Personalize Your iPod Gift for that Special Someone

"Tis the season for gift guides to be sure. (Yes, we have one here if you're looking for an O'Reilly book.) But I'm guessing many people are going to follow Scott Bourne's advice from the end of the great gift-giver's guide edition of the iLifeZone podcast (episode 16) and just go for the iPod. Why not? Scott's right, this gift is guaranteed not to disappoint (and how freaking cool is the new Shuffle?)

But if everyone's doing it, how do you make your iPod special? Well, of course you can get it engraved if you order from Apple online. (And seriously, with all these new iPods swimming around in the wrapping paper flotsam on Christmas morning, I don't know how else my family is going to be able to tell our new iPods apart.) But I have another idea: Load it up.

You know they're going to love it, you've gone to the trouble of putting their name on it, so why not get it ready to roll? Go ahead, break the seal, charge it up, put some songs on it, put some pictures on it. (Admission: I haven't gotten to this part of my holiday preparation, so I'm not sure if the shuffle I just bought has any charge out of the box.) Get it ready to use even if your recipient is spending their holiday visiting the in-laws in the middle of nowhere and is miles from their own digital music library.

Sure, they'll have to overwrite it later when they get back to their own computer, but you can provide a CD for backup (if you're legally entitled to do so, of course) so they don't lose anything. Or give them an iTunes gift card so they can purchase their own copies of stuff they like from your personally chosen collection. (Loving that Apple finally has printable or emailable options there for us last-minute types).

And speaking of iTunes cards, the store now makes it fairly easy to give specific content, but I have a more flexible idea that allows you to be personal without being tyrannical. Create an iMix. Let your giftee know how to find it, then they've got a convenient list for buying the tunes they like. You get to do the personal thing of choosing music (and the order, the order is always important!) for them, but you're not forcing them to your will forever (not everyone is going to appreciate your love of REO Speedwagon's "Roll with the Changes." I know this from experience.) This obviously works even if you skip the iPod part of the plan and go straight for the iTunes gift card/certificate/email. Personal and last-minute, it's like they know me.