This holiday season give the gift of open source to your friends and family. Open source software and hardware make their code, design files, and more available for anyone to see–this means you can learn from, tinker with, and even extend open source projects yourself! Below are suggestions for great open source gifts to give this year:
WaterColorBot Kit
The WaterColorBot is a collaboration between Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories and Super Awesome Sylvia to build a robot that can paint amazing watercolor artwork. Best of all this kit is totally open source so you can hack and tinker with its as you desire. Unleash your inner Picasso with a little bit of robotic assistance from the WaterColorBot!
Ultimaker 2+ or BCN3D Sigma 3D Printer
The Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer is the latest in a line of fantastic printers from Ultimaker. These 3D printers are open source and Ultimaker is also a developer of the fantastic open source Cura 3D printer slicing software.
Another great open source 3D printer is the BCN3D Sigma printer which features dual extruders for more complex prints. All of the design and other source files are open source so you can tinker and build from the printer’s design too!
OctoPrint and Astroprint 3D Printer Kits
OctoPrint and AstroPrint are fantastic open source software projects which manage your 3D printer. These software packages run on a Raspberry Pi or other small computer and greatly simplify the process of 3D printing. You can wirelessly send prints right from your desktop to your printer, monitor them with webcams remotely, and much more. If you have a 3D printer be sure to check out these software packages!
BeagleBone Black
The BeagleBone Black is perhaps the most open source friendly small-board Linux computer on the market. All of the design files, processor specifications, etc. are open and available for anyone to see. The BeagleBone.org foundation has even been hard at work making some board design files available in simpler Eagle-compatible formats which don’t require expensive commercial software to view. If you want to support a great open source small-board computer grab a BeagleBone Black today!
The Essential Guide to Electronics in Shenzhen
The Essential Guide to Electronics in Shenzhen is a fantastic book from open source hacker extraordinaire Andrew ‘bunnie’ Huang. If you’re serious about turning electronics into an open source business you’ll almost certainly have to deal with electronics markets and more in places like Shenzhen, China. This book gives you a great practical guide to how foreigners can interact and deal with these electronics markets. Launch your next great open source hardware project with help from The Essential Guide to Electronics in Shenzhen!
Open Source Hardware Stickers and Patches
Show your pride for open source hardware by filling stockings with these great open source hardware stickers and patches. Check out the other stickers and patches for more great gift ideas too!
Donate to Open Source Projects
Around the holidays it’s great to give back to the open source community by donating money to open source projects you use. Some organizations and projects to consider donating to are:
- Open Source Hardware Association
- Open Source Initiative
- Free Software Foundation
- OctoPrint
- Fritzing
- KiCad
- Python Software Foundation
Look at what open source software you use every week and consider donating to support its development!
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 November 21st, 2016 1:00 PM ET we are currently offering:
ONE FREE LIMITED EDITION ENAMEL PIN for orders $99 or more. Some restrictions apply. There are currently three unique pins available as free items. While we cannot control which pin you’ll receive with your order, if you order using your Adafruit account we’ll send you a pin you haven’t gotten yet. Once you collect them all, we might have to send you repeats. Each pin is limited edition – so once we’ve given them all away, we won’t have any more. Act fast to collect them all!
ONE FREE ADAFRUIT FEATHER 32U4 BASIC PRO for orders $150 or more. Some restrictions apply and while supplies last!
FREE UPS ground (Continental USA) for orders $200 or more. Some restrictions apply.
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.
