Gift Giving Guy

The last music mix I made as a gift was on compact disc. I burned songs to CD for my then-girlfriend, now-wife with a custom label and jewel box cover. But Perpetual Kid is helping resurrect the ’80s old mix tape with a 21st-century twist. The Mix Tape USB Drive ($20) features a cassette tape facade that opens to reveal a USB stick filled with digital music.

Yes, the USB stick holds a scant 64 MB. Still, that’s about an hour’s worth of digital music — just like the old double-sided cassette tapes. If your giftee fondly remembers the old mix tapes but lives by MP3 today, consider this nostalgic yet modern gift.

iMixes from iTunes make it easy to find ready-made playlists. Transfer the music to the USB drive, then place the USB in the cassette case. Flip up the track-list and handwrite in the song titles of your compilation to complete the retro feel.