We’ve tailored this gift guide for those who love making and wearables! You can make any of these projects to give as a gift, or you can gather all the parts needed and gift them, allowing the receiver to make their own project. We believe that counts as a double win.
If you don’t encounter anything below that catches your eye or sparks your imagination but really like the idea of a wearables project as a gift, take a look at our Wearables section in the Adafruit Learning System!
Magical Mistletoe: Step under the mistletoe and you’ll get more than a kiss–the berries light up!
This holiday season, shed some light on your relationship with glowing mistletoe. The magic comes from a motion sensor, Trinket and LED sequins. When motion under the mistletoe is sensed, the berries light up! (read more)
If you like soldering and crafting, this intermediate project is for you!
LED Sequin Bow Tie: Bring some bling to your formalwear! Don’t be left out when your prom date shows up in her twinkling Sparkle Skirt, add some LEDs to your bow tie! This beginner project is a great way to get into e-textiles. No programming or soldering required, just a bit of stitching. (read more)
You don’t need much background to start this project, just check out the Conductive Thread guide for tips on working with this tricky textile.
Animated Flame Pendant: A little fire for your heart! But there’s no actual flame here, no heat…instead, LEDs and a microcontroller make a virtual flame that dances like the real thing. (In fact it’s playing a tiny video loop of a real candle.)
We planned this animated flame simply as a piece of high-tech jewelry, but other uses are possible…a fire or lantern effect on cosplay props, a safer alternative to having candles on the table or as part of a holiday display, or a unique night light for finding your way to the bathroom at night.
It’s a simple circuit that can be built either as a pendant or as a tabletop piece. Fair warning though: the pendant variant is tricky…it’s a very tight space requiring ace soldering skills and some unconventional methods. As a tabletop piece, perhaps in a glass votive, or maybe you have a cosplay prop in mind, it’s much more forgiving. Read more.
NeoPixel Matrix Snowflake Sweater: Create a tacky sweater controlled by your phone! It’s easy to put together this Bluefruit and NeoPixel matrix circuit to display snowflakes in a sweater, and control the animation and color using the Adafruit Bluefruit LE Connect app for iOS or Android.
This is an easy project to build but probably not best for a “first project” as there are a lot of concepts being mixed together and the matrix can use quite a lot of power. You can build it with any of our Bluefruit products and the microcontroller of your choice, such as FLORA with its BLE module, or the all-in-one Feather 32u4 Bluefruit LE. Read more.
EL Wire Stocking: Stitch up the glowing names of your loved ones this Xmas with this super easy beginner EL wire project. Build a bunch as a family activity! (Read more)
Smart Phone Mittens: Do your fingers get frosty while texting? Have you missed a call because you couldn’t get your gloves off fast enough? Maybe you’ve tried a pair of the touch screen gloves available seemingly everywhere, but you just prefer mittens and like to knit! This pattern guides you through a basic pair of mittens knit on double pointed needles (DPNs).
Conductive yarn is knit with the working yarn as one strand in the upper hand and thumb of the mitten, enabling you to perform basic tasks on your smart phone or tablet like answering calls, pinching and zooming on maps, or switching the track on your latest favorite album. (read more)
We’re excited for the Holiday Season here at Adafruit, and we can’t wait to share that excitement with you! Stay tuned into the blog where you will find new, handpicked gift guides five days a week from November 7 through December 23rd, 2016 alongside holiday themed tutorials and builds!
Free Deals
Adafruit offers exciting deals and free items when you shop with us. As of February 23rd, 2016 3:00 PM ET we are currently offering FREE UPS ground (Continental USA) for orders $200 or more.
Adafruit Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2016
Here are your 2016 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
The Adafruit Shipping Department works hard to get your orders out as quickly as we can, but once they’re in the hands of our carriers they’re out of our control.
Carriers have been struggling to keep up with the sharp rise in online orders. UPS, FedEX, and USPS all experienced delivery delays over the last few years.
So all the Adafruit Shippers say: Please be sure you get your gifts early! Order as soon as you can! Once you place your order we’ll ship like the wind!
Please note: We do not offer Saturday or Sunday service for UPS or USPS.
Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016, Christmas, no UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service.
Monday, Dec. 26, 2016, no UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service.
Monday, Jan. 2, 2017, no UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service.
Sunday, Jan. 1, 2016, New Year’s Day, no UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service
Gift Certificates are always available at any time.
When in doubt contact us!
Domestic Orders
UPS ground: Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 9, 2016 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive by December 23.
UPS 3-day: Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 15, 2016 – Arrive by 12/23/2016.
UPS 2-day: Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 16, 2016 – Arrive by 12/23/2016.
UPS overnight: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 19, 2016 – Arrive by 12/23/2016.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority: Place orders by Friday– December 9, 2016 – Arrive by 12/23/2016 or sooner.
International Orders
USPS First class mail international: Place orders by Friday – November 18, 2016. Can take up to 30 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/23/2016 or sooner, but not a trackable service and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/23/2016.
USPS Express mail international: Place orders by Friday – December 2, 2016. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/23/2016 or sooner.
UPS WORLDWIDE EXPRESS, UPS WORLDWIDE EXPEDITED and UPS EXPRESS SAVER (UPS International orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 9, 2016 – There is no guarantee that international packages will arrive by December 23 2016.
