With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, most holiday shoppers (especially online shoppers) are already well aware that Christmas is only five weeks away.
In this passionately frantic time of "Will it or won't it ship soon enough?" the earlier you start, the better. And if there's anything the Humble Bundle's taught us over the years, it doesn't have to be expensive to be awesome.
If you want to get a head start on shopping for the video game crazy in your life, here are some pretty nifty gift ideas for the gamers at heart.
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS Battle Royale Gaming Key Chain / Charm
Price: $2 (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
If you're an FPS player at heart, it's not difficult to have gotten swept up into the PUBG craze. This gaming key chain is made in the USA from high-quality birch panel board and comes engraved with a helmet and the game's winning headline Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! in Battle Royale-inspired vector design.
The backside comes blank, but for an additional fee, you can customize it with your giftee's gamertag so that they know it was made just for them. Not a bad way to take your gamer cred on the go!
Kawaii Pastel Gamer Controller Phone Charm
Price: $1 (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
It feels like phone charms have fallen a little to the wayside in the last few years. First, our phones lost the telltale holes to hang them from, and then the cases that went on over top disappeared too. It's hard to believe that it was a decade ago that I had about four different charms and a fur bobble hanging off my flip phone.
For the gamers who still love having cute danglies on their phones and who still prefer controllers to mouse and keyboard, this controller charm is the cutest.
Besides, if your giftee simply doesn't have anywhere to hang it, you can also get it as a dust plug -- and in four different colors.
Legend of Zelda Rupee Bags - Adult Wallet (Silver) / Giant Wallet (Gold)
Price: $3.95 / $4.95 bag only (shipping may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
Breath of the Wild may have taken Zelda fans by storm, but there's a damn good reason why Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask just keep coming back. For the fan who waited to get a limited-edition Zelda 3DS for one of these games, these are small wallets intended to hold shiny glass Rupees, but they're also great for money, pins, jewelry, keys, or other small items as well.
League of Legends Red Hair Miss Fortune Mouse Pad / Play Mat
Price: $1.65 - $3.31 (free shipping)
Buy it on: Aliexpress
You'd probably know better than I do what the perfect size for your gamer friend's mouse pad should be -- and that's only right, isn't it? Bigger may be better these days, but not everyone has the desk space to sport the giant play mats that have jumped in popularity. (Everyone always has room for a redhead though, right?)
This is for the League of Legends gamer in your life -- a durable anti-slip rubber mat with non-overlocking edges, available in several different sizes.
(And hey, you don't need Miss Fortune if you don't want her; this seller has a ton of other character mats that might be more suited to your lane.)
Pokemon 5-inch Plush Cyndaquil PokeDoll
Price: $5 (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
Yeah, you read right. Fire-type Cyndaquil is one of the three Generation II starter Pokemon in Johto and (in my completely and utterly unbiased opinion) the cutest of the bunch.
Any Pokemon lover is bound to go crazy over this little guy in their stocking on Christmas morning. But if Fire Types just aren't your thing, this seller has over 200 different plushie designs (many of them Pokemon) in a similar price range. Go crazy! Buy ten!
Overwatch BUTTon set
Price: $2.02/pin; $8.89 for the set (shipping charges vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
This is for the gamer who likes to get a little (ahem) cheeky. Overwatch femme fatale Widowmaker may have the most canonically asstastic official artwork, but that hasn't stopped the fandom from trying to help even up the score.
This set does go over the stocking stuffer cash limit if you want to spring for the entire set, but it certainly doesn't stop you from picking your two favorites out of the five.
Pokemon's Vulpix with Stainless Steel Stud Earring
Price: $2.60
Buy it on: Etsy
So cute! Fab baby fox Vulpix has always looked like the most cuddly Pokemon in the world. She isn't nearly as cuddly when she comes in a set of stainless steel stud earrings, but she is nickel and lead-free for that gamer friend who has metal sensitivities. The designs are 8mm in width and height, and the hypoallergenic posts are backed with a butterfly stopper.
(Note: Bonus! There's a Christmas sale going on right now, so if you spend $5+ you can also get 10% off. Heck yeah!)
Overwatch D.VA-inspired Mini Candle
Price: $4.11 (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
For the Overwatch fanatic who possibly doesn't have as big of an addiction to butts but does have an affection for burning things!
This mini D.VA-inspired candle comes scented like Parma Violet, which, okay, is a little bit of an odd stylistic choice since that particular scent doesn't scream Korean StarCraft badass to me, but I can't say it's not a nice scent!
This is also made of soy wax instead of the more commercially available paraffin wax, which means less fumes and longer burning.
Kirby Laser-cut Character Pins
Price: $3.99 each / $10.99 for a set of 3 (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
If nothing else, Kirby has taught us that you can make a long, star-studded career out of stuffing your face with everything in sight. Choose from one of these super-cute laser-cut pins (Kirby, Waddledee, or the Metamato), made from two layers of 1/8"-thick opaque and mirrored laser-cut acrylic. The piece is hand assembled and features a tie-tack and clutch-style pin affixed to the back plate.
Legend of Zelda Piece of Heart Soap
Price: $2/piece (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
This is for the gamer friend who isn't nearly as interested in digging through graveyards and/or mucking about with Skulltulas just to get to the good stuff. Let 'em take a pass on the questing this season with a handful (two counts as a handful, right?) of these lightly scented beauties.
Bonus points? These are made with glycerin, which is gentler than regular soaps and helps your skin retain more of its natural moisture.
Xbox One Elite Controller Vinyl Skin Wrap Decal Sticker
Price: $4.10 (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
While the Destiny franchise finally made it to PC this time around with Destiny 2, we still know and remember it first as a console game. For the fan who's currently running raids in the living room instead of in front of the monitor, this is for them!
A controller skin to wrap around their existing controller, ideally if they're running a warlock (don't worry, this store also has the other classes available in controller skins too). Don't give this to anybody who can't handle a hairdryer or heat gun for application, though. Just sayin'.
Still Loading Gamer Wall Decal / Sticker
Price: $1.99 various colors (free shipping)
Buy it on: Aliexpress
Ah, waiting. The bane of our existence. For the gamer that always needs a reminder what kind of hellhole they've accepted into their lives, this is the stocking stuffer for them. Waterproof, non-fading colors, it'll stay on their wall longer than their flat-screen.
Horizon Zero Dawn Watercolor-style Game Art Poster
Price: $5 - $27 (shipping charges may vary)
Buy it on: Etsy
For the fan who firmly believes that video games are art, this is the gift for their living room wall. Gorgeously rendered, and printed on thick photo paper and ink quality.
(Only the 4.1" x 5.8" size fits our price tag, but if you're feeling generous, you can always size up. The store also has an ongoing buy 3, get 1 free deal, so if you've had a fairly well-behaved gamer this year...)
That's it for now!
Happy holiday shopping, and hope you've found something perfect for the special gamer friends in your life!
(Yes, the above image includes a pretty incredible-looking 8-bit stocking, but unfortunately I don't think Think Geek makes these anymore. Sorry!)
Published: Nov 20, 2017 09:50 pm