Hi everyone. I thought it might be nice to put out a blog post with some great gift ideas for the Raspberry Pi/electronics/robotics/micro:bit person in your life who might like to have a little something to open at Christmas 🙂 This post comes with a piece of advice: Watch out for Black Friday (week) deals!

Beginners

Let’s start off with a gift for someone who might just be about to start their Raspberry Pi journey. The Official Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Kit is lovely. It comes with everything you need to get started, including a great Beginner’s Guide book. Also included is the official keyboard and mouse, as well as the Pi, a case, an SD card and monitor cables. You could also look at The Pi Hut’s Starter Kit which is cheaper (but doesn’t have the keyboard/mouse) or Pimoroni’s equivalent kit which comes with slightly different items.

Festive Fun

If you’re looking for a couple of stocking fillers, take a look at The Pi Hut’s website for their Christmas tree range or alternatively, pre-order Pimoroni’s new offering: a Snowflake LED board.

Robots!

If you think that special someone might appreciate some robotics fun, take a look over on 4tronix’s website for some Raspberry Pi and micro:bit goodies. Gareth has just launched the MARS Rover for micro:bit kit (pictured above). It’s just lovely and well worth the money if you want something a bit more expensive. If you want something at the lower end, you could also take a look at the Bit:Bot XL for micro:bit which comes in at £42. There are Raspberry Pi goodies too, so have a browse!

If they’re just starting out with robotics, take a look at the CamJam EduKit 3 which is a great little starter kit that myself and Tim Richardson designed and produced in partnership with The Pi Hut. It gets you going on your journey and includes a set of downloadable worksheets to teach you what you need to know.

And finally, if you want something a bit different, take a look at PiBorg’s RockyBorg which is a steerable robotics platform.

Audio

Pimoroni have just launched their Pirate Audio range which is a collection of audio boards to suit a variety of tastes for £19.50 plus shipping. These are fairly low-power audio devices, but they look gorgeous as usual and produce a nice sound on a small scale.

If you or your loved one is an ‘audiophile’ and you want to drive more powerful speakers, I thoroughly recommend IQaudIO’s boards. These are high-quality, beautifully designed and really pack a punch.

3D printing

If your enthusiast is into 3D printing, getting some filament for them (check the size they need!) is one way to win your way into their hearts… Well, you know what I mean.

Pimoroni have just started stocking some nice-looking filaments but if you want a 3D printing specialist, I recommend 3D Printz who are based up in Shropshire.

High class Add-ons

For add-on boards, you will want to check out the RasPiO website – there’s plenty on there that you might not have seen before. Alex Eames has been in the Pi community from the very beginning and he’s created some great boards including the Breadboard Pi Bridge (above), an Arduino-powered Night Light kit (which is great fun to put together as you can read in my beta review) and the Pro HAT which puts the GPIO pins in the right order!

LoRa LoRa Laughs

If your Pi/micro:bit enthusiast is into long-range communication, take a look at Pi Supply’s LoRa range.

 

That’s all, folks

There is plenty of other electronics wizardry out there, just take a look around.

Remember, though: the true joy of Christmas is spending time with your loved ones, cherishing that time and making the most of the Winter break, if you get one! There’s also the small matter of the birth of Christ, but I know my readership is mixed so I won’t go on about that – if you know me well, you know how I feel about Jesus and his love for the world. Hopefully you’ll hear from me again on or around Christmas. Until then: Keep warm!