If you’ve got a mathematical friend you need to buy a Christmas gift for but have left it too late, here’s some suggestions for what you could get them, drawn from things our friends are doing (that don’t need you to wait for something to arrive in the post).

The UK’s hands-on maths discovery centre in Leeds, MathsCity, has a range of interactive puzzles, toys and mathematical curiosities – and they sell gift vouchers! Treat your mathematical mate to a solid afternoon of fun maths, redeemable on a date of their choice. They too could join Peter in taking an infinite selfie inside the giant kaleidoscope!

Speaking of gift cards, the classic nerdy maths things website Maths Gear sells Maths Gear gift cards (which never expire), so you can buy your function-loving friend a voucher to spend at their leisure (including on the exciting new Sub Cube, which was inspired by a post by our own Christian L-P).

If your mathematical friend is also an arty acquaintance (or aspires to be one!), they might like this mathematical drawing zine made by friend of the site Hana Ayoob. Buy the PDF, and send that or print off a copy to fold up. It contains several fun activities, suitable for kids or big kids alike, and promises to be the first in a series!

It’s now also an option to gift a Patreon membership – so if your pro-polynomial pal would enjoy being part of (for example) the Finite Group‘s online maths chat community (run by a team including myself and Peter), you can pay for anything from 1 to 12 months of membership as a Patreon Gift membership, giving them access to monthly livestreams (and recordings of recent past ones). There’s also Matt Parker’s Stand-up Maths Patreon, 3Blue1Brown’s Patreon, or the Numberphile Patreon, which variously allow early access to new videos and behind-the-scenes stuff.