You know word lovers, dictionary junkies whose fascination with the English language (and other languages) is a big part of their identity. They may be voracious readers, Scrabble and Boggle fanatics, or amateur writers working hard to get their first book published. Buying gifts for the word lover in your life is easy as long as you can think a little outside the box.

Word people have spent their entire lives getting the same gifts over and over: Moleskin notebooks, odd dictionaries and thesauruses, and the dreaded chain bookstore gift certificates. The next time you need to give the word person in your life a gift, think outside the box.

Here are a few unique gift ideas for word lovers.

The Word Snoop by Ursula Dubosarsky

Alright, it’s a book. What’s unique about that? This book is crammed with amazing facts about the English language. I’ve been a word person my whole life, but even I hadn’t heard of this book until it was given to me on my last birthday. Crammed with interesting facts and stories about the English language and how it developed, The Word Snoop is the perfect book for the book lover who has everything.

WallCandy Whiteboard Decals

These are totally unique and really useful for writers or anyone obsessed with words. WallCandy are removable whiteboard “stickers” that attach sturdily to walls without peeling paint or leaving a stain. The stickers are non-toxic, and you can write on them with any marker that will write on a whiteboard. Use them to plan a story, write out a grocery list, or cover an entire wall in them and make a “writer’s wall.”

AquaNotes Waterproof Notepads

If you know a word lover or writer who gets inspired in the shower, hot tub, or pool, AquaNotes waterproof notepads are a great gift that they’ve never seen or heard of before. These notepads can be written on with a pencil, and the writing won’t smear or get ruined by a little liquid. Perfect for poets who want to jot down a quick idea in the shower.

Scrabble-doku by Frank Longo

Combining Scrabble with popular puzzle game Sudoku, Scrabble-doku replaces the numbers of Sudoku puzzles with legal Scrabble words. This game must be played to be fully appreciated. It’s great training for Scrabble players and the perfect road trip distraction for word lovers.

Will Roby is a word nut, a Scrabble junkie, and writer for Scrabble Pages. Check out this article about Toys R Us coupons to learn how to save on your next Scrabble or board game purchase.

I’m not sure about you, but finding a good gift these days is becoming trickier and trickier. Everyone buys whatever they want whenever they want, meaning that shopping for friends or family usually means being left second guessing clothing sizes or spending more than you would have liked to.
As the types of products available or suitable gradually reduce, so has our need to be creative been increased. More and more often we are looking further afield for inspiration and looking at product groups which you would never have considered five or ten years ago.

It is this need for creativity which brought security products under the radar. In this age of expensive home products and extended holidays everyone can benefit from increased home and personal security. Developments in security technology has meant that not only are there some brilliant gadgets available, but the majority won’t break the bank either – making them perfect gifts. Not as exciting as some but certainly more practical than most. Here are our top 5:

1. Tiny consumer PIR sensor

One for those who already have a home alarm system and for those that don’t, but equally one I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed with. For less than £30 you can turn the recipient into a regular James Bond, the PIR sensor can work on its own or with an existing system – making it even more flexible. With dimensions of 7 x 2.8 x 2.5cm coupled with the fact it isn’t limited to one location; the sensor really can be used for a multitude of tasks.

2. Barking dog alarm

Barking dogs are a pretty sure fire way to dissuade a burglar from targeting your property. The beauty of a motion activated barking dog alarm is that you don’t have to deal with the daily problems created by actual dog ownership. For less than £50 you can have your very own guard dog. If you already own a dog, the alarm will allow you to record your dog’s bark; increasing the authenticity especially if the burglar has scouting your premises previously.

3. Motion sensor spy hole

We all like to know who is at the door before we open it, what about knowing who was at the door whilst you were out? The motion sensor spy hole is a DIY kit which adds a sophisticated digital camera and motion sensor to your front door that records an image of anyone who comes within 2-4 meters. It has a micro SD memory station so can store as many or as few images as you like. A great way catching would be burglars or seeing how popular you are whilst on holiday!

4. Personal alarm

Although the actual retail value of most personal alarms is relatively low, the value to the recipient potentially could be priceless. Typically not costing over £5 these alarms are more often than not given to women or those residing in less than desirable areas. Most personal alarms are small enough to attach to a key ring, but most pack more than a 140db punch. This level of noise is both loud enough to scare off most attackers but also loud enough to attract attention to a fallen elderly citizen indoors.

