Nerdy Gift Guide 2018

I joke about it now, but while my sister and I were growing up we always felt a little behind the trends. Our bikes were often second hand - repaired by my dad and repainted by my mom. The year we got dollies, my dad made the wooden cribs and my mom handmade the dolls, pillows and blankets. Don't even get me started on the roller blades! My dad kept repairing them with safety wire and glue until they barely even resembled their original mold. I wanted new ones so bad that I *purposefully* accidentally left them behind the tire of our family minivan in the hopes they would be run over beyond repair. I did finally get a new set for Christmas that year.

But I see bits and pieces of this mentality bleeding over into my adult life - just last night Chris stayed up until 10:30 replacing bulbs on our 12 ft. Christmas tree because gosh dangit, this isn't rocket science! I can't claim to have as much patience as my dad for repairs or as much persistence as my mom with homemade gifts, but I do try to be meaningful in my gift giving. I hope you do too, because the world has never been more at our fingertips than right now! To help you with the nerds on your list I've put together some of my favorite {nerdy} gifts!

1. Our real-life friends from Huntsville, Carla and Nick, have launched into the world of board game designing and already have several fabulous games on the market. For the nerd in your life, pick up Stellar Leap where players "earn prestige by completing missions, discovering new planets, increasing population and fulfilling hidden objectives." You will also find a special Nerdy April twist - since we contributed to their kickstarter campaign for the game, we were able to designate that Zara discovered the planet "Wonder" <3
2. For the burgeoning nerd in your life snag this pint-sized Contigo, complete with Space Shuttle graphic. Zara always tells me she likes to drink out of her "wocket" cup.
3. Pick up some Lego earrings for that special {nerdy} lady in your life. Or, if you're like my husband, make your own out of the millions of Legos lying around the house!
4. Socks are such a thing lately. My husband quite literally refuses to wear "normal" (read: plain) socks anymore. So, there are stripes and sharks and astronauts on his tootsies all the time. But honestly, I'm not complaining too much because fun socks are easier to match!
5. Big Spender. Ok, so this one is a little "out there". Omega has released an Apollo 11 commemorative watch - a hefty watch for a hefty mission with a hefty price tag. Pick one up if you want your husband's wrist to look as sexy as an astronauts'. 
6. If you don't know the story of SCE to AUX, then it's probable you need to up your nerd game. The short story is this little phrase saved an entire Apollo mission to the moon (Apollo 12 to be exact). Show her you really love her with this appropriately nerdy light switch plate. 
7. Rocket pillows are life in the Nerdy April house, I mean, who doesn't love snuggling up with your favorite outer-space vehicle?
8. Rocket shaped cookies. Enough said. 
9. Who doesn't love advent calendars? And Star Wars? And Legos? Even non-nerds can appreciate those things. 
10. A good friend gifted us this nifty 3D printed moon globe lamp before Otto was born and it fits perfectly with his space-themed nursery decor. It also gives off the most beautiful, soft, moonlit glow during the night. Perfect for nerdy nurseries or nerdy end tables!
11. Tea, Earl Grey, hot. This is the perfect gift for the Star Trek fan in your life! 
12. Snag these dual purpose pens. Each Magnetip pen contains two powerful magnets so you can engineer your own pen tower if written inspiration isn't striking. 
13. Use the pens from #12 to color the amazing graphics in the "Earth and Space Coloring Book: Featuring Photographs from the Archives of NASA". People, it's an adult coloring book of planets and stars and gas clouds. Get one!
14. This "subtle nerdy" Milky Way rug by Lorena Canals is such a neat take on a sometimes predictable home textile. I love the simple color scheme matched with the unique planetary representation! 
15. This is the top of the Nerdy April booklist for 2018 - Rocket Men. It's even more appropriate this year because Apollo 8, the mission detailed in the book, was launched 50 years ago this December. Remember that beautiful Earthrise picture from 1968? Read all about the risks we took at NASA and as a nation during the tumultuous year of 1968. There's a lot more to the story than just the reading of Genesis on Christmas. 
16. This is one of little Zara's favorite toys - definitely nerdy toddler approved! It includes little astronauts, aliens and real countdown and launch sounds! Oh, and Zara sometimes pretends the middle section is an oven, but that's neither here nor there¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
17. Gear toys are so fun for little kids - engineer bound or not. We have an old set that was Chris's when he was a kid but I couldn't find a modern set that perfectly matched. This one looks similar and I'm sure just as many hours of enjoyment will come!
18. Ahh, symmetry and geometry and office equipment. This James Webb telescope notebook has just the right amount of nerdy and beautiful!

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A lot of bloggers do these roundups to make some money on clicks, but I'm not that cool, so rest assured, these are my honest-to-goodness recommendations/(wishes) for the holidays!