It’s that time of year again! With less than a month to go until the ‘big day’, gift-buying panic is rapidly spreading. If you are hoping to find something a bit more interesting than a new pair of socks under the tree this year, it’s probably time to start dropping some hints to your muggle loved ones.

In 2015 and 2016, I shared some short but sweet lists with my top gift ideas for the geocacher in your life. This year, I have decided to put together a list* of over 50 ideas to buy for the geocacher in your life, and there is something for every budget.

Stocking Fillers – $25 and under 

Some useful – and occasionally silly – things in here to satisfy smaller budgets.

Power Bank

Even if you don’t use your phone to go geocaching, it’s good to carry some portable power, not only for security reasons but also in case you need to look up what a hint could mean, scan a QR code, use the flashlight…. or even take a selfie!

Hiking Poles

Not just for hiking, but also for poking and prodding around in a place you don’t want to put your hand!

Personalised stamp

A nice alternative to using a pen to sign your geo-nick, stamping it instead! Stamps can come in many shapes and sizes, and the smallest ones can even be suitable for micros. I bought my trackable stamp from Geocoinshop.

Homemade cache

A homemade cache is a great way to get kids involved in preparing a gift for a geocacher. Buy or re-purpose* a Tupperware container (Lock&Locks are my favourite) and camouflage the cache however you see fit: camo tape, leaves, spray paint… Then print some free logbooks (I like these printables from Techblazer), add a pencil and the swag of your choosing, et voilà!

*If you are going to re-purpose a container that was already used to store food, ensure you bleach it thoroughly first as leftover food smells can attract critters in the great outdoors! 

Telescopic magnet

Particularly useful if you drop a nano cache in a pile of autumn leaves, a telescopic magnet is a very handy tool of the trade to have in your geo-bag.

Micro caches

It’s true that some geocachers loathe micros, but there are a lot of micro fans too. If the geocacher in your life is fond of an evil micro, buy them one to hide themselves – or make your own at home!

Geocoin

There are so many geocoin designs out there, you are sure to find something that the geocacher in your life will love.

Travel Bugs

Buy a few and have a trackable race with family or friends!

Grabber

Do your CITO part by equipping yourself with a litter picker – which doubles up as a retrieval device for those hard to reach caches!

Treasure Movie

Chris Williamson’s Treasure is the geocaching movie everybody is talking about this year and you can get yourself a copy on DVD or Blu-Ray from the Treasure website. There are several trackable codes to find and discover while you’re watching too! Check out my review of the movie here.

First to Find Card Game

When you can’t get outside, a geocaching game is a great substitute! First to Find is a fun card game that can be played with up to 6 players. You can get it from Geocache Land.

Flashlight

Whether it’s a head torch, handheld flashlight or UV light, geocachers often need light to go about their geocaching business. The difficult part is choosing which one to buy.

Scratch off Map

Geocachers who love to travel will enjoy scratching off this map as they geocache in new countries.

Travel mug

If you’re a ‘coffee first, then geocaching’ type of person, this cool travel mug will let you take your coffee (or tea!) on the go as you drive to the first cache of the day.

T-Shirt

If you’re going geocaching, chances are you’re going to get muddy/wet/dirty, so most geocachers will have dedicated caching clothes. The T-shirt possibilities are almost endless and if you don’t find a slogan you like, you can always get one custom made!

Geocaching Nail File

Show your love for geocaching while sorting out that nail you just broke when retrieving a cache!

Geocaching Colouring Book

Do you know a kid who can’t get enough geocaching goodness? This colouring and activity book will keep them quiet on a geocaching road trip, or at any time of day really!

Geocaching pants

Do you have special trousers reserved just for geocaching pursuits? Why not? Find your ideal pair with plenty of pockets and put them on your wish list! Then join the Geocaching Vlogger and do the Geocaching Pants dance 😉

Personalised Wooden coins

Signature wooden coins are really popular trade items, and with a starting price of €19 for 50 from Geokes, they are an eminently affordable and thoughtful gift.

Paracord kit

Paracord bracelets are popular with geocachers, thanks to the many uses of the strong cord in a variety of emergency situations. You can purchase some ready made bracelets, or make your own with a paracord kit.

Geocaching Book

There are lots of geocaching books out there: both fiction and non-fiction. How to Puzzle Cache by Cully Long is a particularly useful one for geocachers who want to improve their puzzle-solving skills.

Geocaching Journal

If you love keeping track off your geocaching adventures offline, then a dedicated geocaching journal is a great gift.

Christmas ornament

Buy a personalised bauble or make your own!

Bumper sticker

Because it’s important to let fellow motorists know that you’re a geocacher!

Wooden sign

Because it’s also vital to let callers to your home know that a geocacher lives at your house.

Geocaching flag

Whether it’s a flag to fly outside your house, or on your flagpole at a campsite, there are lots of geocaching flags to choose from. You can even get a personalised one, with your team name emblazoned on it, and make it trackable too.

Purse hook 

This is actually just a handy thing to use to keep your purse off a dirty floor, and it doubles up as a good opportunity to demonstrate how much you love geocaching.

Water bottle

Reusable water bottles just make sense these days, and whether you’re out on the trails or sitting in your office, there is a plethora of water bottles that will declare to the world that you’re a geocacher.

Fine point sharpies

These are my writing implement of choice when I’m geocaching. They are fine enough to squeeze your initials on to nano logsheets and will get your sig on to all types of logs, including Rite in the Rain® paper.

