STAG SWAG: The Forum's Holiday Gadget Guide

So here’s the situation: you’ve been skipping class occasionally regularly to play Skyrim over the last month and your trusty Xbox 360 is feeling a little worn out. Plus, you feel like when people trample through your suite in north quad to go to the bathroom during TNC, they don’t appreciate the effort that has gone into your gaming setup.With the holidays just a few short weeks away, it’s the perfect opportunity for Mom and Dad to hook you up with something that simultaneously satisfies your Modern Warfare 3 sessions and snags the attention of even the most intoxicated passerby. So what do you ask for? It’s obvious. A 24-karat gold plated Xbox 360.Here is my countdown of the top 6 other gizmos and gadgets to max out your Stag swag this holiday season:

6. Let’s face it--the Claremont party scene is pretty brutal for your smartphone. Impromptu pondings, intense games of slapcup, and unexpected sprinkler blasts are all constant risks for your phone to get wet beyond repair. And that’s not even counting special, extra-wet occasions like Foam Party foam, Casemas snow, Pirate Party slip and slides, or Slippery When Wet pools. Now a simpleton might recommend you to slip your phone into a Ziploc bag and just try to be careful. But why settle for Ziploc when, for only $40, you can get a specially-designed waterproof vacuum sealed bag for your iPhone? For only $60 more, you can get one for your iPad too! Check it out here: www.drycase.com

5. Charging your smartphone or camera is a fairly mundane task. Even though Apple’s cords are all white and aluminum, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still just a cord. How do you overcome this conundrum? Simple. Just pop the White Mini Man USB Hub into your computer and charge up to four different gadgets at once while impressing everyone with your quirkiness and creativity. At less than $3, this is truly a steal. Buy a dozen and give them to all your friends as stocking-stuffers.

4. Spring afternoons in Claremont are synonymous with CMCers posting up on Green Beach or at Scripps pool, pretending to get homework done while working on their tans and sipping on cold beverages. The problem is that laptops are hot, uncomfortable, and have speakers that are insufficient for a rage-worthy day party/study session. Thankfully, Philips has solved all these problems simultaneously with the CushionSpeaker laptop stand. This nifty contraption combines pillow, laptop stand, and speakers into one handy device, perfect for a Scripps pool beach chair. Based on the pictures on the website, it is meant only to be used while wearing skintight clothing.

3. For many CMCers, your laptop is your most valuable possession. You use it every day and take it all over campus. With this constant travel, plus the occasional drunken accident in a crowded dorm room, it's always a good idea to give your trusty laptop the protection it really deserves. Feel like your laptop has been getting thrown off a North Quad balcony regularly and want to make sure it survives? According to the video below, just throw it in G-Form’s Extreme laptop sleeve and you can rest easy. As the video mentions, they also have a sleeve for your iPad that will survive having a bowling ball dropped on it--so drop some dough on a sleeve and bring your iPad to intramural bowling this winter.

2. Last but not least, everyone is well aware of the Athenaeum’s strict no-unauthorized-photography-or-videotaping policy. It’s pretty obvious that if it weren’t for Ath Fellows Jake Petzold and Clare Riva’s stern warning preceding each speaker, every student in the audience would have a camera trained on the speaker. So how do you slip a camera under Dave Edwards’ watchful eye the next time a former Secretary of State visits campus? Simple: a spy-quality HD camcorder built into your tie. “This package is extremely clever because it is so subtle that no-one would ever notice it” (direct quote). For an “extremely affordable” £510.00, it even comes with a monitor that will “fit inside a cigarette pack.” Get it here.

1. In all seriousness, we should consider ourselves extremely blessed. We go to the best school in the country, attend classes taught by all-star professors, and party into the wee hours of California nights. We also get to sit down to meals in the dining halls and eat to our hearts’ content up to 16 times a week. Meanwhile, about a billion people go hungry every day around the world. So this holiday season instead of worrying about the 99% or the 1%, indulge your love of technology, your inner capitalist, and your philanthropic side simultaneously and hop on to Kiva.org and make a loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country. That's some real holiday gift-giving.