If you aren’t familiar with the needs of streamers, getting them birthday gifts can be quite challenging. After all, what does a streamer like?
I mean, sure, getting more viewers would be a heck of a gift that any streamer would love, but that can be difficult if you don’t have a network of associates or friends to help you with this sort of thing. So, what sort of birthday gifts are best for streamers in case you can’t give them a bunch of viewers?
The answer:
Equipment that improves their stream quality and trinkets that show you support their efforts. To help you out, I’ve put the best birthday gifts for streamers in an easy-to-understand list. Wish them a happy birthday from me too!
Table of Contents
The Best Overall Birthday Gifts For Streamers
Editor’s Choice – A Microphone
A good quality microphone will be in use by a streamer daily. It is a great investment for them.
2nd Best Choice – A Stream Deck
A Stream Deck can vastly improve how a streamer can control their content. They’ll likely love it.
3rd Best Choice – Headphones
Headphones are another staple that is in use every single stream. They’ll appreciate this gift.
Why these Gifts?
Each one of these devices was carefully selected with one thing in mind – How useful they are to a streamer. Each one of these devices will likely be in use in every single stream going forward. That classifies them as “Streamer Gear.”
They won’t guarantee any success in their growth endeavors, but they will either improve their audience’s experience or the streamer’s experience in some ways. But don’t stop here; there are many other useful things for streamers on this list to help you make a birthday gift decision.
Great Sounding Headphones
Headphones are an excellent option for streamers, as they solve two big problems for streamers:
- They prevent unwanted audio spillover from speakers into the microphone
- They keep the audio levels of the content streamers create isolated from those around them in the house.
These two facts are why Headphones made the #1 spot for the best birthday gifts for streamers.
If you’re curious about the headphones that I use, they require the help of a headphone amplifier or audio interface. However, they do sell versions of them that don’t need that, which are the ones that I will be recommending here.
The best part about these headphones, in my opinion, is the fantastic sound quality you get out of them. I had been using Premium Gaming Headsets that promise so much in marketing for years. But until you’ve heard the sound out of something like this, you really don’t know what your missing.
I guess there is a reason these headphones are often recommended to people as Entry-Level Audiophile Headphones. They sound great!
“I’m Streaming” Door Sign
Low-Cost Item
Have you ever seen the signs on doors that say “Recording” or “Do not Disturb”? Well, it turns out that there is one for streaming too! Using this plastic door knob sign, you can politely inform members of your household that you are live without uttering a single word.
Not only that, but if a family member or significant other were to see the sign on the closed door, they’d be less likely to wander into the room in a state of undress. I have seen several examples of this in articles. Save them (or yourself) from the embarrassment of exposing themselves to a live audience with the help of this simple low cost addition to your birthday gifts.
A Stream Deck
The Stream deck is one of the staples of a streamer’s setup, and for a good reason. It is a productivity monster, especially if you know a thing or two about setting up macros. There are a ton of streamer-specific features of broadcasting software solutions that this device will tie into, like:
- Scene Swapping
- Starting and stopping a broadcast/recording
- Replay Buffer playback
- Scene Collection swap
- Source Visibility
- Audio Mixer
- Screenshot
- And much more
Additionally, aside from the desk-mounted button pad, the stream deck does come in a few different flavors:
- A Tiny 6-button Version if you don’t need a lot of buttons or get intimidated by lots of inputs
- A 15-button version that has a replaceable faceplate that you can 3d print your own for
- A foot pedal version with 3 buttons, useful for people with low desk space
- A 32-button behemoth for the productivity wizards out there
- And Finally, the Stream Deck +, a new take on the stream deck with 8 buttons, 4 touch screen zones that support swiping to swap “profiles,” and 4 fully programmable knobs
A lot of these devices have huge accessibility benefits for people as well, who suffer from various debilitating conditions like partial paralysis, as I do.
A Stream Deck Mount
Low-Cost Item
If you get them a Stream Deck, you may also want to consider getting a Stream Deck mount. These handy devices allow you to mount the stream deck in various configurations. Many 3d printed designs exist for sale on etsy, some of which support the mounting of multiple stream decks in one frame. There are also some designs on Thingiverse if you have a 3d printer yourself, though I can’t attest to their usefulness.
The big advantage of these mounts is that they can reduce desk clutter a fair amount – something that is a premium in a streamer’s setup.
Check out what kinds of mounts are available for these devices on Etsy.
A Nice Microphone
One of the best birthday gifts for streamers that you can get is a good-quality microphone. This is a critical component of a streamer’s setup, as it is the device most often used to interact with the audience in a live stream. Good quality audio is vital for building a good first impression.
