I almost skipped past this post, but something cheap I carry in my wallet every day is a credit card sized Fresnel magnifying lens, same size and thickness of a credit card. Suprisingly durable, and can even start fires in good sunlight.

Something I’ve always requested when anybody asked what I wanted to for a gift, and only got once from somebody who went on to be my wife was a handwritten letter.

As somebody who buys the things they require whenever they require it, it’s something so much more personal than damn near anything else.

trichroic prisms, also called X Cubes, like what is inside a projector. You can get them in ebay pretty cheap, and they are just very cool to look at and play with, seeing how the light is split into three colors.

A Hongdian M2 fountain pen. It’s just under $20 and is perfectly pocket-sized. Nice and heavy and the cap screws on for when you get fidgety. I just decided to get into sketching, so I got the bent tip and it’s glorious. You’ll need to get them some ink too. I went simple with the Hongdian black for around $10. If you know their favorite color, you can do that instead. So about $30 for two stocking stuffers that will set them on a journey. Even though I got it to sketch with, I use it all the time for writing too. And now I want ALL THE FOUNTAIN PENS.

Another stocking.

It’s not real exciting, but phone chargers make great stuffers. Everybody can use one more.

I always liked getting those little eyeglass repair kits because mine were always lost. Also microfiber eyeglass wipes. Terry’s chocolate oranges went in there as well. Small beauty things like lip gloss and fingernail clippers and Emory boards!

My wife frequently puts one of those hanayama metal puzzles in my stocking, and I’ve always enjoyed getting those.