Holiday Geekery

Check out this geek tree. I've heard of themed trees before (a Disney tree, a Barbie tree, a shoe tree, etc.), but this is the first geek tree I've seen. Not a bad idea, though I think I'd be a bit more restrictive with what's considered geeky. (Harry Potter? Not so much. That's a different kind of geekery.)

Anyway, should you want your own geek tree, I've got some suggestions for you. Here you can buy a Flying Spaghetti Monster ornament and tree topper, or a Cthulu ornament. (I'm rather crafty, so I made my own FSM ornament.) Here's a different Cthulu ornament—Cthuluclaus. For some cuter, cuddlier (yet no less geeky) ornaments, how about Mario or Yoshi? Also handmade, though not quite cuddly, are these nifty robot ornaments. Or what about a Firefly ornament? If you're particularly hardcore, I suppose you could go for an alternate Firefly ornament, which features the ship in its bloody Reaver disguise. If you're a literary-type geek, you might consider an ornament like this one made of Scrabble tiles. Think of the possibilities: names, initials, WTF, STFU, ROFL, LOL, RTFM, XMAS, NERD, GEEK, whatever. Then there are this year's Hallmark ornaments: three Star Wars (here, here, and here) and two Star Trek ornaments (here and here). I know it's not specifically geeky, but I also like this bomb ornament, which is sorta suggestive of Looney Toons, sorta suggestive of the Mario games. Then there's this super-simple (but still pretty funny) iPod click wheel ornament. Cute chessboard and laptop ornaments, too.

For additional suggestions (there's a bunch of overlap, but she suggests some that I don't and I suggest some that she doesn't), take a peek at the relevant blog posts by Alice of Wonderland (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4).

Toys for (Spoiled) Tots

If you have a) oodles of cash and b) a certain little someone who you long to spoil, I've got some awesome suggestions.

Let's face it: We all want a Pleo of our own. At least I know I do.

Alternately, if Pleo's out of your price range, you could opt for one of the FurReal Friends. Some of them are pretty cute. The pony might be a bit much, though.

If you want a beautifully constructed, classic stuffed toy, you can't go wrong with Steiff. My pick is Admiral the Penguin.

For a more active sort of kid/kid at heart, check out this rad folding sled; it's nuts (and looks like the Terminator).

And if you must encourage the budding geeks, how about a authentic(ish) lightsaber?

Just don't get this scary-ass Robotic Panda. Eek.

Some Robots Have Enough RAM to Love

Aww. Peep these cute robot mini-Valentines from WHiRR. I especially like the sentiment, "You've downloaded my heart."