Specifically looking for nerdy knickknacks like magnetic viewing film that a fellow autist would appreciate
I once bought our son a transparent practice lock picking set. Great fun. Not the cheapest but he has since been able to repay me many times over from the proceeds of various jewellers shop robberies & bank heists
- Rechargeable AA or AAA batteries
- Electric handwarmers
- Lotto Tickets or scratchers
- Travel Board or Card Games
- Charging accessories
- Darn Tough vs. Fun Socks
- Phone Stand
- Mini tripod
- EDC stuff like Olights
So many things…
As a girly who gets cold easily - warm fuzzy wooly socks. Oh my god. Pls I need several pairs to get me through the winter! Oh and I’ll take a couple sample sized brandys while you’re at it😁
Silly socks, a puzzle of some kind, a magic trick, some weed, a good book, fun magnets, a geode
I’m getting a friend a box of adhesive googly eyes.
When we were kids my parents would put some snacks & gum/mints and the biggest & juiciest apples and oranges I had ever seen, it doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated sometimes. For something a little nerdier maybe a puzzle, book like a comic, novel, or almanac, or maybe a handheld synth or sampler like the teenage engineering pocket operators or stylophone or something similar.
Obligatory gifts are never cool.
I almost skipped past this post, but something cheap I carry in my wallet every day is a credit card sized Fresnel magnifying lens, same size and thickness of a credit card. Suprisingly durable, and can even start fires in good sunlight.
Thank you for this! I need to come up with some stocking stuffer ideas for my wife to get me. And I’ve been struggling. But something like this would actually be useful and fit the bill very well.
A similar idea is a magnetic field viewing film. I have one and it’s neat to see exactly where magnets are in different things.
What level magnification are you getting, and is there much distortion when using it to read (or to examine objects)? The only thing I know about Fresnel lenses are lighthouses!
I’m not sure exactly, but I’d guess about 2x magnification, and text is totally legible and easier to read.
The focal point distance for sunburning/fire is about 7cm.
The lens part itself is 6cm x 5cm.
Yes I did some measuring…
Something I’ve always requested when anybody asked what I wanted for a gift, (and only got once from somebody who went on to be my wife) was a hand-written letter.
As somebody who buys the things I require whenever I require them, it’s something so much more personal than damn near anything else.
Edit: I gave her a box of secrets. Basically I wrote a bunch of lines or paragraphs on pieces of paper that I don’t like to talk about or have trouble expressing. The only caveat was that she could only read one per day and only when she’s not having a great day.
Oh that’s incredible. You’re a good husband.
the original fidget spinner
It’s not real exciting, but phone chargers make great stuffers. Everybody can use one more.
My wife has bought me some, but then ends up taking them and losing parts. This year we are getting color coded ones
If you know what phone they have you can get one at or a little higher than it’s top charging speed. It might end up their fastest charger. (I mention a little higher if you feel like it, since if/when they upgrade maybe that speed will go up a bit and your purchase will be even better. I wouldn’t bother doing that with chinese phones that are at 100W anyway.)
trichroic prisms, also called X Cubes, like what is inside a projector. You can get them in ebay pretty cheap, and they are just very cool to look at and play with, seeing how the light is split into three colors.
A lot of the cheap ones on eBay seem to be normal perspex cubes with different coloured stickers on each side
My wife frequently puts one of those hanayama metal puzzles in my stocking, and I’ve always enjoyed getting those.
I always liked getting those little eyeglass repair kits because mine were always lost. Also microfiber eyeglass wipes. Terry’s chocolate oranges went in there as well. Small beauty things like lip gloss and fingernail clippers and Emory boards!
A Hongdian M2 fountain pen. It’s just under $20 and is perfectly pocket-sized. Nice and heavy and the cap screws on for when you get fidgety. I just decided to get into sketching, so I got the bent tip and it’s glorious. You’ll need to get them some ink too. I went simple with the Hongdian black for around $10. If you know their favorite color, you can do that instead. So about $30 for two stocking stuffers that will set them on a journey. Even though I got it to sketch with, I use it all the time for writing too. And now I want ALL THE FOUNTAIN PENS.
I bought one of those on a whim a while back, and I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was. Quality control is always kind of a crapshoot with those cheap Chinese pen brands so I don’t usually get my hopes up, but even though the pocket clip on mine feels loose and pretty janky, the actual pen itself is really solid, and has a surprisingly good nib for its price point. I ended up carrying it with me a lot because it’s not only a nice compact size for a pocket pen, but it’s cheap enough that I won’t be devastated if I lose it.
