why it’s a good gift idea?
Items relating to French geography, such as maps or posters of wine-growing regions, are both educational and exciting gifts for learners of French. They combine language learning with the discovery of French culture and territory. Whether it’s a wine map, a map of French culinary specialities or an interactive map of famous monuments, there’s no better way to have fun while learning.
Some examples of posters to give as gifts
- Map of French wine: the best way to become smarter when you drink wine. You’ve probably experienced that but the French love to talk about regions when they talk about wine. Map of the French wine.
- Scratch-off Map of French specialities. If you are a foodie, you’ll enjoy discovering new specialities: Foodies map.
6. Activities and games
Why it’s a good gift idea?
Offering activities and games in French is a fun and interactive way to help someone make progress in learning the language. Games, such as Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly or card games in French, allow you to practice the language while having fun. They stimulate conversation, enrich vocabulary and help you to better understand grammatical structures in context. Games become opportunities to reinforce language skills while having a good time with friends and family.
In addition, activities such as word games or educational puzzles in French are excellent ways of stimulating thought and memory. They help you learn new words, solve puzzles and improve your understanding of the language. These games also have a competitive edge that can motivate learners to get more involved.
Some examples of posters to give as gifts
- There are many games available in French such as Trivial poursuit or Monopoly and I found this one very useful and original. If you don’t know what to do today, it will help you find inspiration and new ideas. And you, what do you do do today? 100 activities.
We’re done with my 18 Christmas gifts ideas for this year
I hope this helps you find the best gift for your friends, in-laws, partners or simply for yourself. If you are learning French and you already have an intermediate or advanced level, I would love you to join my secret group on Facebook where I post a lot of free resources and you can interact with other French learners. [:]