by April Wilson

Created on: January 20, 2010   Last Updated: January 21, 2010

If you have a geek in your life, shopping for them and decorating for their party is going to be easier than you think.  For shopping just go to ThinkGeek.com and they'll love you forever.  For decorating, you can use a lot of inspiration from the think geek website.  Ever heard of ASCII art? Chances are, your geek has.  "Back in the day" (and still sometimes now), people would use various characters put together in a pattern (like * & %) to create art.  Some of it is very impressive.  There are some giant Marilyn Monroe as well as pinup girl ASCII art.

Why not Google ASCII art? Find, print, buy, whatever, just get it printed and hang it up on the walls. Or have a tablecloth for the buffet table printed in ASCII art.  Or printed Napkins with ASCII art. You can get an ASCII art "Happy Birthday" banner printed up.

Another option for printed napkins besides the standard image of a computer, is a cute geeky saying.  "smart jokes" that only geeks get, is the order of the day. You may find some inspiration from the T-shirt sayings at ThinkGeek.com 

What about the little bobble-headed Einsteins?  These make great table centerpiece decorations.  If your geek is a packrat keeping everything from old USB sticks to  motherboards, consider using these items as part of the decor. Just be sure that whatever you use either isn't something important to your geek (sometimes you can't tell, only they understand their system) or that whatever you use, you don't in any way damage if it is important to your geek.

Consider buying several plastic pocket protectors and putting a napkin, fork, spoon, and knife inside each one. You can write the name of a guest on each pocket protector and lay it on their plate, to serve as place settings. 

Rubik's cubes are a favorite of the nostalgic geek. You may be able to find several at yard sales or on ebay.  Online several retro shops sell them brand new since there has been a surge in interest in these types of items and gizmos.  Rubik's cubes can hang out with the bobble-headed Einsteins or have a spot all to themselves.  They can also be placed at each place setting and given away as party favors.

Learn more about this author, April Wilson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.