7 Gifts For People Who Think Outside the Box

By Nicole Nguyen
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Ayah Bdeir may be the smartest person I've ever met. She's the founder of littleBits, a DIY electronics set made up of little preengineered "bits," or modules that snap together. Two snaps and — bam! — you've begun work on your next prototype. It's an unbelievably simple system with truly infinite possibilities. Some bits connect to the Internet, some bits make sounds, and others perform a variety of light dances.

The whole concept was developed by Ayah, who's half engineer, half artist. She thinks outside the box, and this holiday season, she picked smart, clever gifts that will please anyone with a do-it-yourself attitude. See Ayah's wish list in the gallery. Source: littleBits

"The Paper app and Pencil by fiftythree ($50) is an elegant fusion of digital and physical, taking the best of our heritage and merging it with the best of digital technology. It's my favorite kind of design, so well done that it appears almost obvious."

"I love the design of this unique wearable, called Ringly ($195), that sends you alerts to update of you of important emails, calls or texts. And the first prototype of Ringly was built with littleBits!"

"I use the Beats Music app subscription ($9/month) for all my music. They have an incredible recommendation algorithm that helps me discover new music."

"The Smart Home Kit ($249) is the best way to upgrade any household device to the 21st century. I use projects from the kit at home and all over littleBits HQ to re-create the newest smart home devices and to create unique inventions, like cloud-connected Christmas lights to show off to friends or functional inventions like laundry done alerts!"

Facebook | Moma

"As a New Yorker and an interactive artist, supporting artists working across disciplines and pushing social/political/design issues is extremely important. Every year I purchase a subscription to MoMA ($85/year) that directly supports exhibitions and programs at the museum. Plus, littleBits is in the permanent collection, so it's nice to go visit!"

"Bare Conductive is an awesome company that produces conductive electric paint ($22) that can be used as a liquid wire to draw or print graphical circuits, making it a great way to invent with electronics. It's one of those technologies that helps take electronics from being tabletop functional to being a tool for artistry and artisanry."

"I love this company and this product. The Sphero 2.0 ($100) is an entry point to start programming and have fun with technology while crossing the boundaries of age in an inspiring way."