Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is fast approaching, time to find that perfect gift for your rock loving friends and family.

Without further adou, these items have caught our eye over the past few months and would make great gift ideas for the people on your list –

#10 – UV Blacklight – Tried and True, We have seen these UV lights popping up at mineral shows and field collecting trips as a great inexpensive way to test UV reaction on specimens you find (for sale or on the ground!) – Do note, this is for a LW light, different than a SW light, most minerals react in one or the other, and sometimes both. LW is still, just as important and inexpensive SW lights are much less compact and much more expensive. This seller on eBay has sold HUNDREDS of these lights with nary a negative feedback to be seen. We can highly recommend one of these lights to all rockhounds, everywhere – a perfect stocking stuffer!

#9 – Gem Hunt – Digging in the sand is fun – different than those plaster based kits, this pseduo-rockhound kit just needs water to unlock the hardened sand block, featuring 12 gem pieces, including blue zircon, garnets, amethyst, herkimer diamond and much more. Perfect gift for all ages over 5 – small parts and possible sharp crystals. Note– The owners of this site also own CutThatAgate – Which is why we can assure you, Everybody LOVES GemHunt! This product was previewed and demonstrated at the Denver Colosseum show in 2015 to rave reviews. Now, featuring a super informative 16 page full color booklet that explains the basics of gemstones and gives in-depth information about the stones included in the kit. $34.99 + $8.00 shipping from CutThatAgate.com

#8 – Lapis Rough – Most Watched Item on eBay Minerals We have purchased rocks for presents before, sometimes a hit, sometimes a miss – however, think about this – This Lapis lot is one of the MOST WATCHED MINERAL auctions on eBay! A half pound of bright blue Lapis is sure to make anyone happy – from the beautiful color, to the history, there is so much to love about Lapis.

#7 – The perfect Rock Hammer – 22 Ounce Estwing Rockhammer Rock Hammers! They get lost, they get borrowed, they rarely ware out. In fact, some rock hammers are prized possessions, bestowed upon with luck, passed on like a religious relic. Nobody has enough of these. “Oh, ANOTHER rock hammer”, is not something that comes out of a rockhound’s mouth. For the novice, we have had people bring claw hammers to field trips, those people were not lucky enough to have a person like you in their life – Give love, Give a Rock hammer. This 22 Ounce Estwing is EXACTLY what they want!

#6 – Cut That Agate – Don’t smash that geode! Then again, those raw geodes are inexpenvise and smashing things does give you a cathartic experience, but, it rarely gives you a nice split geode. We introduced Cut That Agate for this very reason – Choose between five different types of stones – Quartz Geodes, Orange and Blue Agates, Ammonite and Calcite Septarian Nodules, all split in half, polished on both sides and put back together with a strong glue that dissolves quickly in water. You can not pull these apart, but after a couple hours soaking in water, these rocks will split into two perfect specimens, ready to be displayed for years. Cut That Agate is a super gift item, a premium version of these break your own geode sets, great for ALL ages, no tools required, just add water to the jar included. 12 page booklet featuring information about each type of stone available, how agates form and more! Buy one of these for $24.99 at CutThatAgate.com – Buy all 5 versions and get them for a discounted price!

#5 – Name a Mineral or Locality Page in Honor of someone – Mindat.org – Every single person who likes rocks has visited this website. Mindat.org is a treasure trove of information, a message board with tons of people to talk to, articles galore, tons of content that people enjoy everyday. Mindat.org offers a fun option to use as a gift, sponsor a mineral page! That’s right, you can sponsor a page in someone’s name, or your own, so pick a mineral, like Glauberite! – I think Sulphohalite is still available! Pick a mineral page not sponsored and connect with Mindat! It makes a great gift!

#4 – Blue Cap Productions Mineral Shows/Events/Subjects DVDs – Blue Cap Productions makes amazing DVD’s of Mineral Shows and Mineral Topics and now YOU can get 50% off these videos until December 15th on BlueCapProductions.com with coupon code ” GOBBLE15″. These videos capture the experience of minerals in HD super quality – interviews with dealers, collectors, miners, movers and shakers, you just can not go wrong with these videos – Buy one for you or a friend today!

#3 – Saruca® Gem & Mineral Concentrator After using one of these fine pans, oh mama, you are never going to want for another pan! We have found this flat bottomed pan to be our favorite method of alluvial gem hunting. From specks of gold to gem material, the flat bottom of the Saruca pan is going to help while panning like nothing else. You get much better control of the material as opposed to the classic stepped pans.

#2 – Tumbler – We have talked to at least four parents this year who asked about Rock Tumblers for their kids. Rock tumbling is a blast! We are constantly spinning out barrels, 30 pounds at a time – and for the beginner we have a few selections.
#1 – We just love this all in one set from Amazon
#2 – Check out RockTumbler.com for articles and suggestions, kits and tumblers. They really know what is best for you.
#3 – Harbor Freight sells a double barrel unit that, when on sale, is well worth the price. However, this unit does not come with grits, you NEED to buy the warranty because odds are, you will end up replacing something in two years, plus, you will want to upgrade the rubber belts they supply with the unit. Even though it comes with five replacements ones, a unit that is acting up can go through five belts in five weeks. Put a nicer belt on and you’ll rarely think of replacements, maybe every year or two of continuous use.

#1 – Mineralogy By John Sinkankas This book was last published in 1993 yet no text has come close in terms of ease to understand and explanation of basic concepts of Mineralogy. If one were to read this cover to cover, you would know more about Mineralogy than some advanced mineral collectors. This text is designed for all levels of knowledge, We would think most 6th graders could wrap their heads around much of this book – Get a used copy on Amazon for a friend and be someone’s hero – If someone has a basic interest in rocks, they are going to love this book. No color photos, but no stodgy, poorly written text. This is just a solid book.

So, if it is still 2015 by the time you read this, or 2016, 2017, my golly, 2018, we bet these products will serve as great gift ideas for years to come!