Gift Guide 2008: Cool and Random Gifts for Under $50(ish)

Christmas can be a rather hectic time of the year. So many people to shop for, so little time and so very little money.

We at Life in Boxes are here to help ease some of that stress by offering up our advice on the perfect gifts for the pickiest of shoppers.

Today's topic: cool and random gifts for under $50(ish).

As someone who is in a secret santa and a yankee swap, I know how important it is to be able to find unique presents (ie. NOT gift cards) that can please a lot of people. And of course, sine we are all poor post-college kids, money is always tight, so under $50 is generally a good range for gifts.

Here we go....

Cool Clocks
You know how trouble I have waking up. So I think unique clocks make a really cool gift idea. It's usually something somebody wouldn't buy themselves but would love to have


Clocky ($49.99) - This art-project-turned-product is the brainchild of a MIT student. The clock gives you one chance wake up, but if you hit the snooze button, it rolls away and tries to hide from you so that the next time the alarm goes off, you'll actually have to get up to find it


Flying Alarm Clock ($39.95) - An alarm clock that launches a rotor into the air that flies around the room as the alarm sounds, hovering up to 9' in the air, and will not cease ringing until the rotor is returned to the alarm clock base. Probably just as annoying as clocky.







Alcohol Related
Sometimes the best gift is the gift that helps you get drunk. As wrong as that may sound.

Candy Cane Shot Glasses ($1 - $6.50) - Get into the holiday spirit by drinking your vodka in a candy cane shot glass. It's like a bread-bowl soup, except instead of soup, it's Jaager, and instead of bread, it's candy. Fun for the whole family (Disclaimer: Not Really Fun For The Whole Family)

PS. The linked website sells them for $6.50, but at Edgewater's Target right now, they are selling them in the dollar bin.




Skeleton Key Bottle Opener ($9.95) - You know what makes good gifts? Keychains. Now combine keychain with alcohol use and times that by cool looking skeleton key design, and you have one of the perfect gifts. I mean, who carries around skeleton keys anymore, anyway? Cool mysterious people do, that's who.






Car Stuff
If you have a car, there are certain things that you probably could use, but never could justify purchasing. And I'm not talking about ricing up your car, I'm talking about some real pragmatic stuff for it. Practical = good gift.

Collision Kit ($14.95) - Getting into a car accident sucks. What sucks more is if you don 't handle it correctly. The Collision Kit has pre-formatted forms for making sure you get all the info necessary, a pen, a clipboard, and a flash camera so you can take photos of the damage immediately. Also, there's an envelop to keep registration and insurance info.







Accutire Tire Pressure Monitor ($49.00) - I have a cousin who has gotten more flat tires than he can count. Now he's kinda obsessed with making sure his tires are well pressurized (and his crazies has rubbed off on me). This gadget lets you see your tire pressure just by placing the gauge near the tire cap instead of using a low-tech pressure measure..r.



Kitchen / Chef Stuff
Everyone knows someone who really enjoys cooking or baking. I don't really get it, but I have found a couple of things that might interest those folk.


Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker ($20.98 - $54.99) - Probably one of the most low tech ways to make ice cream. Throw some ice and rock salt in one end and ice cream mix in the other and shake it up. After a couple of minutes, you've got some home made ice cream. It's gotten pretty good reviews on Amazon and it looks fun, to boot.






Kitchen Tape Timer ($18.00) - For those trendy kitchens. Pull up on the tape and watch it tick down. An egg timer is something probably every kitchen has, but a stylish egg timer? I think not, sir.







Global Warming Mug ($9.95) - Global warming is in this season. How can you show your support? By buying stuff! (Sarcasm intended). Fill your cup with warm stuff and see how much damage your SUV is doing as you see the polar ice caps melt and eat away at our shores!





Cubicle Goodness
Have a friend whose poor soul is stuck in a cubicle from 9 to 5? Try to make their faux walls home a bit more bearable with desk-sized toys.

Dozi Paperclip Holder ($18.00) - Paperclips are boring. Try to suck every last drop of fun out of them with this cool looking porcupine paperclip holder. What's more, you'll be supporting a Korean designer!







Darth Vader Bobble Head ($12.00) - Everyone thinks they're so cool with their Dwight Schrute bobble heads. Prove to your co-workers that you're even geekier and cooler (as oxymoronic as that may seem) with a Darth Vader Bobble Head. Everyone will see how strong the force is in you.








Eggling ($9.50) - Cubicles can get pretty depressing and lifeless, no matter how many bobble heads agree with your rants. Sometimes you just need something more organic. Egglings are little plants that you can grow anywhere. They come in varieties such as wild strawberries, cactus, and basil, among others.





Photography
I am a really big on photography gifts. They can be personal and there are some very cool, funky film cameras out there that make very cool gifts.

Lomography Cameras (Around $50) - Lomography cameras are probably the coolest cameras in the world. They are toy cameras that are cheap and do some cool things. For example, the Super Samler (pictures), has 4 lenses that go off one right after another, creating an almost Warhol'ish image. Lomography also offer fisheye cameras, colored-flash cameras, and many others. I <3 style="font-weight: bold;">

D.I.Y Photo Block Kit ($25.00) - This kit lets you make a 4 peice photo that is attached to wooden blocks. The result is a unique piece of art that is personalized for the user. It shows some creativity and thought on the gift-giver.








