A Christmas gift for a dog owner that is about their dog
Gift
Most Christmas gift guides for dog owners are about things for the dog: a stocking, a toy, treats. This is a gift for the owner, about the dog: a book of 28 pages about its habits, which the owner makes over the holidays.
Under the tree, or in the inbox on Christmas morning
Print the card and put it under the tree, or we email the gift with your message at eight in the morning on 25 December. Christmas Eve works too: you pick the day.
The owner opens the link, answers eight questions about their dog and has the book on screen about ten minutes later.
Why the owner makes it
The owner knows what the book is made of: where the dog really sleeps, what it took off the table last year, the sound it comes running for. They make it when there is time, over the holidays or in January. The gift is valid for 3 years, and they see no price.
When the printed book arrives
With the hardcover gift, the book is printed after the owner has made it, so it arrives after Christmas, not on the day. It usually takes about two weeks from their order, and at most thirty days. The hardcover ships to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France; for an owner elsewhere, give the eBook gift.
For a cat owner
The same gift works when the animal is a cat. The owner chooses cat and gets questions about what it brings in, which box is its own and who it allows near. Mo's book, an example, has a page about the blender: he hears the plug go into the socket and is behind the washing machine before it is switched on.
The Christmas chapter
One of the eight questions asks for the funniest thing the animal ever did, or got away with. An example under it is the Christmas ham. If there is a Christmas story about the dog, that is where it goes.
Example: Max's book
Max, a Kooikerhondje, takes one sock at a time off the drying rack and keeps them in the basket he does not sleep in. His book shows what the owner gets. Max is an example, not a customer.
The Sock Basket
Max gets away with socks. Only ever one, never a pair, and he doesn't chew them, he collects them in the basket he doesn't sleep in. It started that first winter, when Femke found eleven odd socks in the basket in the hall, the week they had given up looking for them. He had been taking one off the drying rack every morning. On washing day, they still count them back.
Max17
Eleven odd socks, the week they'd stopped looking. Max18
Or make it yourself before Christmas
If you know the dog well, make the book yourself and give the private link. A hardcover you order yourself usually arrives about two weeks after the order, at most thirty days, so for a printed book by 25 December, order it by 25 November.
More gift pages
Questions
Will the hardcover arrive before Christmas?
Not with the gift: the owner makes the book first, and it is printed after that. If you make the book yourself, the hardcover usually arrives about two weeks after the order and at most thirty days, so order it by 25 November.
Can the email arrive on Christmas Eve instead?
Yes. You choose the day, today or up to a year ahead. The email arrives at eight in the morning.
Is it only for dog owners?
No. The owner can make the book about a cat, a rabbit or another animal.
Can I give it to someone in the UK or the US?
Yes, as the eBook gift. The hardcover ships to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France only.
Give it for Christmas
The owner makes the book about their own dog. A card under the tree, or an email on Christmas morning.
Give the giftGift €34.99. The eBook and the hardcover, shipping included. Or the eBook alone for €6.99. The recipient makes the book themselves. Valid 3 years.
Or make the book about their dog yourself.
Make one for your peteBook €6.99, hardcover €29.99 on top, shipping included. You pay after the questions.