With the holidays just around the corner, you might need some last minute ideas for winning Christmas gifts. There have been a lot of great product releases this year, so if these aren’t already under your tree, now’s the time to click, “add to cart”.
Related: Buying a home in the ‘burbs? Check out the latest in home security tech
Give the gift of sleep
What better way to treat someone you love than with a present that will contribute to improving their sleep? The Phillips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wakeup Light simulates the glow of daylight to ease you into wakefulness. Also it has a number of programs to help you drift into slumber. With an FM radio and a remote-controlled app, it’s the perfect gift to help someone start sleeping better.
A gift for coffee lovers
For the coffee lover, there’s no better gift than a high-quality espresso machine. But many of those machines can take a lot of work on your part. That’s why we love automatic machines like the Phillips 3200 Lattego Automatic Espresso Machine. This super-efficient coffee maker creates a perfect espresso from scratch. The machine its own beans and even cleaning up after itself. It also has a sophisticated milk frother so you can whip up a morning cappuccino that’s worthy of your neighbourhood barista.
Up their TV experience
Long winter nights staying at home means a lot of time spent watching TV. A new Chromecast with Google TV is a great gift. This handy little gadget will let them connect their smartphone or laptop to their TV. And the newest edition comes with a remote, which makes it easier to use for the less tech-savvy among us.
Naturally, your streaming device is only as good as the TV you’re viewing it on. So a new 4K or 8K TV would also make a great family gift. I had the opportunity to review a few TVs this year, including the TCL 6-Series 4K UHD QLED Roku and the Hisense 4K Android TV as well. If you’re looking to go straight to 8K resolution, Samsung and LG are both making pretty phenomenal 8K TVs. I got to live with Samsung’s QLED Q900R for a couple of weeks and I can attest to the fact it’s pretty sweet.
TCL 6-Series 4K UHD QLED Roku
Hisense Android TV
Samsung QLED Q900R
Great home theatre audio
If you’re going to the trouble of gifting a high quality TV, don’t forget the audio! Adding a sound bar to your home theatre gift will round out your setup. It will ensure that everything from movie night to Zoom calls on the big screen sound as good as it looks. The Sonos Arc is the newest premium sound bar on the market. But the more compact Roku Streambar boasts sound and streaming smarts in one small device. When talking Christmas gifts, both would be worthy additions to a home theatre.
Sonos Arc
A smart speaker system
Make staying at home a little bit easier by gifting someone a smart speaker system, such as the new Google Nest Audio speaker. This powerful, pretty piece of tech is amazing for both listening to music and getting help and home control from your Google Assistant. With awesome features such as scheduling, reminders and even making calls, this is a fantastic gift to improve the home life of your loved ones.
Wireless headphones that sanitize themselves
In this new reality, cleanliness is everything. So LG’s new Tone Free wireless earphones are the perfect gift for that special someone who’s always on the go. They have a self-cleaning case to help reduce bacteria that can lead to ear infections.
Now is the perfect time to add amazing tech to your home. We’re sure any one of these products will bring joy to the person you give them to and help spread a little magic this festive season.
Cellular signal boosters
Canada is a big, wide country. If there is one thing that pandemic living has revealed, it’s a deep desire to hop into the car, SUV or RV and go on road trips. The more remote, the better. Wilson Electronics offers two of its most powerful, Canadian in-vehicle cellular signals boosters for strong cellular connectivity, especially for off-roading and overlanding. Stay connected while getting far away (strong cell signal up to 74 per cent further away from a cell tower). Fewer dead zones and faster data upload/download speeds while on the road is more crucial than ever before. In terms of Christmas gifts, this is one of the more timelier ideas.
Erin Lawrence is a communications professional and freelance writer and content provider.
You’ll often find her writing about technology, consumer gadgets and home theatre for sites like Best Buy and TechGadgetsCanada.com .
