Techie Gift Card Ideas For The Holidays You Haven’t Thought Of Yet

CRN provides gift card offers from companies including Create & Learn, MasterClass, The Home Depot, REI, PetSmart and Buy Buy Baby.

Gift cards go a long way during the holidays, whether they are found stuffing a stocking, inside a greeting card or in the form of a line of code in an email.

Gift cards for particular brands are more personable than cash and might be especially helpful as retailers and manufacturers struggle with the global supply chain crisis. Gift cards and certificates whet the appetite as friends and family await the chance to hold and use their gifts.

In this gift guide from CRN, we’ve scoured the websites of retailers, manufacturers and service providers to find gift card offers. We’ve also included gift cards usable toward intangible gifts as well, including classes for building skills in coding, project management and leadership.

This guide includes gift cards from companies such as Pufferbellies, Fat Brain Toys, Create & Learn and Juni Learning that are aimed at early science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

Companies such as MasterClass and Pluralsight have gift cards for adults interested in furthering their education, while SparkFun and Adafruit offer educational electronics kits for various ages.

Retailers ranging from The Grommet to The Home Depot and Macy’s offer gift cards for popular and lesser-known manufacturers. We’ve included offerings from specialty retailers such as Babylist, Buy Buy Baby, Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) and PetSmart, as well as the manufacturers of the latest in tech that appeal to friends and family with pets, fitness and other passions.

Here are some out-of-the ordinary gift card ideas for the techies in our lives.

Classes For Children

For the kids in your life who are starting their journeys as techies – or perhaps the techie parents trying to will their children into following their techie footsteps – multiple providers of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classes aimed at children have gift cards available for purchase.

For example, class provider Palo Alto, Calif.-based Create & Learn offers gift cards starting at $50. The company notes that $75 covers the cost of a unit – four one-hour sessions – for many of the company’s courses, which include block-based programming to python, cloud computing, app and game development, artificial intelligence and even how to tinker in Minecraft, according to the organization’s website.

San Francisco-based Juni Learning offers courses in computer science, investing, entrepreneurship and math for ages 7 and older, with digital gift cards starting at $25, according to the organization’s website.

And Austin, Texas-based CodeWizardsHQ has gift cards available for $149 – covering tuition for four sessions – and $449, which covers a full course of 12 sessions for its brand of online coding classes for ages 8 and older. CodeWizardsHQ’s classes for ages 8 to 10 include animation and gaming with Scratch intro to real-world coding and lessons in the HTML, CSS and Javascript languages, according to the organization’s website.

STEM Toys

For younger learners who want to get their hands on toys to build a foundation for a love of science and technology, Staunton, Va.-based Pufferbellies Toys & Books has gift cards starting at $10.

The retailer has a STEM collection available on its website, including coding robot sets, model building kits and crystal growing labs, according to the company.

In another example, Elkhorn, Neb.-based Fat Brain Toys sells gift cards starting at $5, with inventory that includes human body interactives and science kits, worm farms and motorized model sets.

Classes For Adults

Learning isn’t just for kids, especially during the age of work-from-home when tech workers might find extra time for sitting in on a class and building up skills to finally get that raise or find a better job.

For example, San Francisco-based MasterClass offers multiple plans for gift recipients starting at $15 a month. The company offers 100-plus classes across 11 categories including science and technology, business and wellness. Participants can learn about scientific thinking from Neil deGrasse Tyson, hear Garry Kasparov’s thoughts on computers in chess training and review the technology used to capture performances in the movie “Avatar” from director James Cameron himself, according to the company’s website.

Draper, Utah-based Pluralsight has giftable subscriptions available starting at $29 for one month with classes on Microsoft Azure, Salesforce, Linux, virtual local area network operation and configuration and more, according to the company’s website.

And Lee’s Summit, Mo.-based GoSkills allows for you to gift a course starting at $29 for one month’s access to 90-plus courses. Courses include building skills in Microsoft Excel, data analysis and Six Sigma, according to the company’s website.

