Gifties for Your Valentine (or Yourself!)

We're not too big on Valentine's Day in my house, which is fine with me. I don't need the jewelry/flower/chocolate cartels pressuring us to get gifts! But then I see all those ads, and I can't help it -- all I think is "Shiny!!" I like shiny.

But, as a geek girl, married to a geek boy, shiny things really aren't a part of our culture. So instead, I share with you a couple of alternates for your Lovable Geek.

First up - the 8-Bit Flower Bouquet (via ThinkGeek.com). Maybe it's because my husband is a Mario fan, so I always keep an eye out for Mario-themed gifts, but I think these are cute. I would totally put them on my desk, and AND they won't die (this always saddens me with cut flowers)!

Or how about a nice Star Trek themed cologne? I chose to feature "Pon Farr" (for her) from UrbanCollector.com but you might try "Shirtless Kirk" or "Sulu Pour Homme" for the geek guy in your life.

You might prefer a home made touch, so what about some delicious cupcakes? Whether you be gamer geek (h/t Hello Tauren!):

Or Star Wars geek (h/t Geekologie):

Finally, if you still think jewelry is the way to go, consider these nice dog tags, err "necklaces" for all the geek archetypes. Mine, of course, would be the global "Geek Girl," though your girl might prefer "Anime Geek" or "Fiend" instead.

Whatever you end up deciding, Happy Valentine's!

Star Wars Valentines

I love these Star Wars Valentines from James Stowe (via laughing squid). I particularly love the images of those who were previously foes but are now clearly friends!

Valentines for the Geek in Your Life

Valentine's Day isn't a big deal in our house, but I know there are geeks out there who would love a treat from their special someone. Assuming he/she has one. Let's be optimistic and assume that's the case so I can get on with the point.

The good folks over at Mashable posted a list of 10 V-Day gifts for geeks earlier today. I can't decide which I like more -- the Valentine's themed Zune (yes, I said "Zune"!) or the Geeky Dreamboat magnet set, which includes adora-geeks like Michael Cera, Andy Samberg, and the dudes from Flight of the Conchords.

ThinkGeek.com has an even lengthier list of geek appropriate Valentine gifts here. I like the heart-shaped box of mini-microbes (including Amoeba and Penicillin), Star Trek cologne & perfume (because who doesn't want to smell like Captain Kirk?), Circuit board necklace (doubles as a "Green" gift!), and the LED binary clock or watch (which I doubt I could even read, but love nonetheless).

Of course, you could make it easy and pick up a cool geek t-shirt. There are so many now, because I guess it is finally cool to be a geek or pretend you are one. Pretty much anything from threadless.com seems on target, but I really like this one because of the overwhelming number of pop culture references in one shirt. Or the now (in)famous Rock-Paper-Scissor-Lizard-Spock t-shirt from the Big Bang Theory. Or for the gamer geek in your life, any number of Mario t-shirts.

If you don't have a special Valentine in your life this year, go on and treat yourself. You know you want to. Shiny!!