Geeky Girl Gift Guide – Collaboration Post

Hey guys! It’s me again, Sarah from over at Raiin Monkey, bringing you as promised my next geektastic gift guide! If you saw my post on Wednesday, you’ll know that me and Nat are doing a Christmas collaboration together, each sharing some geeky gift guides for both guys and girls. Last time, Nat shared a gift guide for girls on my blog (you can read her post here), and I gave you my suggestions of Christmas gift ideas for guys here on Nat’s wonderful blog! So, today it’s my turn to write all about gift ideas for the geeky girls in your life!

As with Part 1 of my geeky gift guide, I’ve decided to include items perfect for those of you on a budget, as all my suggestions are £20 or under, and many of them would be great as stocking fillers! I’ve split up my guide into two parts again: present ideas for under £10 and also for under £20. I’ve sourced everything from UK websites too, to help keep the costs down 😊 I hope you all enjoy reading!

Pokémon I Choose You Mug (link) I was strolling through the grindstore website because it’s one of my favourite online stores for alternative merch and I spotted this adorable mug, that was just too cute not to include on my geeky girls gift guide. Just as Nat said in her post, everyone loves a good mug at Christmas! I love that this one includes all of the starter Pokémon so it’s a mug to suite every Pokéfan! Something I also love about giving mugs as gifts is that you can fill it with other little presents, stuff like socks, chocolates & sweets, keyrings, etc.

Despicable Me Fluffy Unicorn Notebook (link) THIS NOTEBOOK IS SO FLUFFY, I’M GONNA DIE!! Hahaha I couldn’t help myself 😀 How awesome are fluffy notebooks though!? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate a pretty, good quality notebook, and this one would make a fabulous gift for anyone who loves unicorns or just cutesy things in general!

DC Lil Bombshells Vinyl Figures (link) Being slightly obsessed with collecting blind box figures myself, I couldn’t not find another blind box for my geeky girls gift guide too! I love the DC Bombshell figures, they are gorgeous, and these little chibi-style versions of them are awesome! They celebrate all of the badass woman of the DC world, and there’s 12 to collect in these series 2 editions. One of these surprise figures would make a really cool present for any DC fan you know, both girls and guys.

Kawaii Sushi Coaster Set (link) This is a present for my fellow kawaii fans. Even if you’re not a lover of sushi (me neither!), you can’t argue that these coasters are super cute! At only £4.99 for 4, I think they are a bargain not to be missed! I love how colourful and bright they are too, and they are great for popping into a stocking.

Pusheen the Cat Pastel Green Plush (link) It’s no surprise that both me & Nat included Pusheen items on our gift guides for geek girls because Pusheen is amazing! It’s impossible not to love her, and there’s so much wonderful merch available lately. Artbox UK have quite a few official Pusheen plushies, including these three pastel 15cm plushies, available in green, pink and purple. Your geeky girl loved ones will be thrilled to find one of these little cuties in their stockings on Christmas morning 😊

Studio Ghibli Gang Tote Bag (link) I don’t know many geeky girls that aren’t fans of at least one of the amazing movies by Studio Ghibli, and this tote bag is awesome because it includes so many of the popular characters on it! If I used tote bags more, I’d buy it for myself for Christmas because I’m in love with the print! It’s one of those presents too that can be filled with even more Christmas gifts, which is always a bonus. Bags are the perfect gift for students too because they can always use another bag, whether it’s for taking to class with them or to use as a shopping bag or something.

Hatsune Miku Keyring (link) Here’s another animation themed gift, for geeky girls who love all things Japanese! This keyring is an official Vocaloid item and is only £2.49! Even if you’ve never watched Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku is such a cute and iconic character, that I’m sure any fan of kawaii culture or anime would love to receive this for Christmas!

The next part of my Geeky Girls Gift Guide is for those of you who are interested in stocking fillers that are little more pricey but still ideal for those on a budget at £20 and under!

Tofu Cute Amuse Lucky Bag (link) Each time that I’ve been to my local MCM Comic Con at Manchester, I’ve seen people walking around with these adorable Tofu Cute goodie bags, both a blue and a pink variation, and always thought that they were surprise Japanese and Korean snack bags since I know that the store sells them. However, I just discovered that the blue one is full of snacks, but the pink one or the ‘Maneki Neko’ bag is for surprise plushies! I am such a huge fan of the Japanese brand Amuse and their plushies, and so I now have a mighty need for one of these lucky bags in my life! The smallest of the bags is £18.99, but there are three other larger sizes with more products in that you can buy. Head over to the website to see examples of what you can expect inside. I think this would make such a brilliant present, especially since you get the free drawstring bag too! If you think your loved one would prefer the snack version, that’s only £12.99. Even better, but slightly more pricey than £20, there’s a special Christmas version of the Tofu Cute lucky bag, which has a mix of both plushies and snacks!