Touchscreen Gloves

Dilemma: it’s cold out so you have to wear gloves, but you also need to use your phone to look for a hint: enter touchscreen gloves! No need to remove these bad boys to use your phone or touch screen GPSr!

Telescopic mirror

Another useful tool of the trade for avoiding putting your hands where your eyes can’t see.

Waterproof Phone Pouch

A must-have if you’re bringing your smartphone with you while kayaking or boating to a cache!

 

Don’t Break the Bank – $26 to $99

A selection of mid-range priced gifts for that special someone.

Telescopic Ladder

Tree climb caches could be made a little simpler with this portable ladder. I have one that comes in its own carry bag so you can happily bring it in to the woods (curious stares from muggles are a given, of course).

Waders

For geocaches hidden in culverts or similar tunnels, a good pair of waders should keep you nice and dry all the way up to your chest.

Tree-climbing equipment

For the tree-climbing enthusiast, there are lots of options to buy them some kit.

Jewellery

Proving that almost anything can be made in to a geocaching gift, you can get any piece of jewellery engraved with a trackable number and it will likely make a geocacher very happy. You can also get accessories emblazoned with the geocaching logo, like the cuff link and tie clip set in the picture.

Swag subscription

I.B. Geocaching offer a really great swag subscription service, where a monthly pack contains not only personalised swag, but micro geocaches and at least one unactivated geocoin. The payment is monthly and you can cancel any time, so even if you gift someone just one month, there is no obligation to continue the subscription.

Rugged phone cover

Make your smartphone as tough as a GPSr by protecting it with an Otterbox phone case. If you have your phone in your hand on the trails, it’s a good idea to give it some extra protection.

Cache Maintenance Kit

Another DIY project of sorts: purchase a craft organiser and fill it with stuff you might need to do maintenance, like replacement logs, caches, plastic bags, tissues, cable ties… the limit is your imagination (and your budget!)

Hoodie

More geocaching apparel, this time in the form of a hoodie. Again, there are so many slogans out there to choose from! If in doubt, make your own and slap a trackable code on it. Done!

Rain gear

Rainproof gear will definitely be put to good use for cachers in wetter climes (such as Ireland!). A good raincoat is essential; waterproof trousers or gators can come in quite handy too.

Geocoin Display Case

For the geocoin addict, a display case will be gratefully received, to get those beloved coins out of that dark drawer and on display for all to admire!

Hiking Boots

A good pair of walking boots are an essential piece of kit when tackling those higher terrain caches.

Cache Me If You Can Board Game

For those times you can’t get outside and go geocaching, just stay home and play a geocaching board game instead!

Shadow Box

Swag aficionados will be delighted with a shadow box to display their most prized items.

Gadget Cache

For the cacher who fancies themselves as an evil cache owner, a puzzle box or some sort of gadget cache will have them smiling from ear to ear when they tear open that gift wrap!

Escape Room Voucher

Escape rooms are so popular at the moment and geocachers seem to be particularly fond of them. Buying an hour in an escape room is a great gift for geocachers and muggles alike.

Geocaching magazine subscription

There are a few geo-magazines out there, including FTF Geocacher and UK Cache Mag.

Signal Plush

Big or small, a Signal the Frog plush is a great gift for little kids and big kids alike. And yes, those are both my Signals in the picture, what’s your point?

Premium Memberships

A practical gift that will undoubtedly be well-received by most geocachers is a Geocaching.com Premium Membership. Even if they have active premium membership, a gift card will extend it by a year and save them the worry of renewing for a while longer. If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, click here to read my blog post about why it’s definitely worth your money!

Pathcash 

If the geocacher in your life is fond of collecting pathtags, a great gift idea is to help them get started designing their very own tag! To do this, you can buy ‘pathcash’ from pathtags.com, which is essentially a gift certificate to spend on the site.

Pathtag Display

And if they already have a large pathtag collection, why not gift them somewhere to display their treasure?

 

Backpack

A new caching bag with plenty of pockets will always be useful.

 

Splash Out – Over $100

If you want to splash the cash, here are some more expensive items you can buy to really spoil the geocacher in your life.

Geocaching Holiday

For me, this is the ultimate gift because it combines two things I love: geocaching and travel! It doesn’t have to be a trip that involves flying somewhere, you can book an AirBnB for a night and head somewhere an hour away. The most important thing is that there is potential for geocaching where you go: that’s what makes it a caching holiday!

GPSr

While many geocachers use their smartphones to cache with these days, there are still a lot of GPSr users out there. There are many benefits to using a dedicated handheld GPSr over a smartphone: longer battery life and a more rugged device to name just two. If you make the decision to invest in a GPSr, you will need to do some research to find one that matches your needs and wants.

Kayak

For the more adventurous cacher who’s itching to grab some water caches, a kayak is just the thing. You’ll probably need to have a large budget for this one.

Go Pro

If you climb trees, kayak or dive to find geocaches, a GoPro is the perfect way to record those unforgettable finds (or DNFs!).

Fitness Tracker

Geocachers love stats so it makes sense that many also love wearing fitness trackers to keep an eye on how many flights of stairs they’ve walked while out geocaching.

Multi pocket clothing 

ScotteVest has an incredible range of jackets, hoodies and vests with more pockets than you can imagine is possible. I love my Chloe Hoodie and find it invaluable when I’m out caching – it often negates the need to even take a backpack with me.

So there you have it, my very long list of many things you could possibly buy for a geocacher. I hope it helps you drop some hints with the muggles in your life.

What’s on your Christmas wish list?

Happy Caching!

Sarah

 

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