I’ve been running my annual Christmas Gift Ideas for the Editor column for 13 years now: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. This long-running series was the first of its kind on the internet in our little post-production niche. Unlike many of the similar filmmaking and post-production Christmas gift lists, I’ve tried not to put the obvious,  same things in here year after year. I mean … who wouldn’t want a new MacBook Pro gifted to them every year?!

To be honest, there’s not a lot that is all that new and different I’ve seen pass through my browser in the past year. So for the 2023 edition of Christmas Gift Ideas for the Editor I thought I would make this one, sort of a greatest hits! Most of these items are things that have popped up in the previous decade of making this list that personally used, personally own, and are still using. Plus a few items that I have heard are reader favorites as well.

Brother P-touch label maker or other dedicated label maker

One of the most useful things you can have in an edit suite with an endless supply of SSDs and archive drives coming in and out is a good label maker. The Brother P-touch is the weapon of choice for easy and affordable labels. I prefer to label both the SSD, the box and the cable inside. Often, these drives belong to the production so I want to give them everything back, including the cable, so quick labeling makes that possible.

If you want, I suppose you could make things more complex by getting a label maker that has to print through a computer, but that’s a lot more complex than quick label-making needs to be.

Of course, you really could go cheap and old school and get an embossing label maker like your grandmother probably had and feel the nostalgia.

Boogie Board or other non-paper note-taking tablet

I love to have an “electronic paper e-writer” as a quick way to make notes without opening and typing into some app or wasting paper. And my choice since 2017 has been the Boogie Board. Yes, I could use an iPad with an Apple Pencil, but that takes too long and does feel quite the same as writing on this mono-color screen. I’ve had the same Boogie Board since 2017 and it’s still going strong. I’ve used the Boogie Board as a dirty Santa gift countless times over the years since I discovered it and it’s always one of the most sought-after in the gag. I highly recommend the Boogie Board as it’s easy and cheap but if you want to spend a lot more then this list of E-ink tablets will help you spend a lot more.

Vari stand-up desk or other standing desk

I’ve had a stand-up desk at my home edit suite for well over 20 years, long before they were fashionable. When I moved my office edit suite into a place with a very nice built-in desk I added a VariDesk Desktop Convertor to give me a stand-up option. Well, this isn’t as good as a dedicated standup desk, it’s a really great option when you have no other option.

A few years after that I added a Vari monitor arm to the desktop converter and it’s still going strong as well.

TourBox Elite or other editing control surface

I love control services for editing, and I have written about many of them over the years. One of my favorites that I keep going back to is the TourBox. It’s relatively simple with a bunch of dials and buttons, but it’s fun to use, and with the design, you can really use it without having to look down at it. You can just feel your way around. I’ve pretty much mapped the same controls in each NLE, so TourBox works the same no matter which editing application I’m working in, and that’s a big advantage to having a limited number of controls. Once you have them memorized, then it’s easy to work with.

One of the latest interactions is the wireless TourBox Elite. Without having to physically connect to your machine with a USB cable, it’s easy to take the TourBox Elite from one system to another. This latest version offers a bit of haptic feedback, so you can really feel the dials as you’ve used them.

If you really want to go all in, though, the Loupedeck CT is still my choice even after all these years and my in-depth, multi-part review. The Loupedeck is very powerful and very customizable, be it with the Loupedeck software or CommandPost. It’s much more usable overall than the Stream Deck + IMHO.

FluidStance Slope or other desk whiteboard

My mother-in-law gave me a FluidStance Slope and I love it. It keeps my Loupedeck at a perfect angle and gives me an easy spot to jot down timecodes, emails addresses or other quick notes when I’m not at my office where the Boogie Board lives. I have the Slope at home and when working from home, I get an extra 45 minutes or so due to no commute. So the first thing I do on those mornings is jot down a to-do list for the day on the Slope and check them off as I get them done. There’s a real sense of accomplishment if I get most of those items checked off at the end of the day. DeskBoard Buddy is another but I like that the Fluidstance Slope is open under the bottom.

Mighty Mug or other good insulated mug

I ordered a couple of Might Mugs for Christmas presents after this was suggested in 2020. It’s still going strong and keeps my coffee and tea warm long after I put the liquid in. They sell these things as untippable, and it kinda is, but you have to get used to the funky suction cup base. I prefer an insulated mug to a hot plate for a ceramic mug, but that’s just me. Yes, Yeti makes a lot of insulated tumblers and I have one of those too but I think the Mighty Mug keeps things warmer longer.

Topo anit-fatigue mat (or some kind of mat for the standing desk)

If you’re using a standing desk, then you need an anti-fatigue mat. The Topo is funky, with lots of little things in its unique design to make standing much less… fatiguing. You can find anti-fatigue mats much cheaper, sure, but I’ve had mine since 2017, and it’s still going strong. Bonus points for how nice it feels when you have your shoes off!