Harry Potter Crests Gift Set (link) Gift sets, like this Harry Potter official one, are a fabulous option when buying a Christmas present, because they contain more than one gift and usually come inside a pretty presentation box of some kind. This set will make a wonderful gift for any Harry Potter fangirl, no matter if she belongs to Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, since it includes all the Hogwarts House crests! Also, this would make the perfect Secret Santa present for any Harry Potter fan! Fellow Harry Potter fans…I’m curious, what house do you belong to? I’m a Ravenclaw!

Deadpool Arm Party Bracelet Set (link) Jewellery is always a nice gift idea for any occasion in my opinion, and I thought this Deadpool set was unique plus it would make a cool present for many geeky girls. Whether they are a fan of the DC comics or just loved the 2016 Deadpool movie (I know I did!), this would be an awesome addition to their Christmas stocking this year. The set includes five bracelets, all designed in different ways so that they can be worn as a set or individually. I think they are actually really pretty!

Star Paws Parody T-shirt (link) I adore parody tees, this one especially because it has light saber-wielding kittens on it! Is there anything more awesome than that, haha!? Just maybe, because the slogan on the tee says, ‘Meow the force be with you!’. I LOVE IT! I almost forgot to mention that there’s a Christmas sale on over at Truffle Shuffle that ends just before midnight this Sunday, offering 20% off everything (use the code: PRESSIE20). Whilst this offer lasts, why not grab this t-shirt for your geeky friends or family? 😊

Harry Potter House Scarves (link) The online store GeekCore has so much awesome Harry Potter merch so definitely go check them out if you or your loved ones are fans! If so, then this ones another item for you! These gorgeous Harry Potter House scarves would make the perfect gift right now with it being almost winter time! They would also be a great present for anyone you know who likes to cosplay! I’m very tempted to get myself one because they look really snug and I’ve been so cold lately!

Happy Piranha’s Every Fragranced Candle tealights (link) Nat featured a fabulous Darth Vader tealight candle holder on her geeky girl gift guide, so I thought it would be cool to include some tealights that could be purchased along with that! I was searching around for geeky themed candles available in the UK and I came across this set that looks brilliant! The ‘Every Fragranced Candle’ set is Harry Potter themed, based on Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. How cool is that!? You are supposed to guess the scent of these candles, which I think is great and there’s so many fragrances that sound amazing, like Peppermint Swirl and Blackberry Crumble. They are all handmade too, and would be a perfect Christmas gift for anyone, Harry Potter fan or not!

Pokémon All Over Print T-Shirt (link) We have reached the final item on my gift guide for geeky girls, and this is one of my favourite items of all that I’ve shared with you guys today! Just look how fabulous it is! I really like all of the bright colours and of course, that it’s covered in Pokémon. I mean, how could anyone not adore it!? I love the style of this t-shirt too, it looks very comfy. As the website states ‘it’s a die-hard Pokéfan must-have!’.

So, I hope that you enjoyed all of my present suggestions for your geeky girl friends, girlfriends, family or co-workers this Christmas. I’d love to know if the items I’ve featured have been perfect for your loved ones or even if they’ve just given you some inspiration on what to buy for them 😊 That goes for Nat’s posts too; please leave either of us a comment and let us to your thoughts on the items we’ve chosen. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Day and that you get some marvelous presents, whether they are geeky or not!

I just wanted to end my post by giving a big thank you to Nat for working with me on this collaboration! It’s been so awesome, and I’ve been wanting to work with her for the longest time, so I’m super happy that we finally have done ♥ Definitely keep a look out for more collabs from us in the future everyone!

I just want to say again, a massive thank you to Sarah for agreeing to collab with me for Christmas not just once, but twice! These posts have definitely been some of my best guest posts and collaboration posts I’ve ever done and the prospect of working with Sarah again in the future is already so exciting!

Don’t forget to go and read Sarah’s Geeky Guy Gift Guide here!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you have a lovely weekend… Hopefully surrounded like snow like I am! 😛

Post Christmas Natter (Plus What I received…)

It’s almost a week since Christmas Day was here and I can’t quite believe how quickly it’s flown by! I had a lovely Christmas even though I was working both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day (WAH FML!) but it’s come and gone now. Plus I have New Years Eve and Day off, woohoo!

