Find a Gift for a Self Proclaimed Nerd or Geek

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A self-proclaimed nerd or geek can be so unique they can be hard to shop for. Many geeks and nerds have very specific tastes and are more into obscure pop culture. If you are struggling with a gift for a special geek or nerd in your life, you may decide to create an experiential gift, make a nerdy gift, or look for geeky gifts online.

Steps

Creating an Experiential Gift

  1. Get early release tickets for their favorite film. One of the best gifts you can give anyone is time well spent together. For a self-proclaimed geek or nerd, the ideal experiential gift may be watching their favorite film or film series on the big screen. They may love the gift even more if they are watching an advance screening of the film, before it hits the general public. Think about the person’s favorite film or favorite book turned film and see if you can get early release tickets as a thoughtful gift.
    • If there are currently no films coming out that feature their favorite characters, you may look for a film that has geeky elements you think they may enjoy. Perhaps a film is being released that showcases their favorite comic book character or their favorite sci-fi setting. Or, maybe there is a special screening of an old, nerdy film that you know they love. As long as you consider the person’s nerdy tastes, you can’t really go wrong with advanced tickets to a big screen showing.
  2. Attend a “con” together. A “con” is short for a convention that caters to nerds and geeks of all ages. Often, there are celebrity guests, panels, themed booths, and costume contests at the “cons”. These conventions can be fun and interactive ways to hang out with other nerds for a day or the weekend.[1]
    • You may treat the person to a trip to a “con” that focuses on their favorite nerdy pastime, like the popular “Comic-Con International” in San Diego or “Anime Con” in Los Angeles. Or, you may choose a gaming convention that appeals to gamer nerds, such as “PAX Prime”, or a sci-fi convention that is made for science fiction geeks, such as “Dragon Con” or “GirlGeek Con”. Try to select a convention that will appeal to the person’s interests.
    • You may decide to go all out and buy tickets for the con as well as plane tickets to fly to the con. Many of the larger geek conventions offer packages where you can get tickets to the convention and accommodations for a flat rate. This may be a good gift idea to mark a big event, like the person’s birthday or their graduation from college.
  3. Treat them to a night out at a nerdy hang out. This could be the new barcade that opened up downtown, where you can play arcade games and drink alcohol in a bar like space. Or, the games night at your local bar or hang out where you can play the latest board games with friends. Consider the person’s tastes and cater to them by planning a night out they will enjoy.[2]
    • If you are not sure where the person might want to spend a night out, you may offer to take them out to whatever nerdy spot they would prefer. Present several options that you know of and let the person choose. This will ensure they still get their night out, based on their preference.
  4. Take them on a geek themed road trip. Another fun idea is to take them on a road trip that is geek or nerd themed. This may mean planning out an itinerary where you hit all the nerdy landmarks and spots within a certain radius. Maybe you stop at the life sized Star Trek Intrepid in the small town of Vulcan, followed by a day trip to the dinosaur museum, and a stop at a popular gaming store. The road trip could be overnight or a few days, depending on your means.[3]
    • You may also choose nerdy hotels or accommodations for the night to add to the road trip experience. Maybe you find the hotel where Leonard Nimoy once stayed or the motel next to where some scenes of “The X-Files” were shot. Get creative and look for accommodations that will enhance the nerdiness of the trip.

