I work with a team of software engineers consisting of 8 males and females. Every year for christmas we exchange cards/small gifts. I try to be thoughtful and creative with my gifts without breaking my wallet since I have so many gifts to buy. Here are some of the things I gave or think would have been cool to give, all averaging around $5. If you are looking to give out gifts at work without spending a fortune, check out this list:

1. Monitor/Screen Cleaners – If you’re a tech geek you are most likely staring at a computer screen all day long. Everybody hates a dusty screen so give your coworker one of these cute monitor cleaners! I found them for $5 at Bed Bath and Beyond. If they are too girly for the guys they sell countless more “boring” screen cleaners as well.

2. Worst Case Scenario Game (Work Version) – Who knew the popular Worst Case Scenario series has a version for Work! Here is the game description:

Be prepared to survive any workday worst-case scenario. From dealing with a boss who’s a control freak to stopping an overflowing toilet in the executive bathroom, you’ll have fun learning to survive the worst that comes with your job.

I found these on sale again at BBB for $2.99!

3. Mini Flashlight – So I was told by a lot of geeky guys that they all have some weird obsession with flashlights! You can find these ranging from 3 to 7 dollars at most stores like Target or even BBB. They are perfect to keep in the glove compartment in your car or on your desk. You never know when you’ll need a mini flashlight!

4. Dog Cable Fix – A cute way to organize your mouse’s cable and perfect for your dog loving nerdy coworker!

$6 at the Perpetual Kid

5. Gwins – Any geek will appreciate this open source icon.

$3.99 at ThinkGeek

6. Keyboard Brush – To go along with the screen cleaner they also make these cute keyboard brushes with cute faces on them! As a geek I have to admit one of my pet peeves is all of the dust that collects in my keyboard. grrr! hehe

$5 at Compact Impact

7. Starbucks Gift Coupons – Ok, I have this trick where I bid for these on Ebay (search for Starbucks coupons). I usually get them in bulk for about $2 to $2.50 a coupon.. They are worth way more than that because the coupon will work for ANY drink ANY size. Include these with your christmas card and you have yourself a nice treat for your coffee drinking coworker!

8. Geeky Chocolates or Candy – All geeks love sugar. Try giving them these cool looking computer chocolates or something as basic as a small box of Nerds.

$3-$10 at Computer Chocolate Novelties

9. The Cubes Motivational Speaker – Help the morale of your coworkers by giving them their own motivational speaker action figure.

$3.99 at KlearGear

10. Stress Toys – I know in my group that sometimes stress levels can run high. Any hardworking employee could use a stress ball at times like these.

Here’s a cool one for $2.99 also at KlearGear

You can also find your own version of these things at your local Walmart or specialty store. It’s not that hard to be thrifty and creative in your gift giving!

Booo…turns out Iphone is trademarked by Cisco, not by Apple.

IPhone Is Dead

On the other hand, there are talks about a Google Phone. Nothing official yet, but I have to say I’m much more excited about having a Google phone rather than an “IPhone” just because I loooove google apps.

Google Phone

Forbes just put out an article that shows you what a million dollar home looks like around the world.

All I can say is I’m moving to South Africa:

Or Costa Rica:

A few years ago I visited the Grand Canyon and read about the building of this:

Now they have finally announced it will open in March of 07 (which is right in time for our annual camping trip, though I’m unsure if we’re gonna shoot for the Grand Canyon). I can’t wait to walk on this see through walkway and look all the way down the Grand Canyon (4000 ft). Sounds totally scary and I am not even scared of heights!! I wonder how much tickets will be though. Probably way overpriced.

*Edit: I just read an article that said they will be charging $25!!! Ugh, hopefully if we go we can find discounted tickets somehow hehe.

This is an excellent post on different ways to score a PS3 or Wii.

My favorite one was:

10. Poor spelling may save you dollars

Speaking of ebay… the misspelled playstatons are typically going cheaper than the correctly spelled ones. I haven’t been able to find anybody dumb enough to misspell wii.

It’s amazing the people you will find on the internet! :)

The Amazon trick (#2) was also a good tip. It’s crazy the prices that they are going for on Ebay. I can’t wait to go home and play with my brother’s Wii!

This is crazy but Gizmodo just put up a post that the long rumored Apple Iphone will be announced this monday, Dec. 18th. It seems odd that there is no scheduled press conference and that they would announce it so late in the holiday season so I’m not sure how much stock to put into this. On the otherhand, Gizmodo is a pretty trustworthy site.

I wonder what he means by “It isn’t what I expected at all.”???

I wonder if he means it’s more of a sidekick type phone. That would be awesome! Too bad I’m locked in with my sk3 for 2 years. Can’t wait to see if on monday this rumor is true!!

Here’s a cool link to a a bunch of podcasts that will teach you a foreign language from german, hindi, to japanese. I’ll have to listen to these the next time I visit a foreign country hehehe.

Link to podcasts

Speaking of foreign travel, a heads up that after January you need a passport to travel to Mexico and Canada now.

How many times have you been driving and you wish you could say something to another driver on the road??? This guy made a pdf of some ingenious messages he printed out to store in his car when he needs to say something to another driver.

There are more on the page like “Your turn signal is on” – my fave. That is sooo annoying to me. I’d really like one that says, “Back off or I’m going to brake very suddenly and you will be paying for my new rear bumper.”

For a more high-tech version there is an LED one here.

I know this is a little too late for halloween but these are too cute not to show. Costumes for your ipods!!!

Check out more here, including bunny ears!

There’s a new 99 cent store opening in Brea and they are holding a grand opening special.

The first 9 customers in line can buy an Ipod Nano for 99c.
The next 9 can buy an Elmo TMX for 99c.
And more deals for the next 99 customers.

The sale starts on Dec. 14th and continues through Monday with different specials everyday.

Check here for the full details.

I wonder if people are standing in line already for this one!