Guest Author - Debbie Jacobsen

Nearly everyone has at least one “geek” in the family. You know who I’m talking about – the person who loves computers, video games, and any type of electronic gadget that hits the market. Geeks are kind of hard to buy for; I know, because I’m the “family geek”.

This article is dedicated to those of you who are looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the nerdy person who has everything. You need to find a “different” kind of gift for these folks, and it can be hard to find something really special in local stores. Fortunately, the internet opens a world of unique possibilities for unusual and interesting gifts for unusual and interesting people – at all price points.

My most favorite geeky thing is my internet phone service, and I highly recommend this for any geek who has a broadband internet connection and still uses a traditional “land line” phone. With an unlimited internet phone service plan, (also referred to as VoIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol) you can make all the local and long distance calls you want for one low price per month. Most people who have residential VoIP service cancel their land line service and use internet phone service as their primary home phone. Unlimited VoIP plans range from $199 a year (paid up front) to $24.99 per month. This is less than the price of a dial tone with most “land line” services, and you can make all the long distance calls you want for no extra charge.

Another great gift that any geek would love is a wireless keyboard and mouse. This is a perfect addition to any computer, and makes an especially nice “add on” if purchasing a new computer. I love the thought of using wireless computer accessories, and the wireless keyboard/mouse combination is great because I can lean back in my favorite chair and surf the internet all night long with my keyboard in my lap and my mouse on the armrest. A good wireless keyboard/mouse combo costs around $75 and will provide many years of “freedom” from cables.

A terrific gift for the geek who has everything is a subscription to an unlimited data backup service. I like Carbonite, because it is inexpensive and reliable. For $5 a month, you can give your geek unlimited “all the time” backups of his/her computer data. When you use a service like this, there are no worries when your hard drive crashes (and they all do – it’s just a matter of time) because you just do a simple “restore” to a new hard drive (or new computer), and everything is “back to normal”. For $60 a year, Carbonite online backup service buys a lot of piece of mind and convenience.

Last but not least, every geek loves geeky and unusual T-shirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, and other novelty items. It’s hard to find “computer-related” accessories and gifts in retail stores but thanks to Cafepress.com, you can search for “geek” or “computer” and find thousands of interesting and unique products to choose from. I look on cafepress any time I need to find a really special gift for just about any occasion. If you don’t find what you want and have a bit of creativity, you can sign up for a free account and design your own shirt, mug, mousepad, or whatever…

Here are some links to the items mentioned above. These are guaranteed “safe” and secure online stores where you are sure to find the perfect gift for the geek in your family.


Tiger Direct - My favorite place to buy computer and electronic items. Check out their huge selection of wireless keyboard and mouse kits, among other things.

Long-Distance-Savings.com- This is my internet phone service website. Learn about internet phone service and order the VoIP plan that is right for you.
Carbonite Online Backup Service - This is my choice for reliable and secure automatic backup and recovery. Never lose data due to a hard drive crash or data corruption due to spyware or virus again.

CafePress - Search for any topic you can think of. For geeky gifts, enter a search term like "computer", "nerd", "blogger", "computer shopper", etc.... and you'll find hundreds (if not thousands) of interesting gift ideas. CafePress ships really fast too!