Last-minute DIY gifts for geeks and nerds
19-12-2022
Translation: Eva Francis
Christmas is only a few days away. Still looking for presents? Here are some little last-minute souvenirs that will make tech hearts beat faster. All you need is some DIY skills.
Sunday is Christmas Day, and you haven’t managed to get a gift for all your loved ones yet? Here are some ideas and inspiration for small gifts from one geek or nerd to another. With just a tiny bit of DIY know-how, you’re sure to be able to make each of them in no time. Crafting the following 11 ideas took me about a day and I’m now ready for Christmas.
Snack box for the next LAN party
Here’s a fun and simple idea for gamers. Put together a box with some tasty little snacks and drinks – everything they need for their next gaming marathon. In my example, I created Pokemon-themed gift by marking each snack with food and drinks from the game. They act as real-life «Health Points». This box could be tailored to any game or just decorated with a slogan.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Upcycling with keycaps
I have a few keycaps left from my last keyboard building project. These are easily turned into Christmas gifts.
For the first keycap idea, all you need is a couple of small magnets, which you attach to the keycaps with hot glue. Like this, you can put together a small magnet set in no time.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Source: Michelle Brändle
For the second keycap idea, you need a little more time and skill. Using Fimo or other modelling material that hardens in the oven, create small figures and shapes or even marbled surfaces, which you wrap around the keycaps. After baking them in the oven, simply seal the figures with a transparent varnish so that they last longer and don’t fall victim to greasy fingers.
If you’re looking for ideas or inspiration, there are lots of pictures and Youtube tutorials out there. Mine didn’t turn out well, so I’ve added these little animal keycaps for inspiration.
Homemade screen cleaner
Update, 27.12.22:
My idea of making a screen cleaner from window cleaner or spirit is unsuitable for displays in the long term. Screens with anti-reflective coatings or a grease-repellent layer can get damaged or get tiny scratches. It's better to use only distilled water or specially suitable agents together with a microfibre cloth.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Mobile phone case with a personal touch
Smartphone stores and other shops are packed with mobile phone cases in every shape and size. Most of them are either boring or tacky. However, if you find a transparent case that fits the gift recipient’s phone, you can easily spice it up yourself.
Stick printed pictures, stickers and shared selfies on the cover – it’s best to do so from the inside, so your art stays beautiful longer. You can also paint directly onto the cover with acrylic markers. Be aware that it takes quite a while to dry. I ended up smudging what I’d drawn, so I resorted to homemade stickers in my example.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Colourful headphones and charging cables
If you’d like to replace someone’s broken charging cable or give them wired headphones as a gift, you can jazz them up with nail polish or acrylic paint. The colours also work well on cases for headphones or mobile phone.
Candy box for small things
USB sticks, memory cards and small cables easily get lost, as they’re left lying around. To prevent this from happening to your gift recipient, why not decorate an empty candy box and turn it into a beautiful treasure chest. In the past, I used to simply stick pictures on them, but went so far as to have pictures printed on my last few gift boxes.
Source: Michelle Brändle
If you don’t have a box, take a screw jar. Design a beautiful wrap-around label, and your personalised jar makes for a practical gift.
Well packed: chocolate for nerds
Everybody loves chocolate, but it can be a boring gift. Print out a picture of a gaming handheld or keyboard and wrap the chocolate with it – or cover the boring wrapping with a collage of pictures of your favourite games – and you’re sure to make someone happy.
Most bars of chocolate have the following dimensions: 15.8 cm × 7.6 cm × 1 cm. Fit your picture to this size or create a slipcase to put over the bar.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Source: Michelle Brändle
Digital message in a bottle
Instead of a Christmas card, you can also download your message onto a USB stick and hand it over that way. The packaging doubles as your gift: a special stick that can be reused by the person receiving the gift.
Technical gimmicks on Christmas cards
Most Christmas cards are either cheesy or boring. I usually use them anyway to pass on my poetic masterpieces or to avoid gifting a voucher without anything else. But I like adding a little technical gimmick.
Messages for puzzle lovers
If you want to write something or give away that voucher for ten rounds of Mariokart in a creative way, why not create your own crossword puzzle. The solution can be a word or an entire sentence. Keep in mind that it takes a bit of time and creativity to come up with so many questions.
The website «xwords-generator» might come in handy.
QR codes with creative content
A self-made QR code offers you lots of possibilities, as you can transmit news, web pages, Youtube videos or anything else. To make your QR code look cute and personal, there are pages such as «QR Code Monkey» that turn the QR code into a small work of art with colours, pictures and various shapes.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Spotify barcodes for musical gifts
I also like the idea of adding a Spotify barcode to a Christmas card. This takes your loved one directly to a song of your choice. But watch out: if you choose «Last Christmas», your smartphone or PC might explode into a thousand snowflakes when the track is played.
To create a Spotify barcode, tap on the three dots to the right of the song while it’s playing or within the playlist, and the code will appear at the top. To play the code, Spotify offers a search option including a camera to take a picture.
Just print out the code and stick it in the card alongside your Christmas message.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Have any other last-minute gift ideas that could help out others? Please do share!
In my world, Super Mario chases Stormtroopers with a unicorn and Harley Quinn mixes cocktails for Eddie and Peter at the beach bar. Wherever I can live out my creativity, my fingers tingle. Or maybe it's because nothing flows through my veins but chocolate, glitter and coffee.
