There’s only a couple of weeks left until Christmas 2014 so shopping is in full force. As always there are a lot of gadgets and gizmos that an editor could use both in and out of the edit suite so here’s our annual list of Christmas Gifts for the Editor. The Editblog’s editor gift list was the first and is still the best but if you don’t see what you want here check out the 2010 edition, the 2011 edition, the 2012 edition and the 2013 edition. There’s lots of great ideas in there as well.
Jellyfish Tank
The little zen waterfalls are so out of date so how about a Jellyfish Tank for the editor in your life. The soothing lights and hypnotic motions of the live jellyfish could calm even the most stressed out editor after they receive late Friday evening change requests that they know won’t be viewed over the weekend.
My local fish shop has several of these things and they are very cool to watch. You can order from Jellyfish Art or buy a tank locally and they’ll send you the live jellyfish in the mail. The important thing to remember is that these are delicate aquatic creatures that require feeding, care and maintenance to keep them alive.
If a real jellyfish tank is too expensive or too much work you can always get a fake one or two.
Velcro cable ties
Editors have a lot of cables hanging around their edit suite. While we all see lots of twist-ties in hard drive boxes my favorite cable management tool has to be velcro ties. There are many different kinds (and brands) and I don’t have a favorite but any box of them will most likely be welcome.
You can always start with the actual Velcro brand when buying velcro cable ties.
USB 3.0 hub
Now that USB 3.0 is on every new computer you buy, a USB 3.0 hub is required for any serious workstation. And if you’re using a laptop with only two USB ports it’s a necessity. Lifehacker has a USB hub roundup.
I asked Twitter for some USB 3.0 hub recommendations and the Anker hubs got several votes.
Extra Macbook Pro power cable
Any editor with a laptop will love you for buying then an extra power cable. Most all of the editors I know use an Apple Macbook Pro so that’s an easy link to the Apple Store to buy another but even if they use a PC find out which one and get them an extra power cable.
Be sure you know which laptop you are buying the power adapter for as they have changed over the years and some adapters supply more or less power depending on the requirements as well as having different MagSafe connection sizes. If in doubt just grab an Apple Store Gift Card and let the editor get what they want.
Nature Box subscription
Editors have to have tremendous will power to NOT eat all the snacks around the house, facility or edit suite. But healthy snacking isn’t necessarily a bad thing and NatureBox is a subscription snacking service that can help. Yes I said “subscription snacking service” as they send you a new box via the mail every month. And it’s some good stuff too. Cherry Berry Bonanza. Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Seeds.
Who knew these were a thing?! Has @oatmeal seen this? I had to try them @avidzombie
A photo posted by @editblog on
Hit up the gift page to send NatureBox to the editor in your life.
VARIDESK standing desk
If you want a standing desk, have an existing desk and don’t want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars replacing it with a true standing desk then opt for the VARIDESK. These mechanical platforms sit on top of an existing desk and easily raise to a standing height with just a lift from both sides of the unit. Prices start at $275.
They have different sizes, with and without keyboard trays. I have the SINGLE and it works well. I started with the PRO due to its dual monitor capacity but it was just too small for both a 30 inch and 27 inch display. I sold it and got the single which has just enough room for my keyboard, a mouse on the left and trackball on the right. These things are well constructed and make for an affordable standing desk option.
Todoist gift
To Do Lists are a dime a dozen and most likely there are some in your phone, tablet or computer already. Todoist is a new one that is amazingly clean, simple and powerful. What I like best is they have apps across all platforms as well as a web interface. After going through many To Do Lists over the years, trying to find a simple yet powerful option that works across all devices I’ve ditched all others and have settled on Todoist thanks to finding out about it on Twitter.
And they have a Todoist gift option that the editor in your life will appreciate.
Adobe Creative Cloud Prepaid Subscription Card
I’m always surprised when I meet an editor that doesn’t have a subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud. Those that don’t subscribe might appreciate a prepaid subscription card to the service to try it out for a year. Even those that do subscribe would love to have one I’m sure as it’ll pay for a year of what they already use. I was surprised to see the Adobe’s Creative Cloud site itself doesn’t have a gifting option for CC. But you can check out places like Best Buy and Newegg for a prepaid 12 month membership.
I was also surprised to see that Amazon sells the Adobe Creative Cloud as well so that Amazon Gift Card could be used to buy a CC subscription if that’s what the recipient wanted to spend it on.
Star Wars: The Complete Saga
As we’re getting ready for The Force Awakens this 9 disc Blu-ray set would make a great gift for any editor. Three discs of extras mean hours of Star Wars viewing goodness to get ready for the next episode. Amazon has Star Wars: The Complete Saga for under $80.