Making a Nerdy Gift

  1. Adapt a common item to a “nerd” version. If you are looking for a more hands on gift, you may decide to take a common item and adapt it so it is nerdy or geeky. This could be taking a pair of dice and adapting them into fun earrings or painting a pair of shoes so they become Doctor Who inspired or Star Wars inspired. Consider what the person enjoys and try to turn an everyday item into something nerdy and fantastic.[4]
    • There are many DIY nerdy crafts online that you can follow and create for the person. Depending on your skills, you may decide to sew a gift for the person, like a Darth Vader hoodie, or craft an item for the person out of materials, like a Captain America shield made out of a frisbee, tape, and glue.
  2. Create a custom nerdy t-shirt. If the person loves nerdy shirts and clothing, you may decide to create a custom nerdy t-shirt or clothing item for them. This could be a graphic that you create on your computer of their favorite comic book character or television show or a graphic that you find online. You may print off the graphic onto an iron on adhesive and place it on a shirt yourself or go to a custom online shop who will print the graphic onto the shirt for you.[5]
    • Look for a graphic that is bright, bold, and high quality. You want it to print off properly and look good on the t-shirt or clothing item.
  3. Put together a tribute to their favorite nerdy character. If the person has a favorite nerdy or geeky character, you may decide to create a bunch of small DIY items as a tribute to the character. You could create a small model of the nerdy character as well as themed items like a mug, a bath towel, a t-shirt, or a hat. Put all of these items together in a gift basket and you have the ultimate tribute gift to their favorite nerdy character, film, or show.
  4. Make a nerdy board game. If the nerd in your life loves board games and playing games in general, you may want to surprise them with a nerdy board game. This could be a nerdy version of an existing game, like Star Wars themed Monopoly or Twister, Doctor Who style. Get creative and repurpose a game you know the person enjoys by adding on a nerdy twist.[6]
    • You may also want to Make-Your-Own-Board-Game for the person from scratch. Maybe you use their favorite comic book as inspiration and create a treasure hunt game, where the players all play different characters from the comic book. Or, you use their favorite nerdy film to make a trivia game to test their geek knowledge.

Finding Geeky Gifts Online

  1. Look at geek focused online retailers. You can search for online retailers who specialize in geek gifts and look for gift ideas on there. Many sites allow you to filter your search by a specific film, television show, comic book character, or book. You can also search by price range so you stay within your budget for the gift and still find something great.[7]
    • One of the most popular online geek retailers is ThinkGeek.com. You can also look for many other retailers online who primarily sell nerdy and geek inspired products.[8]
  2. Search for the more popular products for nerds. You may also filter your online search by looking for the more popular products for nerds or geeks. There may be highly rated gifts on a certain site or more obscure gifts that are known to make good gifts. You may also look for an obscure gift that complements the person’s preferences and tastes, such as a Doctor Who product for a friend who loves Doctor Who and is missing a few items in their collection.
  3. Check if the limited edition of an item is available. Geeks tend to love limited edition products and the newest versions of an item. You may focus your online search on a nerdy item that is one of a kind or limited edition. The person will likely appreciate a gift that was hard to get or difficult to find, as it shows you put thought and effort into the gift.
  4. Read online reviews of the product before buying it. Before you buy any item online, it’s a good idea to read reviews of the product. Check if the product is highly rated and the seller is certified, with high ratings or a starred rating. Some of the bigger online retailers will likely be reputable and fine to buy from. But if you are using a more obscure retailer, possibly in order to buy a more obscure gift for the person, you should read the reviews of the item and of the seller.
    • If you notice an overwhelming amount of poor reviews, you may want to avoid buying from the seller or look for the item at another store. Alternatively, you may decide to go for another item that is more highly rated, as the person will likely be much happier with a gift that is high quality and in good condition.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/17-geek-conventions-you-must-attend-before-you-die/
  2. ↑ http://www.mtlblog.com/2015/11/things-to-do-in-montreal-if-your-boyfriend-is-a-geek/#
  3. ↑ http://www.mtlblog.com/2015/11/things-to-do-in-montreal-if-your-boyfriend-is-a-geek/#
  4. ↑ https://www.buzzfeed.com/jadayounghatchett/geek-diy-gifts?utm_term=.vn6q9p36b#.wuZ2kNreZ
  5. ↑ http://cmdshiftdesign.com/blog/2009/12/design-nerd-internet-geek-gifts/
  6. ↑ https://www.buzzfeed.com/jadayounghatchett/geek-diy-gifts?utm_term=.vn6q9p36b#.wuZ2kNreZ
  7. ↑ http://www.findmeagift.co.uk/gift-ideas/gifts-for-geeks.html
  8. ↑ http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/geeky-gifts-online-stores/
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