The microphone I recommend is the Maono PD400X, which is the microphone that I personally use. It is a Dynamic USB-C/XLR microphone combo.
Dynamic microphones are good because they are excellent at background noise rejection due to their highly insensitive diaphragms. This makes them a fantastic choice for a streamer who doesn’t have an audio booth or some basic room acoustics treatment in place.
As for the fact that it accepts both a USB-C connection and an XLR connection, that means that the number of supported devices goes up dramatically. You can even plug this thing into your phone and use it to record any sound you want away from your computer. The XLR connection lets you hook up to other professional audio equipment in the future, like an Audio Interface or mixer. This connection versatility improves its value to all kinds of streaming activities.
Note: Before you buy this microphone, ensure that the streamer you are buying for doesn’t already have a nice microphone.
A Microphone Boom Arm
If you get the streamer a microphone for their birthday, consider pairing it with a quality microphone boom arm. This device will allow the streamer to position the microphone in a location that isn’t obtrusive to the content process, hands-free. Just remember that it is vitally important to get a boom arm that is rated for the weight of their microphone.
After all, a boom arm suspends the microphone mid-air, often several feet off the ground. If it fails and the microphone comes crashing down, it will likely break something. I have a glass desktop – if it fell on that, it could crack or shatter my desktop. Not desirable, as you might imagine.
Just make sure the arm you buy has a maximum weight capacity of 2x the microphone’s weight, at the very least.
A Decent Webcam (Or Two)
A webcam is something that many streamers utilize. Seeing the face of the person that an audience is watching live as they interact with the audience is one of the main appeals of live content. Some channels only chat with their audience members and use a webcam to show themselves.
With that said, there are a large number of streamers who are not comfortable showing their faces in the content they create. Before you buy one of these devices, try to figure out where they stand regarding face cameras and showing their faces on the internet.
An Own3D Pro Subscription
There is a cool little program being run by Own3D – Own3D Pro. With this subscription, the streamer you get this for gets access to over 600+ Overlays, alert sounds and effects, and a whole lot more. This makes this subscription one of the most valuable things on this list for a streamer long term, especially since that catalog is growing over time.
LaMetric TIME Wi-Fi Clock – Social Media Counter & More
This next item will allow you to display a real-time subscriber/follower count of various social media sites, including YouTube and Twitch, on a digital clock. It also is a Bluetooth speaker and will display the time, weather, act as a radio, and so much more.
The main reason this device made this list is the social media counter feature that displays the follower/subscriber count of YouTube Channels and Twitch Channels. This is a fun addition to the backdrop of a streamer’s webcam.
A Twitch Hoodie
Low-Cost Item
Wearing Twitch merchandise is something that many streamers enjoy doing. There are many different kinds of clothing options out there, but a hoodie is one that many will opt for, especially in the colder months. After all, if they wear a Twitch branded T-Shirt, then cover it with a hoodie that isn’t Twitch-branded, it kinda defeats the purpose, no?
In my eyes, this fact makes the outerwear layer a more valuable option.
Elgato Wave Panels – Sound Treatment
This next item may or may not be necessary, but the Elgato wave panels are a popular item for streamers. What they do, is help reduce the room’s echo, making the spoken audio from the streamer sound a bit more under control.
You can test if these are needed fairly easily – simply clap your hands in the room, and listen close for an echo. If you hear one, then these panels will help to suppress that echo. You’ll want to experiment with where they will be placed around the room, though, as where they are can dramatically affect the effectiveness of dampening.
I have an article that goes in-depth about room acoustics treatment that you can read. It is a bit outdated at this time, but it still contains valuable information about this subject.
A Second Monitor
A second monitor is a huge benefit to anyone, not just streamers. However, having a second screen to see chat easily while live is a massive benefit for a streamer specifically. In fact, I am such a strong proponent of extra-pixel real estate that I have three monitors, and I use them every day. I simply can’t go back to one monitor ever again. (One of the reasons I like this laptop so much)
But seriously, even a super cheap monitor is a huge boon to a creator. All of my monitors are mismatched and even feature different display types. That matters very little to me, as I am able to get the screen real estate I so desperately need for my work.
As for which display you can get, I absolutely love my LG display, which will be linked in the buttons below. However, this is a somewhat pricey monitor. I mean, it’s no Acer Predator, but darn it, it’s the best one I have ever used (and could afford). If you’re curious, the picture above shows it next to my 7-year-old 23.9-inch LG monitor that they don’t even make anymore.
I’ve included links to my monitor and the cheapest 1080p monitor I could find. They’ll surely appreciate either one, as more screen space is more screen space.