With Christmas, Hanukkah, or maybe a birthday right around the corner, I should put together a list with items that would be a great fit for all of those creative people in your life. This list will include anything from paper to a small notebook.

1. Pencils, Erasers, and Markers. 
   These markers, colored pencils and erasers may run expensive, but they are great.
2. Paper.
   I am not talking about printer paper or a loose leaf paper. Take a look at the real thing.
3. Updated or new books.
   There is nothing better than reading how tos and tutorials on the correct way to draw. Head over to Borders or even Amazon.com and look for the “for Dummies” books. These will do the trick.
4. A large clock.
   I cannot tell you how many times I have been designed and glanced over at the clock on my monitor and was shocked at how fast time goes by. A desktop clock with large numbers or a large wall clock should fix this problem.
5. Small post-it notes.
   Ask anybody who does graphic design and they will tell you that the best ideas come in the weirdest places. Get small post-it notes so the creative one will never forget his brilliant idea again.
6. Printer.
   Usually I do not print any of my work out. However, if they had a high DPI printer with multi functions (fax, scan, print) than they just may print more of their work. While you are at it, buy some ink for it too!
7. External hard drive.
   Make sure to spend a couple extra bucks and get something in the 500GB-1TB range. This is the probably one of the best gifts. Do not buy them from Best Buy, buy them online - it will save your quite a bit of money!
8. Drafting table and/or easel. (if room allows)
   I don’t have either, but in school, the drafting table was great. The angle on it makes the workload so much easier.
9. Music.
   Not only does it help you think, but it also makes the time go by faster. That is why you should also get them a large clock! You may want to ask him/her what they life. I could personally listen to anything, however, others may want wind, ocean, or even oprah.
10. Software.
    Adobe Creative Suite CS4! If budget allows of course - this software is really expensive. It does come in levels, so make sure to check out adobe.com to learn more. If they have CS3, get them the upgrade. If this is out of your budget, there are many others to choose from.
11. Computer parts.
    Get some RAM, a bigger hard drive, a new processor, motherboard, a large monitor (22″ or 24″), a wired mouse with higher DPI, wired keyboard, a multi-card reader (SD, XM, etc), 8gb (or larger) USB thumb drive, video card…. the list goes on.Again, I reccomend not buying these from Best Buy because they are way over priced there. Do your researching online, get them from tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, ebay.com, or even amazon.com. If budget allowes, get them a new computer (MAC or PC[HP]). If you have any questions, contact me.
12. Writing tablet.
    These are great. You can either get one that they can take with them. They write on paper and whatever they write can, the internal memory remembers it. Or you can get one that plugs directly into the computer. This will help them when they are designing. Take a look.
13. Small laptop.
    I do not have one, but I want one (hint family!). They are small, petite, and very easy to use. If you pair it up with an external hard drive or a USB thumb drive and a external DVD/CD player, they will be able to take their programs and work with them. The HP one and the Dell are quite exspensive. The Acer or eeePC will do the job.
14. Palm Pilot.
    I have a Treo which has both a Palm and Phone. I use it a lot to write down some ideas I come up with. If budget allows, get them a Palm Treo/Centro/Pro or just a standard palm pilot. Visit http://www.palm.com.
15. Visa or Amex gift card.
    If everything fails, just get them a gift card and advise them to purchase something for their graphic design career. This would also make a good chance to bond since all they do is draw or sit in front of a computer.

The list can go on and on. However, these are things that I have purchased that have helped me out. Feel me to leave a comment.

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