**This is a sponsored post.**
Holiday Gifts for Stage Managers 2023 Edition | brokeGIRLrich
I am an early holiday shopper. I bought my first Christmas gift of the season in July and as I type this, I’m about half done with my 2023 Christmas shopping. So it doesn’t seem super crazy to me to think about holiday shopping in October.
I like spreading the expense out over several months rather than one big hit in December. I also just really enjoy keeping an eye out for the right things for the main people I buy Christmas gifts for.
And one of the main places I buy a lot of gifts is Etsy (can ya’ll guess the sponsors of this post). But sponsorship aside, I do spend a lot on Etsy around the holiday. And not only around the holidays. I have recently been on a downloadable art kick and have been pretty pleased with those outcomes.
For today’s post though, I thought I’d focus on my favorite annual gift topic. Let’s look at 10 gifts for the stage managers in your life.
Also, if you didn’t know, yesterday was Stage Manager Appreciation Day! So gifts aside, don’t forget to let your favorite SMs know you appreciate them!
On Wednesday, October 11th, Etsy also has a $10 off purchases of $40 or more coupon code of YES10 so it’s a good time to pick up anything you’ve been waiting to buy.
Stage Left and Stage Right Earrings
…because it’s been more than 20 years and I still have to think twice about this when taking notes from anywhere other than onstage. Not that this would help the wearer much, but they are stylish.
Personalized Song Code Keychains
For the musical SMs out there, these keychains allow you to pick a song from their current or favorite show and when they scan the code on the keychain, it will play on Spotify.
I’m a little torn on which one I would pick. From my career, I think Dinos A to Z would make me smile the most. From life, Bat Boy: The Musical is my favorite show and I’d probably go with Hold Me, Bat Boy or Children, Children. I do also really love a good sing along to Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop too though.
Which would you choose?
It’s a Great Day to See a Play Candle
Would it even be a list of mine if it didn’t feature at least one candle? The thing I love about this candle is that it doesn’t focus on musicals. It’s really easy to find tons of items related to musicals on Etsy and takes a little more digging to find items that branch out from that theme.
If there’s a stage manager in your life but you’re not sure exactly what they stage manage, it just might not be musicals. There are a few of us out there.
Relax, I Have a Spreadsheet for That Mug
Deviating a little from things that directly say stage manager to things that totally say stage manager quietly, I have always enjoyed phrases about the power of spreadsheets. I am also a highly caffeinated stage manager and assume there are plenty of others who are as well.
Desktop Organizer
The reason this desktop organizer stands out to me is that it’s narrow and lots of prompt desks are, well… terrible. There’s not always a lot of space. This seems like a great solution to some of the bizarre desks I’ve called from. This also seems like an easy way to move your basic writing utensils between the tech table and your calling position.
Personalized Phone Charger
I sat here and thought, what is the most crucial part of my ‘kit’ these days? Especially since so much of what I do is just handled by my computer. And I realized it’s my phone and keeping it charged. This charger is nice and thin, so it can fit in your pocket while you’re running around onstage and can’t be plugged into an outlet charging. You can also get it personalized so if you put it down somewhere weird, everyone will know who to return it to.
You’re Doing a Great Job Sticky Notes
I remember one positively dreadful long weekend of nine shows when I spent an hour at the end of the day after the sixth show taping up stupid jokes and puns all over the place backstage for the cast and crew to find the next day.
Company morale can often fall on the stage manager and these post-it’s do a lovely job of reminding your stage manager that they are doing a great job, as well as providing your SM with a tool to remind those they work with that they are doing a great job too.
Musicals Gift Boxes
So while I was excited to find a candle that didn’t focus on musicals, I will admit that musicals are a lot of theatre folks jam. If you are working with your stage manager on a musical or know they love some musicals, this little gift box has some fun musical theatre prints and pins, as well as a handy notebook.
Shakespeare Candles
Two seems like an appropriate amount of candles to include on a list like this. For the high art, traditionally trained stage managers (what does high art even really mean?), this little shop has some nice Shakespeare candles with lots of lovely scents.
Broadway Musical History Tote Bag
If you’re aiming to show off your knowledge of musicals (or brush up on it), this tote bag is actually pretty cool. It shows the connections between different shows and lineage of different writers and composers. If tote bags aren’t your thing but you dig the design, the shop also has it on mugs and other prints.
