Here is our roundup of novel gift ideas we think would be worth giving to geeks and gadgeteers. Now Target, now Best Buy, now Wal-Mart and Brookstone! On Gap, on small stores, on Sears and eBay!

This post was updated on 12/9/08 to reflect current prices and products no longer available to purchase since the original publication of this entry.

Christmas sales seem to start earlier with each passing year. I’m pretty sure some commenced so early this year that clerks tripped over Easter eggs as they shelved the merchandise.

Yet for many of us, the slightest thought of gifts has not even begun to speculate about the merest possibility of crossing our minds.

So herewith is IMT’s roundup of gifts we think would be worth giving (and receiving).

GIFTS UNDER $20

Executive Decision Maker
The art of management meets the science of magnetism… . Although it spends some time oscillating, vacillating and waffling between its six choices, the pendulum decision maker will eventually settle firmly on one.
$11.95

Credit: X-treme Geek

For the Newborn
Owen and Emma‘s “My Daddy Is a Computer Geek” infant/toddler T-shirt drips with sappiness, is sugary sweet, strangely charming and, frankly, downright too cute to pass up if it suits you.
$14.99

Gevalia Stir Mug
Insulated stainless steel causes a stir as its gentle swirling motion stirs your 12-oz. beverage at the push of a button. Keeps coffee hot for hours. Includes two AAA batteries.
$18.95, Set of two for $32.95

Credit: Gevalia

The Money Pit DVD
For the do-it-yourselfer: Steven Spielberg produced this underwhelming 1986 slapstick effort. Tom Hanks — long before winning those Oscars — stars with Shelley Long as a married couple whose efforts to finish construction on their home are sabotaged by costly and sporadically funny hijinks. The unfinished domicile becomes a metaphor for their troubled relationship.
$10.49

For other movie ideas, check out Top 100 Sci-Fi Films and 81 Movies for Geeks that Do Not Suck.

Calculator Belt Buckles
There may not be many people who can pull this off — except maybe engineers, math geeks and accountants. There’s the Elite Black Calculator Belt Buckle ($12.99 each) and, for the true high-tech cowboys, the Amazing Chrome Calculator Belt Buckle ($14.99).

42 Utility Towel
About the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have: your own towel.
$12.99

Credit: ThinkGeek

Pocket Protector T-Shirt
It may encourage the engineer-as-geek stereotype, but if you wear it ironically, it could be pretty cool. Or not.
$17

GIFTS $20-$100

Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy
Bestselling pop-up artist and renowned paper engineer Matthew Reinhart designed a 30th anniversary commemorative edition of this book that comes packed with a variety of novelty features: pop-ups, working light sabers, pull tabs and other interactive looks at the sci-fi movies we geeks adore. (Remember: Star Wars, Star Trek and Stargate are NOT the same thing.)
$23.09

Folding Keyboard
If your desk is as covered in research as mine, you need more room on your desk. This space-saver keyboard folds in two and comes with a handy carrying sleeve, making it a great fit for your laptop as well.
$69.95

Credit: Matias

Leather-Bound The Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)
Hobbits and humans, good and evil, adventure and tragedy, pointy hats and hairy feet, and the awful power of that weighty ring — with a text fully corrected under the supervision of Christopher Tolkien to meet the author’s exacting wishes, two large-format fold-out maps, a ribbon place marker, gilded page edges, a color insert depicting Tolkien’s own paintings of the Book of Mazarbul and elegant packaging, this edition is pretty exceptional.
$50.61

Related book ideas: Top 100 Sci-Fi Books

Wind-Power Recharger
Got an iPod, cell phone or MP3 player with low batteries? This palm-sized device harnesses the wind to generate enough power for a 40-minute phone call or eight hours of music.
$49.95

Credit: Hymini.com

Deadliest Catch: Season 1 DVD Set
You think you have tough days on the job? Forget about it. I’m pretty sure you have to be a little bit crazy to pursue this profession — but it makes for riveting television. You can also buy season sets two and three at the Discovery Channel store.
$39.95

Forbidden LEGO
This book introduces readers to the type of free-style building that LEGO’s master builders do for fun in their back rooms. Using LEGO bricks in combination with common household materials (from rubber bands and glue to plastic spoons and ping-pong balls) along with some very unorthodox building techniques, you’ll learn to create working models that LEGO would never endorse. Treat the kid in you this Christmas.
$24.95

Credit: No Starch Press

iH20W
This portable, water-resistant speaker system for your iPod lets you lounge on the beach or take a shower while listening to your tunes while keeping your MP3 player safe and sound. A hanging loop and shower hook makes it easy to mount in any shower.
$69.99

Stereo Dock for iPod with Bath Tissue Holder
It’s four high-performance speakers for your iPod Shuffle or other iPod device — integrated with a toilet-paper holder. (Speakers are “moisture-free.”)
$59.99, special holiday price of $29.99

Credit: Amazon.com

The History Channel Presents Engineering an Empire – The Complete Series (Collector’s Edition)
“For emperors, emperors-in-training, and fans of their work, you cannot do better than this comprehensive DVD set.” The series encompasses just about every great empire in recorded history. It’s also highly entertaining. As grand as the empires themselves, this is an indispensable collection.
$53.99

Also check out Discovery Channel’s Extreme Engineering.

