Gifts For Every Alice in Wonderland Fan
Christmas shopping for your favorite Alice in Wonderland fan isn’t always easy. You find the perfect gift, then the doubts creep in. Does she already have it? Does she epitomize this character? Does she go for Disney, or is she purely original gangster LC??! Never fear, Alice Is Everywhere is here to guide you through the complicated chess board that is online Alice in Wonderland gift buying.
Officially the ugliest graphic I have ever made.
(By the way, for the sake of simplicity I will use “she” throughout this article. But if my membership in the Lewis Carroll Society of North America has taught me anything, it’s that scholarly dudes LOVE Alice. So rest assured, the majority of these gifts, with a few obvious sartorial exceptions, are for either gender.)
For The Disney Enthusiast
Walt and company have been churning out Alice in Wonderland merchandise since 1951, so the gifting possibilities for your Disney devotee are nearly endless. However, some particularly clever items have caught my eye as of late. Mad Tea Party Salt and Pepper shakers are sure to delight Disneyland park-goers.
Smaller than the actual ride.
Cheshire Cat floor mats for the car may seem random, but “We’re All Mad Here” is certainly appropriate here on Southern California’s freeways.
Who wouldn’t want an insane feline staring up at one while one drives?
Lastly, I posted a pic of the Disney Doorknob on Instagram and people went gaga! It’s kind of hard to find, too, so you get points for rarity.
If it starts talking, send it back.
For The Emo Alice Follower
She sees Wonderland through a looking-glass, darkly. She has Liddell-like bangs. She’s still holding out hope for American McGee’s Alice, part three. If you know an Alice fan who revels in the somber aspects of the books, she probably enjoys being miserable. But you can valiantly try to make her happy with some illustrated versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that are freaky-deaky as opposed to fanciful. There’s the Ralph Steadman Alice from 1968…
S’up, Hatter?
Or the Camille Rose Garcia Alice from 2010…
Pssst…I think your mascara is running!
If you’d like to go the apparel route for your emo Alice fan, Hot Topic has just launched a new line of Alice in Wonderland dresses and they are fabulous. I am neither emo nor fourteen years old, and I bought one for myself! My personal fave is the Alice in Wonderland Storybook dress, featuring text and John Tenniel illustrations from the original book. The dresses are available in plus sizes, if you are a W-O-M-A-N. They were out of regular size Large, so I bought a Size Zero in Plus Size, and I don’t know what that means either.
I expect to look exactly like this.
For The Non-Cannabis Smoking Caterpillar Fan
This is a tough one. Tie-dyed t-shirts and tapestries abound, of course. But if you know a Caterpillar admirer who is more into existentialism and less into magic mushrooms, your gift choices narrow considerably. Lucky for you, Moleskine came out with some gorgeous Alice in Wonderland journals this year, and the black one features our favorite larva asking his very favorite question.
Who are you. His favorite question is “Who Are You?”
There is also this Alice and the Caterpillar wall art printed on an antique book page. Upon close inspection, I discovered it is not a page from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but from some completely random book. It still looks awfully nice though, and it’s easy on the wallet at $14.95.
Pay no attention to that text behind you.
For The Lewis Carroll Scholar
If your relationship with Wonderland consists solely of vague suppositions about the author being on drugs and your ability to hum The Unbirthday Song, it may surprise you to learn of the vast library of Alice and Lewis Carroll tomes available. For example, there are entire books devoted to the riddle “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Lewis Carroll, Alice and especially Lewis Carroll’s relationship with Alice are the literary gifts that keep on giving. If you know a true Alice aficion, chances are she’s already got a fairly large book repository. But she may not have had time to buy the very latest Lewis Carroll biographies, both released in the last year or so! Lewis Carroll, The Man and His Circle is a meticulously detailed and researched book regarding all aspects of Lewis Carroll (writer, photographer, mathematician) and was written by one of the Fonzies of the Carrollian world, Edward Wakeling.
His circle also hung out on window ledges.
Despite its bizarro cover, The Story of Alice, Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland is not a children’s book. While the author Robert Douglas-Fairhurst may not have the Carrollian cache of Wakeling, he certainly proved his Victorian chops with his previous well-received effort, Becoming Dickens, The Invention of a Novelist.
It’s not just me, right? It totally looks like a 5th grade reader?
You may also want to consider buying your favorite Alice scholar a membership to the Lewis Carroll Society of North America (or to the Lewis Carroll Society of your respective country/continent). For the bargain price of $35, your erudite friend gets a subscription to the Knight Letter magazine, extra goodies like an LCSNA lapel pin and most importantly, the chance to nerd out with like-minded folk at semi-annual meetings. There are fewer than four hundred members of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Mathematically speaking, your odds are good that your Carrollian friend is not already an affiliate.
Aforementioned goodies.
Need an Alice in Wonderland gift idea? What kind of fan are you shopping for? If you don’t see anything you like here, check out the Alice in Wonderland Amazon mini-store I created for more great suggestions!