Although there are some people willing to sleep outside in sub-zero temperatures amongst the other bargain hunters who will eventually attempt to trample them in order to get the last Elsa costume pajama set (insert your own “Let it Go” joke here), I have never been tempted by Black Friday sales. As I explained in my last post, it helps that I’m not obligated to do any Christmas shopping. So rather than running through the aisles of Target like a contestant on Supermarket Sweep, I went out with my family for a leisurely deli brunch.
The most effort I’ve put into shopping today is occasionally refreshing the page to see the next item in today’s woot-off. No danger of getting trampled there. If you’re also averse to full-contact consumerism, there are plenty of sites online that have geek gifts aplenty. I’ve touched before on the vast array of disturbing fan-sploitation products out there, but there are also lots of genuinely awesome items to be found.
One of my favorite things to do when traveling is pick up a copy of Mental Floss magazine from the airport newsstand. It’s chock-full of randomly assembled interesting tidbits, and always keeps me occupied while waiting for a flight. Not only do they have subscription bundles available for purchase online, they also have a shop with an equally random assortment of interesting items.
ThinkGeek is a go-to of mine for all manner of nerd things, even though they do have a tendency to try to mine every possible fan community for customers. However, the upside to this is that they have the menu option to shop by interest, making it easier to find something specific or specialized. They also have a lot of items that are exclusive to their site, like heat-changing mugs (I own this one) and character hoodies. Want to make your mark on this year’s office secret Santa exchange? They’ve got something for that too.
Nerd Approved is another blog I read on the regular, and they’ve got a curated shop of products that I would love to go on a spree in. There’s a section just for holiday ornaments, and also a fairly extensive collection of Pop! vinyl figures (a great stocking stuffer for pretty much anyone). As with ThinkGeek, you can browse based on your interests or you can browse based on a category.
And, for the record, any of these items would make a great gift for that special blogger in your life.
Positively Natalie 
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