Christmas is right around the corner and children everywhere are ready to burst with excitement at the thought of unwrapping an iPhone 5, Wii U or 3D TV on the big day. Sucks, doesn't it, how the magic has been torn from the festive season. Since when did all a child care about become the latest electrical gadgets, Furbys and Doctor Who? What happened to teddy bears, board games and wearing silly hats? Never mind. What follows is a list of five fab gift ideas the child inside all us geeky adults really wishes for come the 25th (if we survive that long)!
You know you want it. What a fabulous idea! This is the year-long equivalent of an advent calendar, but with bubbles to pop instead of chocolate to eat, both of which are nearly equal in terms of levels of enjoyment. The only potential set back to the 2013 bubble wrap calendar would be developing an irresistible urge to pop more than one bubble each day or, indeed, laying it flat on the floor and launching your naked body at it, giggling as you feel 365 little bubbles pop against your bare flesh. But you're an adult! Do your best to contain such urges and this could be the perfect way to start your days. If nobody has any plans to buy you this yet, subtly hint to them every now and then how much you enjoy bubble wrap. In fact, why not continuously pop some in their ear for about a day or two. They'll get the hint. Or, alternatively, buy it for whoever's special in your life.
2. The Worst Week of My Life, complete collection on DVD - £15
Maybe you've had some bad weeks in your life. Maybe. Or, maybe you've had some 'not so good' weeks when you compare them to two of Howard Steel's worst. This much loved but never really talked about much fior some reason BBC sitcom was utterly hilarious from start to finish. Two series, each of them one week long. He's getting married, expecting a baby - what could possibly go wrong? Everything, it would seem! The idea is a pretty basic one but the writers find ways to surprise us each episode and the casting is quite simply perfection. To suit the time of year, it all ends with Howard's worst Christmas ever, which is arguably the absolute funniest material the series has to offer. If you love a laugh, ask for this. If not, give it to somebody else who does.
Everybody has one for some reason - a hideous friend who constantly bangs on about how Star Trek is the best science fiction television programme to ever have existed and how the classics are the best it has to offer... Or maybe you're one of those hideous friends! The fact of the matter is that Star Trek is back in film form and it's actually quite amazing. Setting the TV show's frequent shoddiness aside, buy this pizza cutter in the shape of the famous NCC-1701 Enterprise ship and satisfy your friend's, or maybe your own, inner Star Trek geek. Encourage them to pop on the epic Blu-ray version of 2009's Star Trek movie, order some pizza and gather some nerds in preparation for the franchise's second big screen outing next year. It'll be one of the happiest days of their pathetic lives.
4. Farscape seasons 1-4 on Blu-ray - £42
If there's one gift you should constantly ask for, whether it be for Christmas, Easter, your birthday or for any given Saturday, it's seasons 1-4 of Farscape in stunning high definition. For so long the series was only available to us Brits in the form of hundreds of clunky episodic boxsets or other, very sexy boxsets that varied in size but that were also so pricey it made you want to rip your brain out through your ear holes. "How could you do this to me?!" you'd scream at whoever held the rights. It's always unfair to become such a massive fan of a show you can't afford to own on DVD. Well, the good news is, they've re-released it all on DVD (including Peacekeeper Wars) but also on Blu-ray (only season 1-4) at affordable prices! So sod Star Trek, watch this - the genuine best ever and most original science fiction television programme ever dreamt up in the history of anything.
5. Hypnotoad - $40/£25
"Bvroaoaoaoaoaor oaoaoa oraooroaroaoaro aoroaoaoraoroaoraoraoo" - awww, it's an actual little Hypnotoad from Matt Groening's Futurama. "All glory to the Hypnotoad!" and all that jazz. You might be confused as to why this would make such a special gift, but if you've a chum who loves a bit of Futurama, you should know that Dr Zoidburg's whooping noise and this frog are sure to be two of their favourite things from it. And here's the best bit - its eyes actually pulsate, so don't look at it too closely or for too long, otherwise you'll begin to lose your mind and start paying for cheap plasticy toys that nobody really needs but are convinced they absolutely require due to it being the time of year when we all go bonkers and cover our house in flashing lights and stick a tinsel covered tree up in our lounge... Oh.
Grand Total = £122
Roo