Nothing says, “I care” like a plasma globe. We’re not kidding. How did these ever go out of fashion, anyway? Granted, they get a bit old after about five minutes but it’s still a cool gift. It’s not something you’d buy for yourself, so that means they no one has one already. Unless you bought it for them last year. . .in which case, scroll down.

These things are actually genuinely cool so it’s a pity they’re not more popular. Kids especially seem to have a great time creating their own lighting arrangement so this is good for keeping them occupied. As with everything though we don’t recommend you leave them unattended (That’s kids and globes Ed.). The sphere is made of glass and we all know young ’uns and breakables don’t mix.

The plasma globe is fairly common so you shouldn’t have too much trouble sourcing one. We recommend the Gadget Shop, though as they have a rather cool USB version.

The Lava Lamp

So last year you freaked out and bought them a plasma globe at the last second and this year you find yourself stuck again. Don’t despair, for who doesn’t want a lava lamp? It’s one of those things that everyone wants but is almost completely pointless.

Lava lamps are a glass bottle filled with (to keep things simple) a whole bunch of chemicals and wax. The bottle sits on a light bulb, which, when turned on, heats up (obviously) and melts the wax. Cold wax is denser than water, while hot wax is less dense. This is because wax expands more when it heats up. As a result, you get nice little blobs wobbling up and down inside the bottle.

Our only problem with it is that it takes so long to heat the wax. It also isn’t a great light source, but how can you complain when it looks so good? Exactly- You can’t.

Lava Lamps are also handy for last minute presents because they’re so easy to source and the fact that they’ve been around since the 60s means you’re not going to have Wii-trouble finding one.

Its ability to put us into a trance is rather worrying but for some reason we can’t stop looking. . .