Holiday Gift Guide: $0-50

For him

Hori Wii Classic Controller - If the guy you're buying for has a stack of GameCube titles that just don't get the exercise they should thanks to the Wii's overbearing presence, this might help things. Hori's gamepad sports a near-Cube shape, which will mean it's mighty familiar, but also tacks on a whole host of autofire dip switches, for when things get really sticky in RE4. How can you say no to this baby blue? Answer: you can't (well, if you can it also comes in black and white).
$29.90 - Buy from Play-Asia

Belkin Mini Travel Surge Protector - This little surge protector / USB charger looks a bit boring and obvious at first glance, but it'll be the first thing he tosses in his gear bag for that next trip. There's room enough on here to charge up a camera, camcorder, laptop, phone and iPod all at once, or perhaps a pair of heated USB slippers, a USB fan and a few strings of Christmas lights. We won't judge.
$20 - Shop for Belkin Mini Travel Surge Protector

USB webmail notifier - We're guessing that the "for him" in question here is a serious email junkie (we're using ourselves as a model, of course). If that's the case, you might want to turn your attention to the USB mail notifier. It's pretty basic -- the box lights up when you've got a new piece of mail while a robotic voice says "you've got mail" -- but the gesture is huge. It's like you're saying, 'Hey, I know your email is more important than me or the children.' And that means a lot.
$17 - Buy from USB Geek

For her

Tamagotchi Connection V5 - Alright, so maybe you're not ready to commit, but that doesn't mean you can't raise some bouncing virtual baby pets together. The V5 ups the ante from a single 'Gotchi to a whole herd, letting your special lady experience the unrelenting challenge of managing "different personalities, tastes, and hobbies." Just the thing to warm her up to your secret second family in Omaha.
$14.99 - Shop for Tamagotchi Connection V5

Moshi Interactive Voice Response alarm clock - If you're sick of being the target of your lady love's wake-up wrath every morning, refocus her anger on Moshi's voice-controlled alarm clock. No buttons, just a calm electronic voice that responds to "Hello Moshi" and can reliably inform her of the time, temperature and whether or not she looks good in those jeans (yes, she does).
$49.95 - Buy from Moshi

Perpetual Kid iPod building block speakers - A tiny iPod speaker dock that looks like a Lego brick? Yeah, she'll flip. Plus you can always borrow it to finish off your amazing Lego dance party diorama.
$22.99 - Buy from Perpetual Kid

For son

LapWorks Gamers Desk - Right, so Junior's clearly not shaping up to be the athlete you always imagined him as. Got a problem with that? Rather than trying to mold him into someone he's clearly not, why not urge him to be the best at what he is: a couch potato. LapWorks' Gamers Desk brings the mouse / keyboard to the sofa, eliminating the need for a separate bedroom entirely. He'll love you for it. Probably too much.
$39.95 - Buy from LapWorks

Skullcandy Metallica Lowrider headphones - So your boy didn't get in the college that you attended, huh? If you're still looking for a way to live vicariously through him, why not set him up with a set of these? You loved Metallica. He'll love Metallica. The only difference is the level of genuineness (and the length of hair).
$49.95 - Buy from Skullcandy

Penguin United Quad Wiimote charging station - Regardless of whether he's shipping off to the university or just to 8th grade, your all-too-popular son is going to throw a few parties. Rather than contributing to his keg fund, your dollars are probably better spent on this quad charger, which will keep four Wiimotes fully juiced whenever the urge hits to slap in a round or three of Smash Brothers. You'll thank us one day.
$44.99 - Buy from Penguin United

For daughter

WowWee Flytech Tinker Bell - Thanks to the wizards at WowWee, Tinker Bell is no longer confined to the TV (or movie) screen. By far the cutest of radio control toys, your daughter is sure to get a kick out of hovering this thing over the dinner table and dive bombing her older brother this holiday season. She can buzz around for 4-minutes on an 18-minute charge, and 'Bell is suitable for kids aged 6 years and up.
$39.99 - Buy from WowWee

Super Kid 4-Port USB Hub - Never before in history has being a kid involved so many peripherals: from PMPs to printers, and from webcams to flash drives, things can get rather complicated for the well-appointed tweenager. That's why we heartily recommend the Super Kid 4-Port USB hub. It's functional, because it's a USB hub, and it's fun, because it's shaped like people! Oh, and it's cheap. Real cheap.
$12.00 - Buy from gadget4all.com

Estée Lauder TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara - Makeup technology is advancing in leaps and bounds every day -- that's why we were so excited when we saw the new vibrating, battery operated mascara applicators from Estée Lauder. If anything, we're shocked that it's taken western science this long to devise an applicator that vibrates at 125 micropulses per second. If your bundle of joy is becoming a woman who's serious about her makeup, you know what you have to do...
$32.00 - Buy from Estée Lauder