So I decided to do a little catch up post about my Christmas and share what lovely gifts I received from Dane, my parents and everyone else. 🙂

Christmas Eve I didn’t finish work until late (6pm to be exact) and due to being tired and lazy we decided to get a takeaway and spend the evening watching movies. One movie we watching in particular was Sausage Party, which came out this year. Not exactly a Christmas movie, but one we both enjoyed watching, although at the end it got very weird and we sat in shock with hands over mouths, awkwardly laughing.

We got an early night as we were both shattered! This being said I had an awful nights sleep. I kept waking up throughout the night as the wind was waking me up. So we both woke up early Christmas Day and popped on a Christmas movie whilst we opened our presents. I spoilt Dane rotten this year and he loved all of his gifts. He spoilt me just as much too and every gift he gave me I loved. We both asked each other what our favourite gifts were out of the bunch. Dane’s was Vol. 1-9 of One Punch Man and mine was a tough one. I’ll show off what gifts he gave me before I tell you which were my favourites… I can’t pick one!

We decided to do stockings this year, as a new tradition and we filled them both full of yummy treats, well Dane filled mine full of Japanese sweets, mostly Kit Kats! My friend Sophi (heyyy!) picked up some of these stockings for us which was lovely of her! She of course got an N for me and a D for Dane.

As you can see Dane bought me LOADS of Kit Kats, Japanese ones to be exact! As well as a few other Japanese treats, which are mostly matcha flavoured… My favourite. 😛 He bought me a little geisha pouch full of different flavoured Kit Kats, which I loved as it looked adorable! It came with a piece of paper inside telling you about all the flavours which I was pleased about, as you never know what you could be trying. For example there is a wasabi flavoured Kit Kat in there!

Onto the main gifts from Dane and I was well and truly spoilt this year… But so was he. 😛 All of my gifts from him were thoughtful and I can’t really say I prefer one to the other, but I will of course say my favourite 3 or something. 😛

One of my favourite gifts from what Dane bought me were these two sleeping Pokemon plushies from the Pokemon Centre in Japan. As you can see he gave me a Pikachu and Jolteon which I love, especially Jolteon’s cute little bum and feet. 😛 I knew I was going to get one of these but I didn’t have a clue which and these were both a lovely surprise to get. They’re now in my Pokemon cabinet in the living room.

Another one of my favourite presents from Dane was these South Park figures from the new game coming out in 2017, The Fracture But Whole. I already have a couple of the figures from the first game (Princess Kenny and Cartman as a wizard) and I love them so much, but not as much as these. I have Butters, Kenny and Cartman all as their super villain and hero alter egos. They’re now in my cupboard and look amazing. It’s a shame they didn’t bring anymore of the characters out, but I guess these three are the main ones.

I keep saying this is my favourite present from Dane even though I knew I was having it, but it’s my new jacket… A Pokemon jacket! This is by a brand I have grown to love since August when I bought my first pieces by her, the brand being Ohayou! Clothing. She’s a designer in Bristol and most of her designs are Pokemon related and anything Japanese and kawaii. As you can see from the pictures it’s a varsity style jacket with an adorable picture of Eevee on the back! I love it and since Christmas Day I’ve pretty much lived in it! I can’t wait to write a post about Ohayou! Clothing in the new year!

Everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE foxes and I think every Christmas we have shared since being together, Dane has always bought me a fox related present. This year he of course had to keep up the tradition and bought me this beautiful tote bag with a fox and wolf on it. I’ve viewed this seller on Etsy before and if you love foxes then you will love her work! He also bought one of her illustrated books about foxes, which I really enjoyed reading in bed on Christmas Day morning.

Yay for manga! I’m in need of some new books to read after finally finishing Nana (and my heart broke!) and of course Dane knew I wanted some new material to read including Nichijou. As of yet I haven’t started to read it but I intend to start very soon. It’s like Azumanga Daioh so it is based around a school and the lives of the students there. I can’t wait to read it!

MORE KIT KATS! I told you he bought me loads! These are sake flavoured and we tried one on Christmas Day. I LOVE them! They’re very strong smelling and tasting of sake, which I thought I would hate but really enjoyed. I would definitely buy these again… But I have a feeling they aren’t cheap.

Finally we have a few little stocking fillers Dane gifted me, one not being in this picture as I forgot to take it! That item is the Bee & Puppycat cooking book. I thought it would be all jokey cooking recipes but they’re actually legit and ones that both the workers of the comic have submitted, as well as fans of the comic book too. Both me and Dane had a flick through it on Christmas Day and have already decided on some recipes that we want to bake and cook very soon.