5. DIY home alarm system

A bit more of an extravagant present than some of those mentioned above, DIY home alarms typically retail between £150 and £250. However with DIY alarms, there are no hidden retainer fees or renting of equipment; the price you pay is the total cost of the alarm. For an item which will have such a big impact and require an hour or so of installation it might be worth testing the water before purchase. A DIY home alarm however makes a totally unique gift and one that could really make a difference in the future.

These security gift ideas are brought to you by Yale home alarm systems. Each of Yale’s home security systems is installed free of charge by a specialist Yale security point engineer.

1. Regifting

Regifting is hands down the best way to get rid of an unwanted gift, especially when you don’t want to ask for a receipt. We have all been given that ugly shirt from Aunt Sue, only to give the shirt a permanent home in the bottom of our dresser or the back of the closet. Regifting is great as you don’t hurt the gift-givers feelings, and save a bit of money from having to buy someone a gift. Just make sure you don’t regift that present to the person who gave it to you!

2. Exchange or Return the Gift

Exchanging gifts is another popular to handle those unwanted gifts. Most of the time you’ll need the gift receipt, which isn’t always pleasant to ask for. Once you have the receipt in hand, you’ll be able to exchange your gift or in some cases, get cash back. Either way it’s a win-win situation, and you’ll end up with a present you actually wanted.

3. Donate your Gift

Sometimes you’ll get a gift that you can’t return, or simply don’t want to. When you run across a gift like that, you can always donate it to charity! You can donate items to may organizations like Goodwill, the Red-Cross, or Toys for Tots just to name a few. A great idea around the holidays; especially for those unwanted toys!

4. The Gift Card Swap

Growing up most of us got gifts wrapped in a box, but nowadays Gift Cards are starting to take over the holidays. The only bad thing about getting a gift card is when it’s for something you’ll never use. It’s no fun to get a gift card for a fancy Steak house if you’re a vegetarian. That’s where swapping gift cards comes into play. There are a lot of sites around the net that allow you to trade your gift cards in for another gift card more to your liking. You can also sell those gift cards at places like Ebay.

5. DVD & CD Trading sites

DVD’s, CD’s and BlueRay’s are popular gifts nowadays, and everyone loves a good movie or some music. With all the popular new releases coming out every week it’s very possible that you’ll receive a duplicate disk. No worries, as sites like Spun.com can solve that problem. Media trading sites are very popular, and allow their users to trade buy, sell, and even trade unwanted media. Now you’ve found a place to unload that Barry Manilow album your cousin got you last year!

6. Badgiftemporium.com

Badgiftemporium.com is a great place where unwanted presents go to get a new lease on life. You can list your strange, or otherwise unusable gift along with its origins on the site. All you have to do after that is sit back and wait for the offers to come pouring in! It’s also fun to check out other people’s horrible gifts. After browsing the site you may find that your terrible present might not be as bad as you thought after all.

7. iRent2u.com

iRent2u is by far one of the coolest sites we’ve seen. This site allows you to actually “Rent” unwanted items or gifts to others. You can rent out anything from video games and audio equipment to homes and vehicles. Get a crappy car for Christmas? Well, you can rent that out for a few days to someone in your area with iRent2u.

8. Ebay

A list like this isn’t complete without an appearance from the entity known as Ebay. Ebay is one of the best places on the net to get rid of stuff you don’t want anymore. Another good thing about the site is that it’s so massive, there’s a good chance that somebody will actually want your unwanted gift. Whether you got a Pet Rock for a present or a funky sweater, someone will most likely bid on it on Ebay!

9. If all else fails… Destroy the gift!

Last but not least, if you have that one gift that you can’t seem to give away, sell, trade or lose…you can always destroy it. Don’t like that Twilight DVD your sister got you for Christmas? Well, disks are great for target practice. How about the 1980s style sweater-vest your vile mother-in-law got you? Bury it, burn it, or just toss it in the river. Maybe it’s a cursed item or maybe you just don’t like it, either way with a little imagination, you’ll be rid of that dreadful gift forever!

This article was produced by PrezzyBox.com – the place to go for decent birthday gifts that they’ll actually want.