Hands-On Electronics Education

Maybe the techies in your life just starting their education are geared more toward hardware and want to feel the technology.

Niwot, Colo.-based electronics shop SparkFun offers gift certificate codes used at checkout for the components, robotics, development tools, sensors and other offerings, according to the company’s website.

Another option is New York-based Adafruit Industries, which offers gift certificates starting at $1 for its electronics kits, circuit playgrounds and components for its own brands as well as Micro Bit, Raspberry Pi and other providers of open-source, simple computers and hardware meant for education, according to the company’s website.

Curated Online Gadget Stores

Amazon may win when it comes to the quantity of gadgets available for sale. But some online retailers promise a more curated collection of goods that could simplify the shopping experience.

Take for example The Grommet, an online retailer owned by Ace Hardware that promises a stock of unusual gifts by independent creators. These gifts include gadgets such as universal tablet stands, portable inkless photo printers, an eye-strain reducing lamp and a Bluetooth item tracking keychain. The retailer offers online gift cards starting at $10, according to the company.

New York-based UnCommon Goods offers gift certificates between $5 and $1,000 for its collection of goods from independent artists and artisans. Items on the website include a NASA lunar lander construction kit, chemistry kits, a self-extinguishing real-flame candle, a wall-mounted phone charging station, water-powered watches, smart self-watering planters and a Bluetooth banana phone with 20 hours of talk time, according to the company.

Pet Owners

Even if techies don’t splurge on themselves, they may have a furry, scaly or otherwise-coated pet who receives the latest tech.

Cue Dania Beach, Fla.-based pet products retailer Chewy, which has gift cards starting at $25 that customers can use toward pet cameras, Bluetooth smart trackers and smartphone-controlled automatic dog and cat doors, among other smart pet tech offerings, according to the company’s website.

Phoenix-based PetSmart offers gift cards for between $5 and $500 that can go toward humane electronic dog fences and collars and Bluetooth light-emitting diodes for live plant aquariums that owners can control from their mobile devices, among other offerings.

And San Diego-based Petco has for sale online gift cards that can go toward smart pet feeders and treat dispensers, a pet monitor on wheels with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection and a device that relaxes pets through vibration, among other devices, according to the company’s website.

New Parents

Techies you know trying to navigate a world that’s perhaps more complex than IT – parenthood – might benefit from a gift card from San Francisco-based, Bed Bath & Beyond-owned Buy Buy Baby.

Gift cards start at $15 with techie-attention-grabbing products including fake smartphones, keys and remote controllers; baby monitors, toy laptops and Bluetooth-enabled swings that give parents control of motion, sound, speed and volume from smart devices, according to the company.

Oakland, Calif.-based Babylist offers gift cards starting at $25 that can go toward the retailer’s baby swing offerings, including a Bluetooth enabled swing and one with cry detection plus an infant car seat equipped with sensors to alert parents by smartphone to overheating, overcooling and when children unlock their seats.

Baby tech brands also offer their own gift cards. Happiest Baby gift cards start at $25for the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company’s Snoo smart sleeper bassinets that provide motion and white noise with the goal of improving babies’ sleep.

Owlet offers gift cards starting at $10 that are usable toward the Lehi, Utah-based company’s Dream Sock baby sleep monitor, which tracks wakings, heart rate, movement and other sleep quality indicators.

Vava offers gift cards starting at $10 toward its brand of baby monitoring cameras with options for two-way talking, 1080p and 4K UHD. The China-based company also offers smart baby thermometers for remote temperature monitoring. The company also sells dash cams and security cameras.

Health Tech

For the fitness-minded people you know wondering how technology can take them to another level, look to retailers such as Kent, Wash.-based Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI). REI gift cards range $10 and $1,000 and are applicable to the retailer’s fitness monitors, Bluetooth speakers, GPS devices, heart rate sensors, cameras, and Bluetooth-enabled beacon transmitters and satellite-enabled communicators.

