My friend circle has a lot of programmers and non-programmers and when it comes to buying gifts for birthdays, anniversary or holidays, I receive a lot of queries from my non-programmer family and friends about what to buy for a programmer? Well, buying a gift is easy but choosing or finding a right gift for someone is really really tough. I have had this experience when it comes to buying gifts for kids. I know they like toys but my wife told me to buy something more valuable, which not only keep them engaged but also provide value, help them in learning and they appreciate every time they use. That's a lot to cater in one gift, but that's the perfect gift, isn't it? Same goes for programmers, you buy them something which they don't care will not make a difference, they will gleefully accept it and it will remain in a corner of the house, but, if you give something which they can use daily or carve for, they will not only remember you every day but also appreciate your sense of gift. You will be on their good books for a long time. This is particularly important if you try to impress your colleague or boss, who happens to be technical guy or programmer. Like any gift, the budget is very important, some gifts are good but if they are very expensive and you can't afford them then it not useful. But, if you want to give someone who is dear to you e.g. your husband, boyfriend, brother, or just a close friend, you definitely want to buy more valuable gifts. That's why I have included both valuable and somewhat expensive as well as many affordable gifts, which you can buy under 100$.

Top 10 Gifts for Programmers and IT Pros

Here are some of the best gifts you can give to your programmer friends. The gifts are listed in random order and some of them are costly, you can choose based on your budget.  Programmers Love Gadgets and nothing beats Apple when it comes to gadgets. If you are programmer friends doesn't have MacBook Pro then its a very good idea to gift that to him.

Sure, it's costly, but if he is someone you love or very close to, then its definitely worth it and whoever you gift it, will not forget you for a long time. Programmer appreciates memberships. You can buy the Plurasight annual membership, which cost around 299$. It's the little bit expensive but it offers him a lot of choices on learning and your programmer friend will appreciate everytime he uses it.

If you are concerned about cost side then monthly membership is also a good option, which cost around 29$. The annual membership of Pluralsightis little bit costly, but it's worth every penny. Another thing Programers Loves is music, they just never get tired of listening music. Many programmers, in fact, need music to work and increase their productivity.

Amazon Music is the biggest collection of music and your programmer friend will surely find something he loves in this big store of music. He will appreciate your thoughts and effort, every time he listens to music on his bose headset as well. Raspberry Pi has been around for a while, but it seems like it just keeps getting awesome. Programmers are curious people and them to play with electronics. Rasberry Pi is an entire mini-computer for a ridiculously cheap price and you can get an awesome bundle, like this one, which adds all kinds of cool stuff to play with. It's also great for tinkering around with a teaching programming to kids or making your own network of servers. Once, I ran Linux on my Rasberry Pi and used putty to connect it, how awesome is that? In short, one of the best gadget to gift your programmer friend. Books Similar to gadgets and music Programmers also like books a lot, but with the book, there is a confusion. Which book you should buy for them? A novel, a programming book or something else. Well, even though many programmers like fantasy books and novels they are not so valuable for them but if you buy them something like Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual, books which every programmer can read, they will appreciate it more. If you need more books to gift programmes there are a lot of choices available, you should check out my list of 10 books every programmer should read here. Fitness club membership This is another awesome gift you can give to someone you love. Since many programmers lack physical activity, you not only encouraging to do the more physical activity but also improving their lifestyle. They may not appreciate in short time but they will surely do in the long run :-) Every programmer needs a good keyboard and your friend will not be different. Though some programmer like silent keyboard and some programmers like a Gaming keyboard, I like gaming one more because I also play games on my PC. Logitech is one of the best companies for peripheral devices, so to me, this keyboard is a great buy. In addition to being a fantastic mechanical keyboard, it also has a bunch of really cool gaming features, so I’m a big fan of it. Games Like gadgets, music, and books, Programmers loves Games too, well I certainly do. I have grown up playing Nintendo games like Super Mario Bros, Mortal Combat and I still play games on my XBox. So, either you can buy your friends a gaming console like XBox or Nintendo PI or if he already has one, you can buy them games like Minecraft. That's something they will enjoy for sure. Intel Boxed Compute Stick with Windows 10 Pre-Loaded This is a really awesome gift for tech geeks?An entire computer, complete with Windows 10, on a stick. You just plug this thing into a TV or monitor and you have a computer. And the best part of it is that it will just you over $100. Simply Awesome. That's all on this list of 10 awesome gift ideas for programmers. I am sure, your programmer friend or colleague will love any gift from this list. You can buy them for their birthday or gift them during coming holidays. I know its hard to choose a gift but whatever time and effort you put to select a gift will be remembered forever by your friend if you keep their interest and needs in mind. Btw, if you are still not sure what to buy, you can also check out this Biggest Electronic Gift Guide from Amazon.