Speaking of food he also got me a Pikachu sushi mold which I am SO EXCITED to use! I love making Japanese food and the next thing I want to learn how to make is sushi. I’ve already discussed with Dane that we make onigiri (rice ball with fish, chicken, veg inside… Basically like a sandwich to us but with rice instead of bread) with the mold. I can’t wait!

I knew I was getting these for Christmas (even though when it came to opening them I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THEM!) but Dane bought me some Victoria’s Secret body sprays. One is a minty scent and the other more vanilla and sugary. I love things like this and the VS body sprays are the best I’ve ever tried.

The final thing Dane bought me was a new calendar which as you can see is Pusheen.

This was meant to be one of my Christmas presents but Dane gave it to me about a week before Christmas and I love it so much! It’s a little glass bottle with a little soot sprite inside from the film Spirited Away. That’s one of my favourite films so I love anything to do with it. He’s now in my cabinet in the living room.

We spent Christmas at my parents house and then Boxing Day at Dane’s parents. We both had a lovely time at both houses and I wouldn’t change anything! Sadly my mom was working but me and Dane played games and watched movies with my dad and my brother, which was really fun! We practically did the same with Dane’s family too and we had a right laugh. We played Joking Hazard with my family and The Game of Life with Dane’s. We had lots of laughs and giggles!

I’m not showing off all my presents in  this post, mostly just Dane’s to be honest but I thought I would show off my favourite gifts from my family and Dane’s.

This was one of my favourite presents this year and it’s from my parents. It’s a Thomas Sabo charm bracelet with a martini glass charm. She kind of hinting to me getting something like this but I wasn’t 100% sure what it would be. I love it though, so much more than my Pandora bracelet and I’ve already eyed up what other additions I can add to it. I’ve found so far that it’s just so much lighter than Pandora to wear and therefore easier to wear.

My mom bought me and Dane a couple of other things too, some of which are on the way apparently in the post. But one of my other favourite items from her is this giraffe dressing gown (which I have on at the moment!). The hood on it is huge and had a giraffe face on which I think is cute. It’s also a great length too which is ideal as one of my old ones would drag on the ground as I walk up the stairs and trip me up. I’ve pretty much lived in this since Christmas Day!

Like the presents my parents bought me I won’t talk about everything, but more so my favourites. Dane’s parents bought me these lovely pajamas which I knew I was going to get due to asking for them, but they were still a lovely surprise and as soon as we got home Boxing Day I put them on. They’re burgundy with woodland animal print on. Right up my street! They also bought me a Lush gift set (Snow Fairy one!) and some stuff for the house.

Finally we have one of the gifts that Dane’s brother and girlfriend bought for us. They bought us a huge box full of Japanese candy but sadly I never managed to get a picture of it. However I did manage to get a picture of the candle they bought us. It’s a WoodWick candle, a brand we both love just as much as Yankee Candle. This one is in the scent Black Cherry and it’s HUGE! When you burn these it makes a crackling sound like a fire and when we lit this for the first time it was nice to see the flame move over from the right to the left side of the wick. It’s a lovely present, especially for the house.

So those were my presents from Christmas this year. As well as these presents I did of course get more from work friends, my friends, family and more. I just wanted to show some that I had managed to snap pictures of.

I had a lovely Christmas this year even though it did come and go in the blink of an eye! I don’t have a clue when to take my Christmas tree down. Probably tomorrow after work as it’ll soon be 2017 and our tree wont need to be up anymore, sadly. I’ll miss our cute little tree. 😦

What lovely presents did you get for Christmas and did you have a lovely time over the Christmas period? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a great week so far!

Christmas Presents!

Merry Christmas one and all! Even if it is a tad too late to say now… Everyone is saying, “Happy New Year!” at the moment, aren’t they?

ANYWAY! Christmas has come and gone once again, and as you can tell from my absence the past couple of days, I’ve had a really good one this year. I spent the morning over at my boyfriend’s house with his family, which was lovely. We hadn’t done this yet, so it really did make a nice change. Then in the evening we came over to my house, which was super chilled out. Perfect Christmas!

I worked Boxing Day, which sucked but it was a laugh with my colleagues and we all talked about our Christmas Day’s, and what we got for Christmas.