Fun and Games
Sure we're all getting a little older, but really, we're all still just really big kids. Here are some gifts that reflect that.

Settlers of Catan ($22.92) - Best. Game. Ever. What more can I say? This German-made game is like a combination of Monopoly and Risk, except that it's always different, shorter, and a lot more fun. All our friends are crazy about it and if you talk to anyone that knows anything about board games, they'll mention this game. Sheep FTW!



Lightning Reaction Extreme ($22.99) - A game for all the masochists out there. Everyone grabs a handle and watches a light blink in the middle. When the light stops blinking, you have to press your button. Last person to do so gets a painful shock to the hand (or alternatively, the first person doesn't get shocked but everyone else does). Great party / drinking game.

Annoyatron ($9.99) - This little thing has the most apt name in the bunch. Magnetically attach this thing onto a hard to find spot in your enemy's home/workplace and watch them go crazy as it makes short but very annoying beeps every couple of seconds. Just hope the person you give this to doesn't use it on you.



Artsy Gifts
For those people who really want to create a Finer Things Club, an artsy gift can be one-of-a-kind and quite nice.

Etsy.com Prints ($1 - $100's) - Have you ever heard of Etsy.com? People make their own craft items and sell it through the website. So you can buy one-of-a-kind artwork or photography for just about any price range. Who knows, you may stumble upon the next Picasso there. The print pictured can be found here. I also liked this photo.

Oh, and also, they sell a bunch of other things like bags, shirts, jewelry. Basically anything crafty you can think of, they'll have it.



Vintage Match Box Labels ($8.95) - I know quite a few people who enjoy collecting match boxes and who would really appreciate a small gift like this. Reproductions they may be, but the are also pretty darn stylish.









NYC Subway Signs ($29.00) - Everyone has their own favorite subway line. The one they take every day to work, or the one that leads to their favorite museum. So why not get one that shows which yours (or your gifter's) is.




Wearables
Clothing as Christmas gifts are usually reserved for socks and underwear from grandma. But now you can find some really stylish and cool garments you can give as gifts.

Threadless.com Shirts ($10.00) - Threadless is a website where users submit shirt designs. The community votes on them, and every week they print limited amounts of the best designs. They sometimes funny, sometimes artsy, but always cool. Shirts seldom get reprinted, so if you see a good design, you should grab it before it all gets sold out!



A4 Felt Shoulder Bag ($25.00) - Girls love bags. Or at least that's what television tells me. While I was browsing through the MoMA store, I saw this bag and thought it looked cool. And it's cheaper than Louie.







For the Home
Gifts that are generally essential to everyday life, but look cooler then their mundane counter-parts = cool gifts.

Imbroglio Desk Calendar ($45.00) - Everyone needs a calendar in their home and Christmas is right near the end of the year, so it just makes sense to get someone a calendar. Except instead of getting them a "12 Months of Toy Poodles" calendar, get them something that can be a conversation piece as well.




Mid-Century Piggy Bank w/ $$ ($-72.00 - $28.00) - Maybe it's because I save up my extra change, but I think piggy banks make really cool gifts. What's extra special about the Mid-Century Piggy Bank is that they put some money inside of it (apparently you can get anything from a couple cents to $100). So it's like two gifts in one.

Another cool piggy bank (that won a design contest) is the Coink Bank ($36.00), but it doesn't have any money in it :x


Sky Umbrella ($35.00) - Rainy days can be very depressing. But with this umbrella, instead of raining on your head, you can have a bright sky with fluffy clouds floating over you.








Carry Ons
Things that add a slight twist to things that we carry around with us every day. Kinda.

Print Wallets - ($20.00 - $48.00) - Who needs those boring wallets by Guess or Louie? These wallets have a lot more character, and in my opinion, look a lot cooler. The first pictured is the Poketo Artist Wallet (there are 14 designs in total) and the second pictured are wallets designed by DB Clay (9 designs).

Test Print Journals ($8.00) - This is a great gift for people who have Moleskines. Unlike Moleskines, these journals have a lot of personality to them. There are 22 different journal designs that all look kinda crazy and cool as the ones pictured.

Gift Cards
If you really, really, really can't think of something good to get someone, gift cards are your only choice. Even so, there are some things you can try to do to make a bit more special

Personalized Gift Cards ($4.50 extra) - Stores like Circuit City, Home Depot, Borders and a bunch others now offer customizable gift cards. You can enter text or pictures onto the card to show that, even though you got them a gift card, it wasn't something you picked up last minute at CVS.


Bilz Mini Gift Card Money Maze Puzzle ($9.95) - A gift card can be a pretty boring gift. So you mght like the idea of making the gift receiver work for their present. The money maze will not spit out your money or gift card unless you complete the two-level ball puzzle that it's enclosed it. At least it'll showed that you put a little bit more effort than usual.





Well, that's it. Hopefully you found something that works or at the very least, got some ideas for gifts from this list. Happy shopping, folks!

P.S - Big shout out to this ask.metafilter.com post (one of my website favoritos) for a great list of cool websites to look through. Crowdsourcing rocks!