For mom

Five month Netflix subscription - If a Netflix subscription wasn't already a great gift, the recent addition of free, unlimited online streaming -- now on the Mac and PC, with support for plenty of other devices -- should clench it. Your mom will have access to thousands of her old favorites (whether those be Paul Newman or 80's sci-fi, we won't judge) and she can always queue up a Blu-ray or DVD of new releases.
$45 - Buy from Netflix

Apple iPod shuffle 1GB - Colorful, easy to use and completely lovable. A 1GB iPod shuffle is the perfect "workout" music player, with enough room to let her run through a few of her favorite albums sans the complication and heft of a full size music player -- plus you might not even need to stick around the house an extra week teaching her how to use it.
$49 - Buy from Apple

iPosture - Face it, nobody ever was so aware of the importance of good posture as your mother, and now you can return the favor with the iPosture. After a quick calibration, the little gizmo detects if the wearer is slouching, and vibrates as a reminder to straighten up, teaching the user to live in fear of slouching. Just hope she doesn't decide to re-gift it right back.
$49.95 - Buy from iPosture

For dad

16GB SDHC card - Your dad is probably the guy who's always busting out the camera to capture those moments most of us are too lazy to think about. Thanks to him, you've got family photos and irreplaceable memories. Help the man out come gift giving season by throwing a hefty memory card his way. Current 16GB SDHC cards can be had plenty cheap, and with that kind of storage, he can probably snap straight through to next year's holiday bash.
From $23 - Shop for SDHC cards

Brando cooling pad / dock - We don't know about you, but our dad loves his laptop. He's always busting it out while we're hanging for a little casual web browsing. If you're a good son / daughter, you'll want to protect the man's lap from possible burns (or worse) with this Brando cooling pad. Bonus? It doubles as a hard drive dock and USB hub, thus letting the man do more of what he likes best -- compute -- with greater ease.
$33 - Buy from Brando

Microsoft Zune Pass - Your dad loves music, okay? You may not want to hear it, but the dude is definitely jamming out to The Dead, The Doors, or (depending on his age), some good old Frank Sinatra. Hey, for all you know, he's really into Pantera. Regardless, give him a gift that will help indulge his tastes -- just don't be surprised if your mother starts asking for a set of earplugs.
$14.99 a month - Buy from Zune

For colleague

Haute Diggity Dog iBone - If your co-worker has an iPhone and a dog, they'd probably be thrilled at this oh-so-modern chew toy. If they don't have an iPhone or a dog, they'll probably take this the wrong way. Your move.
$11.95 - Buy from Haute Diggity Dog

Lite Blue TOOL - Oh yes, you're undeniably jealous that she's rocking a PSP-3000 in the break room while you limp along on your first-gen model with that little nick in the screen, but deep down you feel sorry for her: she's never known the joy of homebrew. This Lite Blue TOOL could solve all that, making hacking a later-gen PSP a breeze. A few shared ISOs later and... is this love that you're feeling?
$30 - Buy from Code Junkies

Solo CheckFast Netbook Mini messenger bag - Your jet-setting colleague slimmed down to a netbook and a phone months ago, but since he's still stashing them in that ghastly messenger bag of his, he's not really reaping the true rewards of traveling light. The Solo CheckFast Netbook Mini bag is designed to TSA's specifications in order to breeze that netbook through security without ever taking it out, and is specially fitted to 11-inch and under mini laptops.
$25 to $35 - Shop for Solo CheckFast Netbook bag

For enemy

Punk Skull Belt Buckle - Your disdain for the person you're shopping for surely won't match the disdain he or she is bound to meet with once sporting this skeletal beast, it's that simple. Part fashion faux pas, part multimedia overload, this LED / MP3 player is sure to let your special, special friend know just how you "feel" about them.

$50.75 - Buy from Inesun.com

Awethumb - This one's basically like a kick in the teeth, without the mess or icky violence. The Awethumb will make the same point -- "I don't like you and you're awful" -- without breaking the bank, either. Designed for heavy texters to give some relief to their thumbs and ostensibly make typing "easier" on a QWERTY keyboard, we're pretty sure it (they?) fails in both respects. But you know, we give it a "thumbs up" on making people look like asses.
$11.98 - Buy from Awethumb

Scosche reviveLIGHT - An iPod charger / nightlight doesn't sound like a completely terrible gift, until you get a look at Scosche's take on the concept. It's ugly, it's clunky, and to be honest, a little steep for what you get! So, yeah, perfect for someone you don't like at all. Just be sure to not give them a receipt -- we wouldn't want any returns lightening the load around your enemy's abode.
$39.99 - Buy from Scosche