Tonight I’ll be sharing what goodies I received for Christmas! As I’ve stated the past couple of years when writing these sorts of posts, I am in no way bragging, or showing off about what I received for Christmas. I love reading posts like this (because I’m a nosey cow!) so I always imagine people would enjoy reading mine too… Especially anyone who loves foxes, and anime/manga related goodies, as that’s what the majority was which I received.

I also want to apologise for crappy pictures. These were taken late at night, I was shattered after a busy day, and I knew if I didn’t get something taken, I would have nothing to write about now as I’ve literally not had any time.

So, here are my presents!

As you can see I received a lot of gifts, and this isn’t even all of it! Nope, there is more…

As I mentioned in my holiday haul post here my dad bought me this gorgeous Michael Kors Riley handbag! It has been my go to bag ever since the holiday, and I can see it being used pretty much forever now… I love using it for work as it’s so light to carry and it fits the right amount of items in.

One of the best presents I received for Christmas was nightwear. I haven’t received any for quite some time, so when my boyfriends parents bought me this fox slipper socks, and my boyfriend bought me these woodland animal pajamas, I was thrilled! The pajamas he bought me are so damn comfortable as well! I wore them from Christmas Day to this morning, and I wish I could be wearing them now. I love long-sleeved pajama tops!

My boyfriends family were really generous and lovely this year with their presents to me. My boyfriends brother and his girlfriend bought me Lush, and although my boyfriend states that they didn’t know which gift set I was after, they bought me the exact one! I’d eyed this set up only a week ago in Lush, due to it coming with Twilight Shower Gel, which is a limited edition product, and only comes out in the Lush Kitchen. I haven’t used it yet, but I can’t wait to.

My boyfriends parents bought me various little bits and pieces, from the fox slippers mentioned earlier, a cute little candle with squirrels on it, and this beautiful fox pillow. I snuggled it all morning after opening it, and it now sits lovely on my bed… I’m leaning against it right now, and it’s so fluffy and comfortable! They also bought me some Pandora, but I’m saving that until last.

My families gifts were lovely, and to the point. Alongside all these my mom also bought me a navy dressing gown, but I never got a picture of it, sorry. One of the nicest presents she bought me was this gorgeous fox mug! I had told her I wanted it from Avon for a while, and she offered to pick it up for me. Alas she told me it had sold out, and had secretly hidden it for Christmas. She also bought me a cute little fox purse. I’m unsure what I’ll use it for at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll soon find a use for it. The hair towels were a complete surprise, and I was keen on getting some new ones, so these pink ones will do just the job! I love using these towels to dry my long hair, they really do the trick. As my mom did last year, she has done it again and bought me a new face powder, only this time on by Laura Geller. So far since getting it a few days ago I’ve been using it and it’s lovely, I cannot complain.

My brother is great when it comes to presents, he always gets good ones, and usually he’ll get perfume. He never knows what perfume I’m after (because I don’t really talk to him about that sort of thing) but he always seems to get me something that I think, “Ooo that’s nice… Meh too much money…” and it makes me smile. This year he has bought me the latest scent by Marc Jacobs, Decadence. I can’t even describe the scent for this. It’s pretty unique, and reminds me of something that Thierry Mugler would come out with. The bottle for this does astonish me too, with its little handbag design. This came in a gift set with a shower gel, which I used on Boxing Day. I intend to wear this on my birthday.

My boyfriend bought me so much stuff! Like SO much stuff! But in return, I also bought him lots of things. The majority of what he seemed to pick up for me, they were fox themed. He’s never bought me this much fox related stuff before, which surprised me. He bought me a fox umbrella, and a fox car air freshener from a company called The Fox Project, a charity which helps foxes that have been hurt, and need urgent treatment. Along these he also bought me two pairs of fox socks from M&S, as well as a fox mug. Said mug now lives at his house, as I’m always pestering him for tea and coffee.

Alongside fox related items he had a habit for buying me lots of books this year (as I did for him too), and Umaru-Chan related goodies. He bought me two of these later items, one being a t-shirt, the other this adorable little notebook! I’ll be using that for work as a blog writing book. As I already mentioned, he bought me books, four in total. Three being books 10, 11, and 12 from the Nana manga, and one being the Pewdiepie book, This Book Loves You. I intend to go through it on my day off Wednesday.

As well as that he also picked up this cute little polar bear, as something I can snuggle when at his house, a Simon’s Cat calendar for next year, and a little Yankee Candle Christmas Eve votive candle.

He also bought me a special Pandora charm, but I’ll be going into more detail about that shortly.

