Looking for some gift ideas for the upcoming Christmas this month? We have some great ideas for you on the home appliances and essentials section (this article) but there will be more coming in other categories too: gaming peripherals, audio, and more.
Products under this category make great gifts because everyone can use them at home and it is not tied to a specific gender (normally). This way, you can gift just a single item for the whole family rather than one for each member.
[1] Coffee Machine
Everyone (well, almost everyone) loves coffee. There is nothing better than getting them a nice, new coffee machine at home. While most people have already got those basic, coffee capsule machines at home, they would be happier if they get an upgrade. For those who haven’t, I’d highly recommend Lavazza Desea. It’s a coffee capsule machine from Lavazza that doesn’t take up much space at all and it comes with a glass mug that you can also use to drink the coffee from. That makes it efficient, easy, and you don’t have to wash an extra cup or mug.
If you are looking for the ultimate, better-tasting coffee with easy-to-use machine, I’ve tried and reviewed two machines that take actual coffee beans rather than capsules. The machines have grinders inside of them so you’ll get better coffee compared to using capsules, but still make it simple to operate as you can just select what you want to make and press the start button.
Best of all, you can change your coffee beans every now and then, and try out some popular ones like St. Ali’s, Proud Mary’s, Market Lane’s, Patricia’s, etc. You’ll never run out of flavours and experiments! Make sure to check these machines out: Philips LatteGo Series 2200 and De’Longhi Magnifica EVO.
[2] Dyson Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
While there are many cordless vacuum cleaners out there, I’d always recommend a Dyson each time someone asked for my advice. The latest one that I have and am currently using is the Dyson V15 Detect. They just released a newer model, Gen5detect, though I haven’t tried it yet. The V15 Detect is still good and comes with an amazing suction performance that can last up to 60 minutes (depending on the running power and attachments used).
It comes with a very informative LCD screen that tells you not just how much battery is left, but also measures the different types of particles and how many of them are being sucked in. While it’s cool and can somewhat motivate you to vacuum your house more, you won’t be disappointed even if you grab their older models like the V10, or V8.
[3] Wireless Router
With the launch of many smart home devices you can use and connect at home, your wireless router will be the biggest bottleneck as it has to be able to cater for every wireless device you have at home. These include your laptops, PCs, Macs, tablets, and smartphones – plus all your wireless security cameras, smart lighting, Alexa devices, and more.
From all the wireless routers I’ve reviewed this year, nothing amazed me than these wireless routers from TP-Link. They both are very stable and surprisingly, offer very strong and reliable wireless signals, even beating the mesh routers setup from D-Link.
My most favourite is the TP-Link Archer GX90 which is a powerful, wireless gaming router. You can get stable, wireless connection while gaming online (I’ve used it for months without the Ethernet cable) plus it can handle more than 30 wireless devices lying around our home without fail. If you don’t game though, their cheaper Archer AX55 is surprisingly really good for its price. Make sure to check my detailed review to see what it does and is capable of, at a fraction of the price.
[4] Sound Bar
I was thinking to put this under the upcoming audio gift guide category, but considering that this can be used in the living room for everyone to enjoy, it’s probably best to mention them here. Besides, there will be a lot to cover under the audio category later on, so that’s that.
I’ve moved from utilising the awesome bookshelf speakers (Focal Chora 806) + subwoofer (AudioEngine S8) + amplifier (Amazon Echo Link Amp) combo to a simpler sound bar sound set up in the living room (thought one of the main reasons is because I don’t have a good amplifier yet).
The sound bar that’s currently set up in the living room is the Creative Sound Blaster Katana V2. It surprisingly has loud and rich sound, comes with a compact subwoofer, and offers multiple connectivity options.
If you are looking for a more affordable sound bar, BlueAnt XT100 deserves a chance. It does not have a subwoofer though its bass is pretty good, and also supports Dolby Atmos which is perfect for watching Netflix and other streaming services at home.
[5] Air Purifier
I’ve come across some air purifiers and reviewing there at Craving Tech, but nothing that can beat the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde. The reason is that not only it is a really good air purifier, it is also both a fan and a heater. Most air purifiers are just, well, purifying air and that’s pretty much it. But if you don’t have a good heater yet, you definitely should just grab the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde.
It can also detect, target, and destroy Formalydehyde, which is a dangerous compound that can actually be found at your home through many things such as new furniture, etc. There are not many machines that can capture and eliminate Formaldehyde, and Dyson does this with style (check my review out to find out in detail how the machine works).
