LDS.net’s Christmas Gift Guide for Mormons
Are you looking for a perfect Christmas gift for the Latter-day Saint in your life? LDS.net has scoured the newest, coolest, most stylish gifts to present to you the best of what’s out there for your gift-wrapped pleasure.
If you’re looking for a Christmas gift idea for a missionary also check out our article on great missionary gifts.
1. Salt Lake Temple Lego Set
This (off-brand) “Lego” set of the Salt Lake Temple is the perfect addition to your collection. It can operate as a toy, a decoration, or an addition to your other Lego collection. Great for children 8-10, or Lego fans.
2. CTR Town Playmat
You’ve surely played on a town map before. Well pull out your matchbox cars and tootle around CTR town which includes a temple, church building, and MTC. The roads also align with most other popular town mats so this can act as an extension. There’s even a stream rolling by green grass.
3. Christmas Puzzle
Christmas is a fantastic time to sit around with the family and put together a jigsaw puzzle. This beautiful 500-piece puzzle hits medium difficulty and ends with a beautiful Simon Dewey image to remind you of the Christmas season.
4. Book of Mormon Heroes: The Servant of Helaman
New this year, “Book of Mormon Heroes” is a retro video game for only 99 cents. You’ll never notice the game was made by a teenager, as it takes you on a journey that weaves in and out of the narrative of Helaman. If you’ve got a teen, or someone who loves retro game boy games, this is a steal for the price.
5. Hagoth: Builder of Ships
Card games can make a perfect Christmas gift, because they’re great for playing together, and for taking home and enjoying for years to come. This classic LDS game never got the attention it deserved, but can still be found on sale. “Hagoth: Builder of Ships” follows the story alluded to in Alma. Game play is an ideal mixture of strategy and chance as you have to prioritize where to devote resources and how to balance building your own ships and sabotaging your opponents.
6. Freetown DVD
2015 was an excellent year for LDS cinema, and the next two Christmas gift ideas on the list definitely deserve your attention. “Freetown” is definitely the more serious of the films, and details the thrilling and faith-promoting true story of LDS missionaries in Liberia.
7. Once I was a Beehive DVD
Released only on November 24th, “Once I was a Beehive” is a strong addition to LDS comedies that you should find time to see. Consider it as an excellent Christmas gift for those who have lived through girls camps, or girls who can look forward to it in the next few years.
8. Sparrow in the Birch by the Crofts Family
“Sparrow in the Birch” was a late holiday release in 2014, so if you missed it last year you need to make up for lost time. The beautiful Christmas songs are highlighted by the original title track. The family describes the record as the result of 20 years of practice in their idylic Idaho home. Let’s just say the practice pays off.
9. Tie Subscription
Admittedly a tie can be a pretty boring Christmas gift for men, so why not up the ante with a tie subscription? The Tie Bar gives the gift of year-round style. These ties are hand selected so you can rest assure that no matter how fashion challenged the man in your life may be, he’ll have a handsome tie each month.
10. Sunstone Tie Bar
If the idea of more ties might make you crazy then consider accessorizing instead. Tie bars stormed back into style, and this edition featuring the sunstone from the Nauvoo temple is both distinctive and understated, a winner in every way.
11. Personal Modesty Stylist
Finding modest women’s clothing can be a constant challenge. So give the gift of relief. Stich Fix doesn’t specialize in modest clothing, but they have a large enough selection. After speaking with an individual stylist about your desires, they’ll send you a box of clothing selections. Anything you don’t like you send back. If you’d like they can send you more based on the feedback. Stich Fix acts as an elegant solution to finding stylish modest clothes easily.
12. Great T-shirts
T-shirts are an easy Christmas gift, but the right t-shirt can elevate a wardrobe. Let us recomend these three. An artistic depiction of the parable of the seed in Alma 32, a minimalistic take on Lehi’s vision, and of course a sassy take by our favorite cartoon Mia Maid, Enid. If none of those work for you, consider heading over to The Mission Geek and picking up a shirt commemorating their mission location.
13. Celestial Shine Subscription
“Celestial Shine” magazine is the perfect subscription to replace more risque possibilities like “Seventeen” or “Teen Vogue.” The interviews and pictures are top notch, and the fashion advice can’t be beat. The magazine comes out two to four times a month.
14. iPlates Volume 2
I know this may be Volume 2, but trust us, this comic which covers stories happening around The Book of Mormon narrative is the perfect place to jump into the engaging and fun world of “iPlates.” Don’t limit this as a gift idea for only those who already enjoy comics, since this comic is good enough to spark an interest in anyone who loves a great story. Volume 2 includes three distinct stories.
15. Home and Away by Dean Hughes
A breezy Christmas read, “Home and Away” is a Christmas tale about the effects of war. The story doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war but manages to pull together a reasuring and optimistic story. Just published for this holiday season, give this gift to the readers in your life.
16. From Baptist Preacher to Mormon Teacher
One of the most talked about books of 2015, “From Baptist Preacher to Mormon Teacher” captured the imagination of Latter-day Saints around the world. The memoir is testimony reaffirming and simply written.