These were two of the best presents I received from my boyfriend. I knew I was getting the Umaru-Chan Nendoroid, but the Baymax Pop! Vinyl was a complete surprise to me! I had told him I wanted it, but I didn’t know if he would buy him for me or not.

I am a massive fan of Big Hero 6, and Baymax really melted my heart. I can’t even remember how many times I cried when we went to watch Big Hero 6… It was a lot though! I’m not a huge Pop! Vinyl fan, I think the majority of the figures they release and sell look crap with how their paint work has been done. HOWEVER some of them do look amazing, and Baymax is one of these. He’s pearlescent in colour, and is bigger than normal Pop! Vinyl’s, which I actually really like.

As for Umaru-Chan she’s a gorgeous little figure, and one I fast fell in love with. I have spoken on my blog before about how much I love the anime that she originates from, and so when I got into the anime, my boyfriend knew he had to order the figure for me. I want to open her so badly, but she’s just too nice to open her. Instead I shall just gaze at her from afar and one day-dream of opening her.

Finally we have the two Pandora charms I was given this year. One from my boyfriend, and one from his parents. His parents gave me the little puppy charm (on the right) that is wearing a cute little red Father Christmas hat. It is such a little cute charm, and I wish I could have got some better pictures of it, but alas I couldn’t at the time. He’s sitting down, with his tongue sticking out. It’s a real cutie to add to my bracelet.

The charm my boyfriend bought for me is the fox (on the left) and it isn’t actually an official Pandora… But I don’t care about that! Pandora are taking too long to release a fox charm (you watch, they will now!) so when my boyfriend saw this one for sale on The Fox Project he snapped it up. It’s a cute little fox lying on a log, and I imagine trying to have a snooze. I love this charm so much because it really does stand out on the whole bracelet.

So that’s all… Wait… That isn’t ALL my presents? Is it?

My mom bought me a Kitchen Aid for Christmas. You know, like the ones they use on The Great British Bake Off? YES ONE OF THOSE! I was gobsmacked when I opened a massive present to not only see this, but a ceramic bowl, as well as a five piece kitchen/culinary set to use with the mixer as well. For weeks my mom has been lying about this massive box in the living room, saying it was something my brother had ordered… But it never budged. Until I came home for Christmas, and it had moved and was covered in wrapping paper. I am so excited to use it, even though I’m not 100% sure when I will yet. When I do, I’m sure I’ll have some sort of blog post about it.

Now, that IS all I received for Christmas. Although I did receive a wash set from my sister-in-law, and nephews, and I am yet to see what friends have bought me.

But yes, that is all my presents from Christmas ’15! What did you get for Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below, or even link me to your blog post about it if you’re a blogger.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you have a nice rest after Christmas. I would love one, that’s for sure. 😛

Christmas Present Ideas – Geeky Guy

I said before I left for my holiday that from the start of December, until the last Wednesday before Christmas I would be posting Christmas present idea lists up on my blog. I’m not going to do your casual present guides, instead something a little different, and quirky. For my first list my boyfriend is here to give me a hand with a geeky guy present ideas! Him being a geek himself, this is pretty much his wish list for Christmas. So I hope you enjoy his choices, and they help you get any ideas for those geeky men in your life!

Howdy everybody! Natalee is still away on her holiday, so she has roped me in to do another post. It’s coming to that time of year where we openly let a fat bearded man into our homes and steal our milk and mince pies. I never understood why we do that but that thought is for another day!

With Christmas coming up I thought it would be a good idea to give people ideas on what presents to get a geeky guy like me. I know Nat has some difficulty getting me presents as I tend to buy stuff when and if I need it, and I am pretty sure it is the same for a lot of guys out there. My dad in particular is pretty hard to buy for as he isn’t really interested in much. So to give you ladies, and even guys a helping hand with what to get any of the neckbeard* men in your life.
*www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neckbeard

• Xbox Elite Controller

I’m an Xbox loyalist; I will state that straight away so forgive me if your man has another console or belongs to the master race (PC). I don’t believe there is an equivalent for the PS4 and the master race will always praise using mouse and keyboard so this is not for them. This is one thing that I am really looking forward to getting. The customisation, the responsiveness… It just looks cool, and so on. Just watch this official video:

The only drawback is the price, at £120 it is pretty steep for an accessory that most people probably don’t need. That is why I have asked for assistance with getting mine for Christmas, I could get it but I can’t justify buying it myself for the full price.

• Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition PS4

I suppose an alternative is the Star Wars Battlefront Special Edition PS4. It just looks tasty with the Darth Vader print on the front, funky looking limited edition controller, and general presentation. It also gives me an excuse to be a double agent in the console wars. It is more expensive than the controller so it isn’t really an alternative at all, plus it will never beat the limited edition R2D2 Xbox 360 with sounds and lights. However, for those that want to splash the cash, for those who may be into it, and for those without a PS4 it is a great present. I know Nat really wants one for herself!

• Nendoroids (and I suppose Pop! Vinyl Figures)

I am a bit of a snob when it comes to figures, even though I am new to collecting them. Due to this I don’t know names of other brands other than these two and could never see myself buying the proper expensive ones no matter how cool they look. They really would be too unfair on my bank account.

http://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/4553/The+Colossus+Titan+TAKAYUKI+TAKEYA+Ver.html

Personally, I dislike Pop! Vinyl figures. As the brand has grown in popularity the quality seems to have diminished. I don’t like the look of them, they are manufactured in greater quantity so the paintwork tends to be iffy at best, and there isn’t much to them other than they’re a potentially cute looking figure. They are very easy to buy, popular, and cheap brand of figures so yeah, go for it if you’re on a budget, or there is a particular figure that will appeal. Older figures like Nat’s Wall-E are really decent, whereas newer ones like the Colossal Titan seem badly made. If there was one I would get it would be the Brotherhood of Steel Pop! from the Fallout collection, as I have had my eye on it for a while. Otherwise I’ll tell you about Nendoroids, a figure that I think will give you a hell of a lot more for your buck.

For those that like a bit more quality to their figures, Nendoroids are the way to go. I already own a fair few of them; nearly all the Attack on Titan collection (just missing Cleaning Levi), both Kirito and Asuna from the Sword Art Online collection, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, and the Star Wars Stormtrooper.

They are manufactured by a Japanese company called Good Smile so a lot of their products are based around manga and anime, making them the perfect gift for someone who loves that sort of stuff. They are incredibly well made, pose-able, and all come with unique accessories that reflect the character. Some examples being Solid Snake has a cardboard box, the Stormtrooper has a blaster, and Mikasa has her red scarf.

The drawbacks with Nendoroids are availability, price, and variety. You can see them at conventions (but be careful they’re not fake!), and very rarely in places like Forbidden Planet but the best place to get them is online. Always use trusted partners (http://partner.goodsmile.info/support/eng/partnershops/) or shops other people recommend like Sushi Noms, Crunchy Roll and so on. Due to the way Good Smile release them affects how easy to acquire they are. You will find it difficult to find older figures outside of eBay and even then they have a chance of being fake or overpriced. Speaking of price, they can be on the expensive side. For example, I got Nat a Mawaru Penguindrum (Google it) Nendoroid which I would consider quite rare for just over £20. That is good, right? On the other hand the Pokemon Red is priced up at £160… Yes, that much! Then there is the trouble of bootlegs which there is a major issue with. Good Smile does bootleg warnings which are great and helpful, but you still have to be careful. I fell victim to it using eBay. It looked real on the pictures, but I could tell instantly it wasn’t when it arrived, and returned it straight away.

Even though these are some issues, I still recommend Nendoroids over anything.

• Games (Fallout 4, SW: Battlefront, Just Cause 3)

Games are a simple easy present to get. They are released constantly and if it were me I would be happy to receive any game, hell even Viva Pinata! Just check out the hype for the upcoming games and maybe take a little look at their current collection and it should give you a good idea on what sort of games they’re into. At the moment I am playing Fallout 4 and Star Wars: Battlefront and anyone would have a blast playing either of those. The problem with these though is they are out already and said person who you’ll be buying for will have most likely bought them already (like I have), so what do you get? Well one idea is to buy something similar to what they have already, no harm in that is there? An older game I want is the Master Chief Collection, I’m glad I didn’t get it at launch because it was shrouded in problems but they have fixed them and it would be a great addition to any Halo fan boy. I already own the original Xbox and 360 copies of Halo 1,2 and 3 so I would love to be able to play them on my Xbox One.

You could even go retro, have they ever spoken about the good old days playing the Sega Mega Drive or the Super Nintendo? You can find them pretty cheap on eBay, I got hold of a Mega Drive for £30 and it included 10 games. Mega nostalgia for any gamer!

What if you want to get something new for them? Or your partner has everything already? Or you don’t know the difference between Battlefield and Battlefront? Or you can’t work out why you shouldn’t get Duke Nukem Forever?
Well the answer to that really is Just Cause 3. Why? You ask. Because explosions. Every man wants to be Antonio Banderas and not look at explosions and this game gives you all of that with no risk of being branded a terrorist or creepy for trying to be Antonio Banderas.

