15 Top Gifts for Raspberry Pi Fans – Christmas 2023
The Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer that can be used for many projects, with a variety of accessories and a strong community. Fans are excited about all the possibilities and don’t need any advice to buy new stuff for themselves.
But if you’re trying to find the perfect gift for your partner, kid, or friend who’s really passionate about this without being into it yourself, you might need some guidance. That’s why I wrote this guide!
To help you find the perfect gift for them this year, let me give you a few ideas that any Raspberry Pi enthusiast will love ;-).
A Retro Gaming Console Case
This is the perfect gift for someone who loves to play classic games on their Raspberry Pi, which is a popular use of the tiny computer.
A gamer will likely appreciate a custom case for its retro gaming machine, especially if there is a particular attention by offering the favorite console from the 90s 🙂
They are cases looking like the old console systems, that you can use and put the Raspberry Pi inside. It’s perfect to push a little further the gaming experience.
Here are two examples :
- NesPi case, inspired from the first Nintendo
- The Game Boy alternative (I did a review of this case here).
A Smart Mirror Toolkit
A smart mirror is a common project on Raspberry Pi. The idea is to mix a screen, a mirror in a Raspberry Pi.
A short video will be easier to explain:
If they never talked about it, they probably don’t have one 🙂
Building this requires many components, here is a short list of what you could offer them:
- A Raspberry Pi : will stay inside, so it may be required even if he or she already has one. A cheap one is OK.
- A two-way glass mirror : that’s where the magic comes from, the screen is behind it, but it still works as a mirror.
- An old monitor of the same size, or any slim design like this one should work. The idea is to find a model that is thin, almost borderless, and where the stand can be easily removed.
- A frame to put everything inside (DIY)
It is a pretty expensive gift, but it will delight the person, yourself and impress their friends, so why not 🙂
If it’s too expensive for you, just buy the glass mirror, a Raspberry Pi fan will understand the message, and most of them already have all the other components at home.
A smart T-shirt
This is a classic but it would be a nice nod to his or her passion.
Depending on the person’s preferences, you can look for funny ones, inspirational ones or just the ones with the Raspberry Pi logo.
Doing a simple search like this in the Redbubble search engine will give you many ideas.
I like this site, it’s affordable and the products are good quality overall.
A book about Raspberry Pi
I’m a buyist here, but offering a book is also an appreciated gift.
It might be a bit more complicated if you have no idea about the person’s level or interests, but you can probably guess it before the deadline 🙂
I wrote several books that are a perfect fit for Raspberry Pi enthusiasts, that would be an appreciated gift, especially if you are late to find a gift for them, as it’s digital and can be downloaded a few seconds after the order.
If you are lost in all these new words and abbreviations, request my free Raspberry Pi glossary here (PDF format)!
Download now
I can suggest these three e-books:
- Master Raspberry Pi in 30 days: Ideal for any Raspberry Pi fan, from complete beginners (they don’t even need to have a Raspberry Pi to get started), to more experienced users, who will get inspiration from many projects and tips mentioned in the book.
- Master Python on Raspberry Pi: For more advanced users, who are comfortable with a Raspberry Pi, but not yet with programming it (generally required for more advanced projects).
- Master Linux Commands: Not directly related to the Raspberry Pi, but focuses on the operating system used on Raspberry Pi (Linux). It will help them to become more comfortable with command lines and scripts, which is often a big hurdle for Linux users.
Some of them are available in paperback, via an upper tiers package, or directly from Amazon. But you can also find other great books on Amazon or whatever, I have an entire article with book ideas for Raspberry Pi if you are looking for other specific topics.
A robot kit
How can someone not love this present if it’s really a Raspberry Pi fan?
It’s an original robot dog kit from Freenove (click to read my full review about it):
Yes, it’s awesome and fun. An excellent project for any Raspberry Pi user, whatever their level.
For a beginner, it’s a great goal that will motivate them to learn some of the prerequisites needed to get the most out of it (electronics, programming, …). And advanced users love this kind of gadget, even if they have already built one.
You can find this particular kit on Amazon, the price is affordable for that kind of quality kit.
Excepting the funny movements, you can program it for face recognition, following a ball and many other interesting projects.
And if you need more ideas, I have an entire guide with the best robot kits available on Raspberry Pi, if you want to check other ideas or cheaper ones. But no one is as fun as this one 🙂
A low-tech gift
Let’s look at something else that has absolutely nothing to do with technology, but is still a cool idea.
Why not make a joke out of his or her passion and offer something that has absolutely nothing to do with technology?
That way you can’t make a mistake if you know the person a little bit but have no idea about their Raspberry Pi level or hardware they already have.
Here are a few ideas for inspiration:
You can probably find other ideas depending on his or her passions, but you get my point.
A Raspberry Pi 400
Ok, this one’s back to technology, but since it’s pretty new, it might be a good idea.
The Raspberry Pi 400 is a recent model, with an original design: it’s built into a keyboard, so all you need to do is plug it into a monitor or TV.
Wi-Fi is built in and it’s USB powered, so you don’t need anything else (except a mouse, of course).
I think it can be the perfect gift for a kid who wants a computer, or even for a fan who doesn’t have one yet.
I have more detail about the Raspberry Pi 400 in this post.
I don’t really praise for it in this article, but as a gift (especially for kids), it makes sense.
If you are still interested, you should be able to find a good price on Amazon.
This year, the Raspberry Pi 5 was released. If you can get your hands on one, it will be a much appreciated gift, but it’s probably going to be very hard to get your hands on one because they’re sold out.
A magazine subscription
How about a gift that not only works for Christmas or their birthday, but also reminds them of you every month? Yes, I suggest a magazine subscription.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has an official magazine: “MagPi”, which is available here.
