It’s that magical time of the year where your labbies are looking at you with their cute puppy eyes wondering if the boss is going to get them a present, and spouses of STEM folks are wondering what the heck to get them.

Fear not! I have your definitive list of SUPER cool swag you can pick up for the STEM friend in your life.

Frixion highlighters rock!

PENS. What? Yeah…I said pens. Your STEM buddies were the kids that loved going back to school shopping for office supplies and they still love good notebooks, pens, highlighters and such. This is the first year erasable pens and markers are affordable. This buddies will make note taking, grant outlining and coloring in faculty meetings super fun.

Frixion Ballpoint Set for $32

Check out these super sweet FRIXION packs from Amazon for the low-low price of $15.

While I like the ball point super set from FRIXION, I’m more of a rollerball squirrel, so let’s hope next year those get rolled out (roll out the rollerball….get it?).

Zazzle has all kind of great STEM themed notebooks!

NOTEBOOKS: Nothing goes with a pen like a snazzy notebook and I have the best idea ever for you. That cool picture of flies or worms or whatever your student took this year? Yeah, use Zazzle to make labbies their own personalized notebooks featuring their science pictures. It will be adorable.

Someone already made this snazzy tardigrade notebook but there are also lots of other biology themed notebooks worth looking at on Zazzle if you opt out of personalizing your own. But you should personalize them. Because you’re awesome like that.

Just saved you an R01 in batteries. You’re welcome.

LABEL MAKER AND FOLDERS: Nothing increases your sense of sanity like making yourself folders for travel, editing, admin forms, Nobel prize applications….all those things.  Brother just introduced a wireless label maker that lets you print from your smart phone, which looks pretty dang impressive for $129. There’s a few zillion font choices, no need for 100 batteries like traditional printers, and supplies are easy to install. You can then make labels for these next level science ones from Think Geek.

PHOTO PRINTER: Kodak has finally made a tiny printer that makes beautiful prints. For $99 you can have adorable prints straight from your microscope, phone or computer.

Could this be any cuter??

GRAB AND GO No one wants to run from meeting to meeting with a backpack, so make it easy on your STEM friend by scoring one of these leather super organizers from Etsy that carries just enough stuff to not weigh you down but keep you prepared.

Comes in natural leather and other sassy colors.

BREAK FREE OF STARBUCKS: I’m typing this blog in a Starbucks, so YMMV with this, but Dash just busted out an adorable coffee maker that takes K-cups without taking up half your desk. For $27, these will keep your science buddies typing fast.

SQUIRREL PAPERCLIPS! For that special blogger in your life, I’m all about these squirrel paperclips for $7.

“Let’s smoosh it and look at it!” — Scientists everywhere

MAGNIFY YOUR LOVE Once your STEM friends have seen pretty things, their next thought is, “I wonder what that would look like if I cut it up and put it under a microscope!” You can help them get their weird magnifying obsession on with this inexpensive smartphone-adapted microscope.

SWAG For $18, Uncommon Goods has some uncommonly adorable, if entirely anatomically incorrect, pins for the super geek in your life who studies human anatomy. Check these cute things out!!

JOURNAL The makers of Women in Science now have an everyday idea I LOVE SCIENCE journal with lots of space for your genius ideas and some quotes and doodles to inspire you.

I’LL PARK WHEREVER I PLEASE. Last, but certainly not least, is Starwood Motors Full Metal Jeep. This bad boy is going to take your STEM buddy in style to pick up outside speakers, ensure no one hassles them in the faculty parking garage and make them ‘that’ professor on campus. Yours for the low price of $108,000, the Jeep is fully bulletproof and gets about 12 MPG. Financing is available.

GOT SOME GREAT GIFT IDEAS?? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THEM!

About the Author

Screen Name

Fighty Squirrel, PhD, Awe.Some.

About Me

The Fighty Squirrel is very thin pseud for a molecular and cellular neurobiology type who runs a lab studying neurodegeneration. She is mother to a 14yo half child/half honey badger and 16yo half child/half border collie and a Reviewing Editor at Journal of Neuroscience. She also sort of a badass at air hockey. She speaks for herself unless her employer likes it, in which case it's patented.