If coming up with that perfect gift for the social media manager or designer on your list is making your brain ache, never fear — a badass list of gifts is here. Save the day at the eleventh hour with these gifts for the tech-savvy creative on your list.
#1. Pick a subscription box
There are lots of subscription boxes out there that seem really cool, but few people I know give them a real shot. Put a serious smile on your social media manager’s, designer’s, or technologist’s little face with a subscription box like Quarterly, Birchbox, or FreshNeck (Netflix for ties).
#2. Send them a magazine subscription
Whether you want to enrich their left brain or right brain, magazines are still a thing. Last year, a friend and mentor sent me a year’s subscription to Wallpaper magazine and it’s something we actually spend time looking through every month, dog-earing pages like the good ol’ days. Consider Inc, Fast Company, or How.
#3. Put some oomph behind their battery life
Whether patrolling the trade show floor or sending countless animated gifs to their friends and coworkers, chances are, at one time or another, that tech-savvy creative is looking for more battery like someone in a zombie apocalypse would look for more shotgun shells — like their lives depend on it. Give their battery life some extra gusto this year.
#4. Books on books on books on books
Here are a few great reads you should consider for the tech-savvy creative in your life.
Social Media Manager:
- Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman
- Lil Bub’s Lil Book
- Social Media is Bullshit by B.J. Mendelson
- The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott
- The Ultimate Question 2.0 by Rob Markey
- The End of Business As Usual by Brian Solis
Creatives
- Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff They Don’t Teach You in Design School, But Should by Michael Janda
- The Best American Infographics of 2013 by Gareth Cook and David Byrne
- Drawing Ideas: A Hand-Drawn Approach to Better Design by Mark Baskinger and William Bardel
- Little Book of Lettering by Emily Gregory
- Archetypes in Branding: A Tool Kit for Creatives and Strategists by Margaret Hartwell and Joshua C. Chen
#5. Spruce up their desk with goofy toys
I’m not saying every creative or social media manager out there is into memes … but it’s probably a safe bet for a gift for their desk to go with an Internet sensation of the past or present. For example, this Grumpy Cat plush belongs on everyone’s desks. Boo the Dog is always welcome as well, but you can find anything from bobble heads of the pope to vinyl toys like Munny that someone can spruce up themselves.
Happy holidays and good luck to you if you’re still on the hunt.