It’s a monthly magazine that will remind you of your gift to that person throughout the year. You can even order the last one to have a physical thing to offer.
As far as I know, it’s the only magazine dedicated to Raspberry Pi, but there are many others, more general about Linux (like Linux Mag, Linux Format, …) or electronics (Make or HackSpace for example).
If you are lost in all these new words and abbreviations, request my free Raspberry Pi glossary here (PDF format)!
Download now
A Sense HAT
No, not that kind of hat…
A HAT is an additional board that can be attached to the Raspberry Pi to add new features (it stands for “Hardware Attached on Top”).
The “Sense HAT” is one of them, and is easy to recognize, as there are 64 colored LEDs on it:
It’s a must-have for any Raspberry Pi user, and it’s pretty cheap. You can find it at the best price on Amazon.
Besides the LED part, it allows many experiences and projects with the integrated sensors: gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, temperature, pressure, humidity. It has even been used in the International Space Station for various projects!
You can find more details here, if you would like to know more about this idea.
An inspiring mug
Like the t-shirt idea I mentioned earlier, here is another no-risk gift that can be given for any occasion. While making a cool reference to their passion, you can give them a mug without knowing anything about Raspberry Pi.
Geeks love showing their interests with mugs, or have jokes on them.
Depending on the person you want to offer this, there is a lot of choice on RedBubble for you. They have the three models displayed on the picture (classic, tall or travel mugs).
There are also many other websites with that kind of products, including Amazon with more mug models but maybe fewer designs.
Smart lights for a smart guy
I really like this one because it works whether you offer it to someone who is interested in Raspberry Pi, programming, or just the lights themselves.
Philips Hue are smart lights that you can control from any device, including your phone and obviously a Raspberry Pi.
I have a tutorial about Philips Hue if you want to better understand the idea. I have had some for years, and have done some fun projects with them. And even in my case, I have a lot of stuff for Raspberry Pi and some Philips Hue lights too, but I would love to get a gift like this to experiment even more, they have many models available.
Even for kids (or maybe teenagers), I think it’s a good idea.
They like to experiment with visual things. If you can teach them to code while they see the result on the colored light, they will (hopefully) stay motivated 🙂
A sensor kit
This one is the perfect fit for someone who you often see building electronic circuits with different components, but you have no idea what he or she already has.
The idea I have is a kit with so many sensors in it that nobody has them all 🙂
You can check this link on Amazon to see all the details. But basically, it includes everything required to start almost any project. A few examples: temperature sensor, buzzers, remote control, and many wires, buttons and tools to get started.
I have a quick tutorial for beginners on how to use the GPIO pins, if you want to understand what I’m talking about.
A Raspberry Pi screen
He or she always uses the TV when you want to watch something? Only one monitor for your computer and Raspberry Pi? You can solve this problem by offering a screen designed specifically for Raspberry Pi use.
The one in the picture is from Sunfounder, a popular brand on Raspberry Pi, and you can find it on their website for about half the price of any classic monitor.
It’s a touchscreen, so it’s easy to use, even without a mouse if the application is optimized for small screens.
By the way, that’s a picture of my desk, I use it everyday now and I have a review available here if you want to learn more about this product.
The Musician’s Hat
I have already introduced the concept of HAT (extension plugged on top of the Raspberry Pi), and the most popular one (the Sense Hat). But this one is also really fun, and less popular, so the person may not have it yet!
I think a short video will better explain this gift idea:
It’s the Pimoroni Piano HAT, available here on Amazon, and as you can see it add a piano feature to the Raspberry Pi 🙂
Probably a good way to mix two passions, and also to get young people interested in learning programming earlier (you can code it to make the sound you want, so it should be really fun).
It's a free PDF guide containing every Raspberry Pi Linux command you should know!
Download now
Google Voice Kit
The last one here is a toolbox from Google that could be a good gift, because it’s all-in-one.
The Google Voice Kit is a kit to build a smart speaker. You can try out voice recognition or apps like Google Assistant, Alexa, etc.
You can check on Amazon how the completed kit looks like. It’s pretty cool!
As you can see in the picture, it comes with everything in the package, including a Raspberry Pi Zero and the user guide.
It’s a basic for any Raspberry Pi fan, that opens up many new projects. Your gift will be a success 🙂
It's a free PDF guide containing every Raspberry Pi Linux command you should know!
Download now
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Conclusion
That’s it, I’m done with my list of gift ideas in case you have one to offer to a Raspberry Pi fan, or even if you are someone who follows this website and want to include some of them in your letter to Santa 🙂
To make this post really useful and complete, can you answer these questions in the community?
- Do you have any other original ideas for gifts for a Raspberry Pi (aspiring user or existing fan)?
- If you have ever received a Raspberry Pi gift, which one was the best for you?
I will add the best ones in a future update.
Thanks!
Whenever you’re ready, here are other ways I can help you:
The RaspberryTips Community: If you want to hang out with me and other Raspberry Pi fans, you can join the community. I share exclusive tutorials and behind-the-scenes content there. Premium members can also visit the website without ads.
Master your Raspberry Pi in 30 days: If you are looking for the best tips to become an expert on Raspberry Pi, this book is for you. Learn useful Linux skills and practice multiple projects with step-by-step guides.
The Raspberry Pi Bootcamp: Understand everything about the Raspberry Pi, stop searching for help all the time, and finally enjoy completing your projects.
Master Python on Raspberry Pi: Create, understand, and improve any Python script for your Raspberry Pi. Learn the essentials step-by-step without losing time understanding useless concepts.
You can also find all my recommendations for tools and hardware on this page.
