Photo books, teapots, and stuffed mammoths: a holiday gift round-up for babies, kids, and grown-ups

HEY GUYS! Just in case the abundance of cheestastic music and colors and that old bearded dude hanging out in the mall hasn’t tipped you off, the holidays are upon us. This means a lot of things, and one of those is that it’s very likely gift-giving season in your neck of the woods.

Since I’m a holidays kind of gal, I’ve taken it upon myself to scour the internet and find all of the amazing things you can buy OR make yourself so you don’t have to. It was actually much more fun than I anticipated, and the end result is a mega list of all the Doctor Who gadgets, music, crafts, and stuffed animals you can handle (psst: we’ll be running a DIY holiday gift guide next week!) — and then some. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

For your super geeky, yet adorable, partner or friend:

The Nook Simple Touch is $99, and with less than $20 of extras and a little reading comprehension skills, you can hack it and turn it into an Android tablet. TAKE THAT, APPLE.

You know what would make a rough day of post writing and editing way better? Drinking tea out of a TARDIS teapot! I’m just saying.

This Nintendo Controller Backpack is great for the gamer parent in your life — you don’t have to tell them, but the bag could TOTALLY double as a badass undiaper bag.

Speaking of The Doctor, this post on Offbeat Home is filled with tons of amazing Who-themed yarn projects. My favorite is this scarf.

For that cute baby you know:

Hi, all friends and parents of librarians-in-training: look at this retro specs onesie without squealing.

All babies wearing this faux wool striped romper automatically get 10 bonus stylin’ and profilin’ points. AUTOMATICALLY.

These hipster wooden blocks are a HILARIOUS and educational gift for the hipsters in your life — and their offspring.

Toddlers and preschoolers: oy

Speaking as a parent of a preschooler who is super proud of his recently acquired reading skills: this notepad will be a hit. It’s only $8, so even if DOES bomb it’ll look cute wherever the parents or kid in question hangs it.

I bet you know a little kid or two who would love a sweet stuffed mammoth to cuddle. I BET YOU DO!

This projector pod is a BATH TOY: plop it in the tub (or a bowl of water) and it projects an image of Saturn on the ceiling.

Elementary and middle school-aged kids

Sure, Dead Fred the penholder is a little morbid, but I’m pretty sure there’s many a 8-to-10-year-old who would think this shit is a riot.

One of the things I remember from my school-aged years was being obsessed with POSTERS: I had tons of them everywhere. This shot of Einstein is a classic.

Mushroom erasers and pencil sharpeners?! School just got a lot more fun (assuming kids still use pencil sharpeners in the first place).

I LOVE QWIRKLE! That is all. It’s listed as being appropriate for ages 6 and up… so get on that playing!

Tween and teen stuff that DOESN’T have a boy band/Disney starlet on it:

This wallet is designed to look like a double-decker bus (but it’s black). C’mon now.

If you know a teen that loves to make their own clothing, something like this this vintage dress pattern might send him or her into a sewing FEVER.

Are tin lunch boxes still a thing? I used to carry them religiously. This Edgar Allen Poe option is the shit.

For faraway family who don’t get enough pictures

We live across the country from most of our family. While Facebook and email have done wonders for sharing photos of our son as he gets older, NOTHING has made our family’s hearts sing like prints of photos and photo books. I’m not sure why we’re always the ones doing the making and the printing, but we are. Luckily it’s only getting easier to do so — here are a few of my fave sources:

Blurb lets you make photo books out of your Instagram photos, Facebook snaps, or your fancier DSLR shots. Bonus: each of those links gets you 15% off!

If books aren’t your bag (they do take some time, y’all), you can also order tons and tons of PRINTS for your fam. Snapfish and MailPix.com are my personal number one and two go-tos for prints because they’re both just so easy and cheap, but there are zillions of options.

For you and your grown-up friends

Am I the only one who loves the idea of having a Periodic Table Shower Curtain? Surely not.

I don’t know if headphones are making a comeback or what, but these Beats by Dr. Dre are so smooth I can’t stand it. They deliver high fidelity sound, making them perfect for the music geek in your life who wants nothing more than a chance to zen out to some favorite tunes without waking up the kids.

The Pix & Stix Conductive Drumsticks and Guitar Pick Set makes Garage Band played on any touch-screen device that much more fun — each set comes with drumsticks and a guitar pick that can be used to strum and drum.

I picked up Eight Girls Taking Pictures on a whim while out with my son — I’m a photographer, so it’s likely no surprise that I was drawn to the book based on the cover alone. The book is a collection of short stories about eight different women, (some mothers, some not), who each end up as photographers — and the paths that lead them to the vocation in the first place. I’m only halfway through it, but it’s so far incredible.

If you have an Absinthe fan in your life, they’ll love this Absinthe Fairy Gift-Wrapped Set: you get a tin of Absinthe flavored candy, a tin of Absinthe scented soap, Tokyo Milk Dark ABsinthe #84 lip elixir, and a green fairy necklace all wrapped up in an Absinthe green gift box.