The short answer
- Best book for a calmer year: 365 Days of Tao by Airplane Mode Publishing House (ours). A few lines of the Tao Te Ching and a short reflection for every day, starting January 1.
- Best book for a curious mind: 365 Days of Philosophy by Airplane Mode Publishing House (ours). 130+ thinkers, one page a day, Socrates to Sartre in chronological order.
- Best planner: Hobonichi Techo. A Japanese diary with a full page for every day of the year, small enough for a bag.
- Best journal: Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal (Potter Style). One question per date, answered again each year, so by 2031 they can see how they've changed.
- Best experience gift: A year-long membership, such as a museum or a national parks pass, which pays off every time they use it.
- Best gift for a reader: A reading challenge: 12 books, each wrapped and labelled with a month.
Plenty of gifts peak on December 25. These start on January 1 and are still working in October. The table sorts all 12 by the way they fill the year.
| Type | The gift | What the year looks like |
|---|---|---|
| A book with a page for every day | 365 Days of Tao · ours | A few lines of the Tao Te Ching and a short reflection each morning, about 5 minutes. Our bestseller. ★4.7 across 222 Amazon ratings. |
| A book with a page for every day | 365 Days of Philosophy · ours | 130+ thinkers, one a page, Socrates to Sartre in chronological order. ★4.5 across 233 Amazon ratings. |
| A book with a page for every day | The Daily Stoic · Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman (2016) | A Stoic passage and a short commentary for every date. The best-known book in the format. |
| A book with a page for every day | The Intellectual Devotional · David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim (2006) | 7 subjects on rotation, one a day. A general education in 5-minute pieces. |
| A planner | Hobonichi Techo | A full page for each day of 2027, in A6 (the Original) or A5 (the Cousin), with an English edition. Popular covers can sell out, so don't leave it to December. |
| A 5-year journal | Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal · Potter Style | One question per date and 5 short spaces under it, one for each year. On January 1, 2028 they read what they wrote in 2027. |
| A 5-year journal | One Line a Day · Chronicle Books | The same idea with no questions: a line a day for 5 years, for someone who'd find prompts bossy. |
| A year-long membership | A museum membership | A year's membership at a museum near them, which usually means free entry and exhibition tickets. Each visit makes the gift cheaper. |
| A year-long membership | A national parks pass | In the US, the America the Beautiful pass covers entrance fees at national parks for a year. In the UK, National Trust or English Heritage membership does the same job. |
| A year-long membership | A class that starts in January | A term of pottery or a language course. Book one that starts in the first week of January, so the new year and the new thing arrive together. |
| A reading challenge | 12 books, one per month | Wrap each one and write the month on the paper. For the reader who says they'll read more this year and needs a plan. |
| A wall calendar | A calendar they'll look at | A photo calendar made from your pictures of them, or a year-on-one-sheet wall planner. Hang it where they make coffee. |
A gift that lasts all year
A page-a-day book is 365 small openings, starting on January 1. Give it at Christmas and it's in use a week later. Give it on New Year's Eve and it's in use the next morning.
365 Days of Tao is our bestseller, with 10,000+ copies sold in its first year. Each day has a few lines from the Tao Te Ching and a short reflection on what they meant then and what to do with them now. It's the one for someone who wants 2027 to be calmer than 2026.
365 Days of Philosophy is for the curious one. 130+ thinkers get a page each, in the order they lived, so the year has a story running through it.
2 honest alternatives: The Daily Stoic for someone after discipline, The Intellectual Devotional for a reader who likes variety across subjects. The 2027 page-a-day shelf compares 12.
365 Days of Tao is the wrong gift for someone who wants a productivity system. 365 Days of Philosophy is the wrong gift for someone who wants depth on one thinker, since Kant gets a page. The free daily Tao and daily philosophy emails are the same one-page format, if you'd like to test the idea first.
A planner or diary
The Hobonichi Techo gives every day of 2027 a full page, and it has a devoted following among people who journal. The A6 Original fits a handbag. The A5 Cousin suits someone who writes a lot or draws.
A page a day is a lot of page. For someone who writes 2 lines, a week-to-view diary is kinder.
A 5-year journal
Each page is a date with 5 small spaces, one per year, so from 2028 onward they read last year's entry as they write this year's. Q&A a Day adds a question to answer. One Line a Day leaves the space open.
It takes 2 minutes a day and gets more interesting every year it's kept.
A year-long membership
A museum or parks pass means every outing in 2027 is already paid for. It's the experience gift that keeps turning up.
Put something physical in the card: the pass itself, or a printed map of the first place you'll go together.
A reading challenge
A resolution to read more usually fades by February. 12 books wrapped and labelled by month gives it a shape, with one unwrapping a month and the next book always decided.
Mix the lengths. Put a short one in February, because February is short, and save the long one for August. Start a daily reading habit has the method, and the best books to start the new year has picks for January.
A wall calendar they'll actually look at
Plenty of calendars end up behind a door. The ones that get used give a reason to look: photos of people they love, or a whole year on one sheet where they can see a trip coming.
A tear-off desk calendar is the cheaper cousin of a page-a-day book, and it's in the recycling by December 31. We compared the two.
Timing
January 1, 2027 is a Friday, and January 4 is the first Monday. A page-a-day book or journal started on the 1st has 3 mornings to become a habit before the working week gets a vote.
Order physical gifts by mid-December. Our paperbacks list at $24.99 in the US, with hardcover and Kindle editions too. If you're late, a Kindle edition can be gifted by email through Amazon's "Buy for others" button, with January 1 as the delivery date.
For resolutions, the resolution books list sorts by goal. The holiday book gift guide covers the rest of your list.
Common questions
What is a good New Year gift?
Something that starts with the year: a page-a-day book such as 365 Days of Tao, a Hobonichi Techo planner, a 5-year journal such as Q&A a Day, or a year-long museum or national parks membership.
What is a good New Year gift for a friend?
A 5-year journal, a reading challenge of 12 books wrapped by month, or a page-a-day book they'll open on January 1. 365 Days of Tao suits a friend who wants a calmer year, and 365 Days of Philosophy suits a curious one.
What is a good gift that lasts all year?
A page-a-day book, a planner with a page per day such as the Hobonichi Techo, or a membership. Page-a-day books start on January 1, so a December gift is in use within a week.
What day of the week is January 1, 2027?
A Friday. A page-a-day book or journal started that morning gets 3 days to become a habit before the first working Monday, January 4.
Can I send a Kindle book as a New Year gift?
Yes. On the Amazon page for the Kindle edition, choose "Buy for others", enter their email address and set January 1 as the delivery date.