What to do for that person whose taste are geared very specifically towards a niche range of interests? What to buy for the person whose passions do not quite align with yours?
If you are blessed and burdened with a friend or family who is somewhat geekier of culture than you, then we have your backs. Here is our pick of the gifts for the nerd in your life – whether your budget is the size of Yoda or the Death Star.
Stocking Stuffers
LEGO Batman Movie: The Joker Balloon Escape £8.75
Of all the Batmen the movies have thrown at us, who would’ve thought The Lego Batman would be the best? Ok, maybe not the best according to everyone, but it was incredibly good, and gets bonus points for bringing back the classic Joker ensemble of yore – complete with his trademark bright green hair and purple suit. This LEGO set sees Batman chase down his nemesis who escapes in style, using a bunch of balloons.
- Read more about The Joker Balloon Escape and our other favourite LEGO sets
- Buy now The Joker Balloon Escape from Amazon
Microsoft IntelliMouse £27.80
The IntelliMouse is a remake of the classic office mouse Microsoft made nearly a decade ago. If you’re worried about its tech being as old school as its branding, don’t be. The new IntelliMouse has had an under the hood update and now features a stellar 1000Hz response rate and Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology making it a perfect stocking filler for any geek old enough to remember the original.
Gifts under £50 for geeks
Amazon Echo Dot £49.99
Want a robot butler but don’t have the cash to buy one from Boston Dynamics? Then you’ll want check out the Amazon Echo Dot. It may not be a full on robot, but the small-form-factor digital assistant is surprisingly useful. Using Alex voice commands it’ll let any budding geek change tracks, order stuff off Amazon and check their schedule. If that’s not enough to entice you it’ll also work with most smart home kit, like Phillips Hue, making it an ideal present for any avid tinkerer.
Star Wars Nerf Chewbacca Bowcaster £22.23
Whether the geek in your life is in their infancy or fully grown, you can’t go wrong with a Nerf gun – especially if it’s Star Wars themed. Modelled loosely (it is bright orange, after all) after the crossbow wielded by Chewbacca in The Force Awakens, the Bowcaster comes complete with a holster for additional darts.
Gifts under £100 for geeks
Xbox Adaptive Controller £74.99
With a huge range of devices available the Xbox Adaptive Controller lets gamers customise the gaming system that best suits them. Designed to make gaming more accessible for players with limited mobility, it lets players plug in and map joysticks, peddles, and trackpads, it means almost every element of gameplay is customisable.
Sphero BB-8 £63.95
Droids just don’t come any cuter than BB-8 and toys based on droids don’t come any better than Sphero’s interactive robot model. Controlled by an app, the miniature droid rolls around your floor just like the real BB-8 (ok, we know he’s not real) rockets around the Millennium Falcon. It’s sturdy enough to take a small tumble without damage and although it won’t help you fly an X-Wing, it’s definitely a good option for a small robot friend.
Gifts under £200 for geeks
Lenovo Jedi Challenges £168
Augmented reality is cool. Star Wars is even cooler. What happens when you combine the two? Lenovo Jedi Challenges, that’s what. The AR headset comes with a fully functioning Light Saber and lets you take part in a variety of Star Wars games. These include the movie’s holo-chess, an RTS and, best of all, Light Saber duels with some of the series most iconic characters. If you’re buying for any budding Jedi or Sith this holiday season the Lenovo Jedi Challenges will be a sure fire hit.
Snugs Earphones £169.95
If you spend a lot of time with headphones in your ears, it’s a good idea to make sure those headphones are as comfortable as possible. And what better way to do that than have them custom made to perfectly fit your ears. Another gift that won’t require wrapping (unless you’ve managed to sneakily 3D scan your geek’s ears unbeknownst to them) Snugs Earphones makes soft silicon earbuds that perfectly fit each individual ear, and come in a range of colours. They can be used with their own headphones, or attached to ones you already know and love – so there’s no need to sacrifice sound for comfort.
LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition £123.32
LEGO brings Iron Man’s beefiest suit to the collection – and they make him as beefy as the average shelf will allow, standing at nine inches tall. The kit includes some workshop amenities, including robotic arms and a fire extinguisher – and a mini-fig Iron Man for good measure. It’s hard to be Team Cap when this bad boy is around.
- Read our LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition review
- Buy LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition from Amazon
Expensive gifts for geeks
Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti £779.57
A truly luxury graphics card for dedicated gamers, if you consider this as a Christmas gift you are an exceptionally generous friend and we salut you. It allows gamers to play in 4K at 60 frames per second – with an ever expanding list of games optimised for playback. It relies on a computer setup that can handle the heat, so if you’re thinking of buying it for someone make sure you know their equipped for the upgrade. And again: you’re quite ridiculously generous.
Sony WH-1000XM3 £330.00
Not to get carried away but these might just be the best noise-cancelling headphones ever. Sleek, comfortable, and packed full of features, they’re a significant improvement on the last model – which was already pretty great. The noise-cancelling technology has stepped up, and these babies are designed to cancel out higher tones, meaning they do a better job of blocking speech and ambient noise.
Need more Christmas gift ideas? We’ve got you covered
- Gifts for Him
- Gifts for Her
- Gifts for Gardeners
- Gifts for Kids
- Gifts for Teens
- Gifts for Mums
- Gifts for Dads
- Stocking fillers
Let us know your thoughts on the list. Do you have any suggestions? Let us know below.
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.