Ask Lemmy

I almost skipped past this post, but something cheap I carry in my wallet every day is a credit card sized Fresnel magnifying lens, same size and thickness of a credit card. Suprisingly durable, and can even start fires in good sunlight.

Something I've always requested when anybody asked what I wanted for a gift, (and only got once from somebody who went on to be my wife) was a handwritten letter.

As somebody who buys the things I require whenever I require them, it's something so much more personal than damn near anything else.

Edit: I gave her a box of secrets. Basically I wrote a bunch of lines or paragraphs on pieces of paper that I don't like to talk about or have trouble expressing. The only caveat was that she could only read one per day and only when she's not having a great day.

trichroic prisms, also called X Cubes, like what is inside a projector. You can get them in ebay pretty cheap, and they are just very cool to look at and play with, seeing how the light is split into three colors.

It's not real exciting, but phone chargers make great stuffers. Everybody can use one more.

A Hongdian M2 fountain pen. It’s just under $20 and is perfectly pocket-sized. Nice and heavy and the cap screws on for when you get fidgety. I just decided to get into sketching, so I got the bent tip and it’s glorious. You’ll need to get them some ink too. I went simple with the Hongdian black for around $10. If you know their favorite color, you can do that instead. So about $30 for two stocking stuffers that will set them on a journey. Even though I got it to sketch with, I use it all the time for writing too. And now I want ALL THE FOUNTAIN PENS.

My wife frequently puts one of those hanayama metal puzzles in my stocking, and I've always enjoyed getting those.

My wife worked in a fancy kitchen store for a while, and has strong opinions on just about every kitchen tool or utensil you can imagine, and to her credit I agree with most of them.

A while back she ordered a Rösle vegetable peeler and due to a shipping error, instead of one single peeler we were sent, what I assume to be, one entire case's worth of peelers.

Having now used it for several months I strongly believe this is the best vegetable peeler I have ever used. Also the blade is replaceable, which is, I think, pretty damn cool.

So since we have a bunch of them, pretty much everyone we know is getting one for Christmas.

They're pricey if you've got a bunch of stockings to stuff, but not outrageously so if you only need to get one or two for people you know enjoy cooking. And they're the kind of thing a lot of people probably wouldn't spend the extra money on themselves. If it weren't for my wife I'd probably have whatever the cheapest peeler in the kitchen aisle at target is, and it never would have crossed my mind that there was room for improvement.

Otherwise, I've never personally been disappointed to find a flashlight or pocket knife in my stocking.

My wife and I are on-and-off casual magic the gathering players, so a pack or two of that often finds its way into our stocking, substitute whatever your trading card game of choice is there.

Or various other small card or dice type games. It's kind of nice having some little game you can carry around in your backpack or purse and bust out when you have some time to kill with friends.

Small Lego sets

Fidget toys

Snacks

Soaps, lotions, lip balm, etc.

The other sock.

I always liked getting those little eyeglass repair kits because mine were always lost. Also microfiber eyeglass wipes. Terry's chocolate oranges went in there as well. Small beauty things like lip gloss and fingernail clippers and Emory boards!

Gyroscope

3d printed thingy

Diffraction grating film

Prism

Nerdy knicknacks for stockings? I guess DnD dice maybe

Another stocking.

This year I got all my niblings samba whistles to drive my siblings nuts. I included a note about blowing 3 quick blasts repeatedly for ICE or an emergency. Any whistle is good of course but I liked the idea of 3 different notes when just playing around.

For less noise and more challenge, a shepherd's whistle.

Candy. Hot wheels.

$20-25 USD gets you my everyday carry Keychain flashlight, the Olight ir2. It has a narrow/medium beam, which means it throws light much farther than a phone flash. No fiddling with touchscreens or lock screens, can be done with gloves, won't miss-tap in rain. The battery is only good for like 10 minutes of high or 60 minutes of low, but the USB recharging in <1hr means it's not hard to maintain. It's a twist style, so it's simple to use and doesn't need a coded lock press pattern to prevent pocket lighting. I've had mine for 2.5yrs. If I'm already a little dark adapted, the low mode is plenty of light. High mode gets 20ft or more of clear throw.

There's a pro now, which is a little bigger, little brighter, lasts a little longer, and uses a type-c port instead of micro. Something like $5 more

When we were kids my parents would put some snacks & gum/mints and the biggest & juiciest apples and oranges I had ever seen, it doesn't have to be expensive or complicated sometimes. For something a little nerdier maybe a puzzle, book like a comic, novel, or almanac, or maybe a handheld synth or sampler like the teenage engineering pocket operators or stylophone or something similar.

Magnetic puzzle blocks. The set I got came with a deck of cards to give you things to build. Makes a great fidget toy, tho the ones I got were a bit noisy.

As a girly who gets cold easily - warm fuzzy wooly socks. Oh my god. Pls I need several pairs to get me through the winter! Oh and I’ll take a couple sample sized brandys while you’re at it😁

Silly socks, a puzzle of some kind, a magic trick, some weed, a good book, fun magnets, a geode

• Rechargeable AA or AAA batteries
• Electric handwarmers
• Lotto Tickets or scratchers
• Travel Board or Card Games
• Charging accessories
• Darn Tough vs. Fun Socks
• Phone Stand
• Mini tripod
• EDC stuff like Olights

So many things....