It’s that time of the year again. Depending on where you live, snow is falling, wind is blowing, the air is chilly, and fireplaces are roaring. Or if you’re like me in Northern California, weather is slightly colder on most days, but generally sunny and not all that much different most of the time. Either way, it’s the Holiday Season. If you’ve been too busy playing your favorite game to notice what’s going on in the outside world, you’ve still probably at least noticed the Halloween decorations are gone the Holiday activities in your game are in full-swing. That should be enough to let you know!

But let’s say there is a special someone in your life that is an MMO gamer. Maybe you’re not, maybe you are, but maybe you also need help figuring out what gift to give them for the holidays. This short little list is designed to give you some idea, ranked from cheapest to most expensive, In order to hopefully improve your reputation rank in your Friend Faction.

5) Game Cards (approximately $10 – $30)

You can walk into most major retailers nowadays, especially those that have gaming sections or are entirely dedicated to games, and find time cards for most of the major subscription MMOs out there. Since some games require players to pay a fee in order to continue playing, these cards can be redeemed for time, rather than having to spend the cash.

There aren’t that many sub games left though that are still running, so your giftee may not be an avid World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, or WildStar (among other games) player – what do you do then? If your friend plays a free-to-play MMO instead, chances are you can still find game cards. These game cards would instead be redeem for in-game currency that can be used to purchase new content or premium items – something that is equally awesome to receive as a gift.

4) Collectible Items (approximately $20 – $60)

This might not apply for every gamer in your life, but most gamers I know (myself included) are suckers for physical memorabilia. It’s the stuff that you probably wouldn’t go out and buy for yourself all that often, but getting it as a gift is always special. The price range listed is just an estimate. If you went out and bought a full-size replica of a sword from their favorite game, it’s obviously going to cost a bit more.

Maybe it’s the next novel explaining the lore behind your favorite game. Or maybe it’s a sweet new figurine or statuette of your favorite character. It could be a replica item, a plushie, or anything else. They make physical collectible merchandise for so much stuff, it’s easily just a quick Google search away.

3) Great Gaming Headset ($20 – $100)

This is another case of the price range just being an estimate. But for this price range, you can easily get them an extremely solid gaming headset that will do pretty much everything they would need. Not all headsets are created equal however, so you have a few different things you need to keep in mind when shopping for that perfect headset. First and foremost, you need to decide if you want to get earcups that rest on-top of the ear, or cups that cover all the way around the ear. If your gamer wears glasses like me, then cups that cover all the way around the ear are a must.

Next is compatibility – do they play games on consoles too? If that’s the case, make sure the headset is compatible across various gaming platforms. You also need to pay attention to general build quality and comfort. They’ll be wearing these things for hours-on-end, so they have to be comfy on the head. Finally, look into the specifications of the headset and what type of sound output it supports. For example, is it just standard stereo, does it have surround sound, can it be tweaked and customized? These are all pretty important considerations.

2) Gaming Keyboard and Mice (approximately $80 – $200)

Everyone knows if you die or mess up in a game, it’s either lag’s fault, or one your peripherals messing up. I can’t tell you the number of times that I died in PvP because my mouse was being fidgety and not letting me turn fast enough, or a key on my keyboard got stuck. Well, the Holidays are the perfect time for someone to gift you the tools you need to be great and take away those final few excuses that you’ve been holding onto.

The great thing about keyboards and mice, is that there are so many different kinds and styles to choose from. Do you want lots of macro buttons on your mouse, or do you just want a good, fast, wireless one? Do you want a mechanical keyboard with tons of macro buttons, or do you just want something big and comfortable, maybe with some LEDs so you don’t have to keep the light on at night time. The choices are nearly endless, so there is definitely something out there for everyone.

1) PC Parts (varies widely, anywhere from $80 - $500+)

Now we’re into the big stuff. These types of gifts are probably reserved for significant others, children, or other similarly close members of your family. That being said, if you hand out $200+ gifts to all of your friends and acquaintances, you can find me on Twitter down below and I can send you a list. The tricky thing about this category is that everyone won’t really need all of the things you could potentially get them. Everyone that plays WoW can use a time card. But everyone that has a PC may not need a new graphics card, RAM, or a monitor.

So if you’re aiming big and want to get them something to upgrade their PC with, while keeping it a surprise, you’ll have to do a bit of recon work and talk to their friends to figure out what they need. Or you could, you know, just ask them point blank what they need. Sometimes that’s the best thing to do because if you’re going to spend this kind of cash, you want it to be exactly what they need, right?

Conclusion

Overall, this is just a short list of suggestions for gift ideas. Everything from a new game, to just a gift card would surely be fine and appreciated. But if you’re at a loss for what to do and what to buy, this is a good place to start. Let us know down in the comments what kind of gifts you’re hoping to get from family and friends this Holiday season!