SportsCast Wireless Football Scoreboard
This wireless scoreboard delivers up-to-date game stats for every NFL team for every game in every quarter. Scores are received wirelessly via satellite signal, with updates every 15 minutes. No TV, PC or subscription needed. Just choose the game you want to feature, and keep track of the rest of the league. Shows schedules, standings and scores for your favorite teams.
$49.99

Married to a Geek or Nerd?
Looking for that perfect gift for your favorite geek? Or maybe you’re the nerd and you’re looking for something fun for yourself. Either way, check out the pink “Geek Girl” T-shirts and gifts at CafePress.com. While there, peruse Lekker Designs‘ “I [Heart] My Nerd” tees and gifts.

Credit: Lekker Designs – CafePress.com

GIFTS OVER $100

Aluminum Mobile Computing Workstation Cart
We think it’d be great to have a portable computer with all the power of a desktop machine. Now we can — by making the desktop PC portable. Ziotek’s mobile workstation has a pivoting VESA standard mount for an LCD monitor, an adjustable keyboard tray/mouse platform and a sturdy CPU mount all on a five-point rolling stand.
$279.00

The Isis
Called “the most difficult puzzle ever,” the Isis is a gleaming orb handcrafted in England of a premier alloy of aluminum and constructed of precisely engineered, movable bands. Each band is etched with hieroglyphics. The challenge: Position those bands in the right combination to unlock the ISIS. You are given 10 encrypted clues to decipher.

Credit: Sharper Image

Bonus: Those who manage to crack the ISIS code can enter the hidden 10-digit number on the ISIS Web site for a chance to win $1,000 in cash or other valuable prizes.
$199.95

Celestial Gadgetry
Glancing up at the sky, but don’t know what you’re looking at?

With the click of a button, the handy Celestron SkyScout gadget can identify celestial objects via an on-board database of 6,000 stars, planets and constellations, providing loads of scientific info.
$178.15

The 14 M.P.H. Cooler
I think I’m gonna cry: “The only ridable, three-wheeled cooler with a 500-watt electric motor that propels the unit up to 14 mph, and it has a fully-insulated bin that accommodates up to 24 12-oz. beverage cans and 8 lbs. of ice, allowing you to transport chilled food or beverages up to 15 miles on a single charge.”
$499.95

Credit: Hammacher Schlemmer

Samuel Adams Utopias
Don’t celebrate your year-end company successes with mimosas. The brewers at Samuel Adams are introducing a new batch of Samuel Adams Utopias, the “Extreme Beer,” with a limited release of just 12,000 bottles. The strong, rich, dark beer is uncarbonated and is meant to be savored like a vintage port or a fine cognac. The 2007 batch — a blend of liquids, some of which have been aged in a variety of woods for up to 13 years — weighs in at 27 percent alcohol by volume. (The average beer is about 5 percent.)

The limited-edition brew will be available at select specialty beer and liquor stores for a suggested retail price of $120-$140 per bottle.

BARGAIN BIN: GIFTS UNDER $10

Staple-Free Stapler
Those tiny metal wires have torn up important documents, have gotten caught in clothing and, in some cases, have caused injury (maybe not blood-gushers, but you know). “The horrors,” as ThinkGeek notes, “are just too numerous to mention.” So use the staple-free stapler and jam together your paper without injury-inducing metal shards!
$5.99

Credit: ThinkGeek

Sneaky Uses For Everyday Things
Again for the DIYers: “Milk can be turned into plastic or an adhesive,” explains Sneaky Uses For Everyday Things. “With the twist of a screw any FM radio can eavesdrop on aircraft broadcasts. A radio can be made from a penny.” Find out these and other “sneaky uses for everyday things” in this book by Cy Tymony.
$8.79

Screaming Superfly Monkey w/ Cape
“Native to the thinly carpeted jungles of Cubefarmia, the Simia valdevolucris is typically quite docile and fuzzy,” says X-Treme Geek. “During extra-quiet afternoon hours, however, the SuperFly Monkey is known to launch itself into the air with a blood-curdling scream. It will then dive upon unsuspecting victims up to 50 feet away.” Color varies.
$6.95

Credit: X-treme Geek

Slinky
Because this classic coil-shaped toy invented by mechanical engineer Richard James, in 1943, remains awesome to play with and to explain various scientific concepts.
$8

Credit: Poof-Slinky, Inc.

Or, rather than an offering to the gods of commercialism, consider these karmic investments suggestions: sponsor a needy family, donate to a food pantry, cut a check for cancer research, plant a tree in someone’s name, etc.

Should Christmas gifts be exchanged in the workplace? Let us know in today’s Burning Question.

Earlier: IMT Premier Edition: The Great Engineering Gift Guide – 2005