17. Pathways to Perfection
The very first book by President Monson, published in 1973, “Pathways to Perfection” collected his early sermons. This beautiful edition is available directly through Church distribution. This Christmas gift is perfect for those who love the words of the prophet but who may not have been around for the early part of his ministry.
18. Oxford Handbook of Mormonism
The most recent work from renowned LDS scholar Terryl Givens, “The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism” takes a very serious, if introductory, look at the state of Mormon scholarship. This book is only for the serious scholar. Also be warned the volume is priced for research libraries. You may also consider Givens’ more accessible introduction to Mormon theology from last year, “Wrestling the Angel.”
19. Howard W. Hunter: Man of Thought and Independence, Prophet of God
This biography of President Howard W. Hunter is the perfect companion to next year’s Relief Society and Melchizidek Priesthood curiculum. One reviewer described, “Readers are thrilled with Hunter’s overcoming so many obstacles in his life – a wonderful testimony to the power of faith. “
20. Book of Mormon Commentary: Volume 1-6
Next year’s Gospel Doctrine lessons will cover The Book of Mormon. For those who want to take their study to the next level, they couldn’t do better than the exceptional six part “Book of Mormon Commentary.” The series’ author — former president of Southern Virginia University and director of Book of Mormon Studies at BYU — Monte S. Nyman is perhaps the foremost expert on The Book of Mormon, but the commentary series remains accessible to the average reader.
21. My Book of Mormon Quiet Book
If you haven’t heard of quiet books yet, you need to get on board this fantastic trend. Quiet books are perfect for church settings since they are made from fabric and can’t be used to hit siblings (at least not loudly). “My Book of Mormon Quiet Book” takes sacrament meeting appropriateness up a notch by focusing on relevant stories. Quiet books are perfect for all children in nursery or younger.
22. Pocket-size Children’s Hymn Book
Did you know they don’t have the words to the songs in primary? You would if you were a frustrated primary teacher trying to rack their memory for when they first learned these songs. This pocketsized edition of the “Children’s Hymnbook” is the most useful gift you could give for those you love who teach in primary.
23. Did You Think to Pray Pillowcase
If you’ve ever used a prayer rock you know how useful prayer reminders can be for children. You also know that prayer rocks get lost after a few days. Why not a pillow case? The “Did you think tho pray?” pillow case comes both as it appears above, and one featuring a little boy.
24. Temple Folding Fan
Crowded temple endowment sessions can sometimes become distractingly warm. This ingenius fan is small enough to be carried inconspicuously, and can serve as a welcome relief during long warm summer days.
25. Customized Oil Vials
A vial for consecrated oil is one of the most important tools a priesthood holder can have with him. There are many options available, but let us suggest Mike’s woodwork. The wood design is quite distinctive and he allows customization of the metal, wood, and shape providing you with hundreds of potential variations.
26. Photo Album Books
How often do you actually go through all your old pictures on your hard drive? Composure Albums offers a clever service where they will take your huge number of photos and prepare them into a clean, modern coffee-table book. The company began with returned missionaries in mind, but the service can be useful for other types of photo collections as well.
27. Count Your Blessings Kitchen Towel
This stylish and inspiring kitchen towel is the perfect decoration for a contemporary home. The one-thousand tick marks will have you trying to see if you can count your blessings as high every time you’re wiping off the counter.
28. Aspiring Missionaries Decoration
This adorable 5X7 postcard features two children dressing up as missionaries. The image is perfect to frame for your future missionary, or is cheap enough at $2 to pass out in bulk to a class.
29. 2016 Mutual Theme Poster
Next year’s mutual theme will not only get you excited for mutual this year but is an inspirational message for all time. This stylized poster will make a beautiful addition to the room of any young man or young woman on your Christmas list.
30. Healing the Masses by J. Kirk Richards
J. Kirk Richards is perhaps the premier abstract LDS artist. His book “This is Jesus” contains some of the most striking images you’ll ever find of the Savior’s ministry. Deseret Book is offering this beautiful and exclusive print from the book.
31. Peace Be Still
This striking art marries form and content particularly well. For those who are looking for a minimalist take in their decoration, this print could fit in a large variety of rooms.
32. Come Come Ye Saints – Vintage Hymn
Vintage decorations can give a distinguished air to your home. The next two Christmas gifts fit into this model. The first is a reproduction of the hymn W.W. Phelps wrote when he received word of the healthy birth of his son.
33. Salt Lake City Temple Blueprints – 1856 Reproduction
Our second vintage suggestion is a reproduction of Salt Lake Temple drawings. The image uses the actual original drawings of Truman O. Angell, the official architect of the Church for many years. These vintage images would make a great present for a parent or Church history buff.
34. Nativity Sets
Our last suggestions are these beautiful nativity sets, which are a great Christmas gift. Our suggestions for this year (from left to right) are 1) A Nambe metal alloy piece we love for its evocative shapes 2) A nine-pillar diamond nativity — we love how this creche plays with our expectation for shape in nativity scenes and 3) A unified piece crafted from olive wood from the holy land. Our final suggestion may not be as beautiful, but can be purchased for under $20!
We hope you found our Christmas gift ideas helpful as you finish your finding the perfect Christmas gift for the Latter-day Saints in your life. If you’ve got additional ideas for our readers let us know in the comments below.