Santa will soon be making appearances in every mall in America, and who’s to say I’m too grown to have a chat in the big guy’s lap? Here’s my top five wish list for the man in red (in almost no particular order):

  1. A new computer. I’m partial to Alienware, which is simply the geek standard for supercool computers (check out TechRepublic’s coverage of Alienware). The company is offering some great holiday deals (the last time I checked, Santa’s elves aren’t into microchips). My desktop is getting old, and I’m hearing good things about the MMORPG Aion, though I’d hope to get Technologia to move there from World of Warcraft.
  2. TechRepublic’s Sonja Thompson has totally sold me on the Poken USB networking gadget. One of the problems that Sonja mentions with the Poken is that it is fairly useless if you’re the only person with one. StartPoken, Inc. has made the Poken even more useful with the new Poken Pulse, which acts as a Poken and as a regular USB memory stick. Plus, it’s a fairly inexpensive gift, and Santa can just give me a gift certificate so I can pick the exact one I want. I’m considering picking up a couple for holiday party hostess gifts.
    (Check out the Bump iPhone app; it’s the same idea as the Poken but not as cute, although more people are likely to have it.)
  3. My entire household is hoping for a decent microscope set. I found one by the Smithsonian Institute at a local Parent Teacher Store, and I am giving it to my son, but I have to admit that I’m probably more excited about it than he will be. Of course, now I have to track down all the stuff for making slides, because finding your own stuff to look at is most of the fun. Some prepared slides would be good too, if Santa’s elves can get around to scouting some microscopic stuff on my behalf. Oh, and I’ll have to get some Microlife Mix to go with it. (Does this still count as just one thing on my list?)
  4. I really want a glow-in-the-dark, silicone Demon iPhone case from Ideal Case. I saw this at Halloween, and I haven’t gotten over it. I don’t like hard cases, and I’m really just smitten with the Demon. Head’s up Santa — it’s on sale.
  5. I’m torn on what to list for the last item. I really, really like this Dagobah frog habitat because, well, growing frogs is science and science is geeky and frogs are cool and so is Yoda. But raising a frog ends up being a lot of work, so instead for my number five, I’m listing this cool, science-y Crystal Cube Firejewel necklace. It uses an LED light inside a crystal to create a neat light effect. I prefer it with the white LED. This just seems like something that my World of Warcraft hunter would wear, or a less cumbersome alternative to the Elvin light Sam carries in Lord of the Rings. I’d call it my “Necklace of the Aurora Borealis,” and it would light my way in dark dungeons. Or you know, at night on my way to the car.

So, Santa, I hope this list helps. Printing it out will certainly make my sit on your lap shorter, as I can just hand it to you and then claim my candy cane from the Mrs. She tends to frown when I sit on your lap anyway. Oh, and if you could wrap it in this geeky wrapping paper, that’d be great.

Looking for some gift ideas this holiday shopping season? Then check out the TechRepublic Geek Gift Guide 2009.