Antonio Banderas isn’t actually in this but I think the character is based on his [film career] life. It is a silly game that you shouldn’t take seriously, but that is what makes it fun. I have played the two original games and they are beautiful and amazingly fun to play another game that anyone would love to play. I am actually looking forward to it coming out in December. That is why I am suggesting it as whoever you may buy it for won’t have it just yet so it makes a perfect present to get. Just make sure they haven’t pre ordered it!

The best advice I can give for when buying games is to ask them straight up what, if any, games they would like. Then you have no trouble. It may ruin the surprise, but if they are anything like me I appreciate the thought that you want to get something I am actually interested in rather than having to feign happiness that you got me Ride to Hell: Retribution because you saw I liked Sons of Anarchy (FYI: It is a terribly bad, bad, bad, bad, baaaaaaad game).

If you really want to surprise the gamer, make the notes of what games they have and go into any gaming store. GAME staff in particular are incredibly helpful and although they want you to buy stuff regardless, I still feel like they want to help you.

• GAME Gift Cards
  

When I say game store, I don’t specifically mean the chain of stores. You can buy vouchers for pretty much all the major game outlets. Xbox store, PlayStation Network, and Steam all have gift cards available, and depending on what system they use you can tailor it to them. If all else fails, get GAME gift cards. Anything that helps me buy more is always welcome.

• Portal Board Game

I recently got this to play with Nat, but we haven’t got round to playing it yet. It took a while to understand the rules, we were tired and it was late so please forgive us for not being able to truly review it. Most gamers and geeks will know about the video game Portal, so this is a brilliant gift for any fan of the series. Valve, the creators of the series, are probably one of the biggest hitters in the gaming industry so you can’t miss what they have released. Not sure when it released but I had no idea about it until I randomly spotted it in a Games Workshop. It looks fun and I hope we get round to playing it soon. It would be a great gift to open on Christmas and play with the family.

• Stormtrooper Costume

I don’t really know what to say to persuade anyone to buy this…

http://www.stormtrooper-costumes.com/24,stormtrooper_costumes.html

… But I am damn sure I want one.

A full PVC outfit of a Stormtrooper with holster and blaster would be fudging amazing! I have always wanted one, but that price is a bit painful on the soul, if I had one…

• Stocking Fillers/Novelty Clothing

These are awesome little ideas that you could buy someone. I know that I have largely focused on gamers with a heavy dosing of Star Wars but this is really for any geek. There are tons of websites and shops out there to get little presents and random bits of clothing.

Here are but a few:

www.gamer-heaven.net

www.redbubble.com

www.forbiddenplanet.com

www.crunchyroll.com/store

www.tokyotoys.com

www.sushinoms.com

www.tofucute.com

www.animuk.co.uk

Just look on the websites for whatever they are into and you can easily find something. If it is clothing I would recommend sticking with T-shirts as not all nerds and geeks are confident enough to walk around wearing a Naruto jacket, a Survey Corps hoody, or even like having to explain what their clothing is from. Most people don’t understand how adults can be into these “childish cartoons”. Not even when Lucy from Elfen Lied tears people in half creating a bloody massacre whilst strolling naked through a military complex. T-shirts allow people to express their interests, yet be able to cover up when visiting grandparents. There is nothing more awkward than having to explain over a cup of tea why the cake is a lie. Just don’t put them in that position!

• Shit-Bucket

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shit+Bucket

Stay with me here and give me a chance to explain.

I don’t necessarily mean buying your partner a commode and letting them excrete into a bucket, unless you really want to. I mean giving them the gift of letting them zone out and enjoy their games. Book a day off work for them (and yourself), keep up their supply of Monster and Doritos (possibly with melted cheese), and take an interest in what their playing. I know it is hard to just watch someone play but having support from loved ones means a lot, it’s the thought that counts. Hell, you could even empty the bucket for them…

I joke.

So there you have it, my quick gift guide for that special geeky person in your life. I don’t want this to be limited to just guys as I’m sure some women out there would appreciate the intricacies of a poop bucket. So if you have a geeky guy or girl hopefully they would appreciate some of these things that I myself would love to receive from the bizarro burglar know as Santa.

Ciao for now!

Thanks again to Dane for writing this post for me! The last present idea really did make me giggle! What did my readers think of his ideas? Make sure to let me know in the comments, Dane will be reading them whilst I’m away on holiday.

I’m away for another week yet so I’ll see you all when I get back! Take care.