REI also sells Bluetooth-enabled adjustable fans and training equipment aimed at cyclists and controllable from mobile devices, according to the company.

Peoria, Ill.-based retailer U.S. Air Purifiers offers physical and digital gift certificates starting at $10 that can go toward the retailer’s smart indoor air monitor offerings that can measure home air quality and alert users through an application.

Various manufacturers of health tech have their own gift card offers. Plattsburgh, N.Y.-based Lil Tracker has gift cards starting at $25 that are available toward their brands of fitness trackers that capture weight, calories, sleep, speed and other measurables.

New York-based Quip has digital gift cards starting at $25 that can go toward the retailer’s smart kids electric toothbrush – which includes a Bluetooth smart motor. The company also has smart toothbrushes aimed at adults to track and improve brushing.

New York-based Lookee Tech offers gift cards starting at $60 that can go toward the company’s brand of sleep monitors and oxygen level trackers that fit around wrists and fingers.

Wearable X, also based in New York, offers gift cards starting at $50 for its machine-washable yoga apparel that is embedded with sensors and uses vibration and audio to guide users through yoga steps and a Bluetooth connection to smartphones for workout selection.

China-based smart home device maker Govee offers a gift card starting at $50 usable toward its brand of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-equipped smart humidifiers, water sensors, wall lights and grilling meat thermometers, among other offerings.

And you can justify an online gift card from Japan-based video game giant Nintendo – cards start at $10 – for the “Ring Fit Adventure” role-playing game that encourages exercise.

Hobbyists

Photographers have plenty of options outside of the usual retailers. B&H offers gift cards starting at $20. Adorama offers gift cards starting at $10. Samy’s Camera has gift cards starting at $10.

San Francisco-based Click & Grow offers digital gift cards starting at $25 that can go toward its Smart Garden brand of app-controlled, self-growing gardens for green-thumbs on the go. The Smart Gardens automatically water themselves and come with some complimentary plant pods to get you started on growing mini tomatoes and basil.

Atlanta-based The Home Depot offers gift cards for between $5 and $2,000 for the latest smart home products, including smart refrigerators, smart washers and dryers, smart dimmer switches, keyless smart locks, smart mailboxes and smart garage door openers. The Home Depot also sells 3D printers, smart water sensors and sprinkler controllers and robotic lawn mowers.

Alhambra, Calif.-based Acaia offers gift cards starting at $10 for its Orion brand of bean dosers and its scales for monitoring weight, time and flow rate during coffee brewing. The company also has apps for recording the coffee brewing process and recipe creation and sharing.

RobotShop offers gift certificates starting at $5 that are usable toward the company’s offering of cables, single-board computers, power systems, sensors, motors and other robotics parts; 3D printers and raw materials; robot construction and drone kits.

RobotShop is based in Canada, but it offers free shipping in the U.S. for orders of at least $100, according to the company.

Janesville, Wisc.-based Blain’s Farm & Fleet offers gift cards for between $5 and $500 that can go toward items including wireless smart digital meat thermometers that sync with phones and wireless jobsite radios and speakers built to produce sound, survive impacts in tough work environments and pair with mobile devices. The retailer also sells outdoor and indoor Wi-Fi control outlets for use with outdoor lights, holiday lighting and electrical yard decorations, Wi-Fi-enabled quiet garage door openers and even sump pumps with Wi-Fi-capable controllers.

Generalist Techies

Don’t forget that department store brands such as Nordstrom and Macy’s that offer gift cards for use toward items such as Bluetooth speakers, headphones, microphones, therapy massagers and smart watches for sale.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft offers gift cards starting at $10 that customers can use toward not only Xbox-related purchases but also Surface Pro laptops, keyboards and Windows applications. The gift cards are not usable toward Office 365.

Palo Alto-based Hewlett Packard offers physical and virtual gift cards starting at $10 that customers can use toward PCs, printers, monitors, software and accessories.