Can you believe it’s already that time of year again when you need to start thinking of great holiday gift ideas? The festive holiday season is upon us. And that means prepping to trim the tree, filling your home with the delicious smells of baked treats, and wrapping presents with care. But before you can wrap the thoughtful gifts for all of the special people on your list, you need to buy them, first!
There are plenty of great holiday gift ideas to consider this year that will do everything from help entertain to enhance cooking skills, promote fitness, health, and well-being, encourage greater productivity, help families capture and make memories, and enhance fashion and style.
Not sure where to start? Here are some great holiday gift ideas.
Small Appliances
Small appliances actually make wonderful gifts because there’s always something an aspiring cook, baker, or busy parent or workaholic wants to buy but never gets around to doing so for themselves. They’re great gifts for families as well, should you buy a household gift.
While this small appliance falls on the more expensive end of the scale, if you’re getting a gift for your own household, or for someone special, you can’t go wrong with a Dyson, well, anything. I have one of the older models of their air purifiers and absolutely love how it works, its look, and the informative and easy-to-use app. The Dyson Pure Humidify+Cool Air Purifier with HEPA Filter adds the ability to not only clean the air of harmful bacteria, VOCs, dust, and dander, but also circulate a cool breeze in the room, and humidify an area so it maintains the best moisture level to prevent mold growth.
Another favourite household small appliance of mine, and one that I have had a lot of friends and family ask me about, is the iRobot Roomba. I have the i7+ model, but the iRobot Roomba i8+ Robot Vacuum is the newest model. It offers 10 times the power-lifting suction compared to previous-generation models, and, like the others, can build Smart Maps so you can have it clean only certain rooms or areas, using the app or even voice control. But the best part is the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal system that sees the vacuum automatically empty itself into a bag at the end of the cleaning cycle. Simply swap in a new bag every few months or so, and you never have to lift a finger to empty the bin.
Neither of these items in your budget? Consider a cool (rather, hot!) and unique gift idea like the Ember Smart Temperature Control Mug, which lets you set a desired temperature at which you want the mug to retain your drink for up to 1.5 hours. Extend its warmth to all day using the charging coaster. It’s a great gift for any coffee or tea lover on your list, and a perfect gift for a boss or close colleague.
Video Games
Video games are a favourite pastime for people of all ages and are available in a variety of genres, to be played on various consoles. You might want to consider getting a brand new console for someone, whether it’s a spouse or the kids. Or maybe a group of friends want to get together and split the cost toward getting one for their buddy.
The new Sony PlayStation 5 Console will be on many a serious gamer’s gift wish list this year thanks to upgrades like lightning-fast speeds, better support for haptic feedback, 4K and 8K output, and a new generation of games.
For gamers who are in the Microsoft Xbox camp instead, the Xbox Series X console is just about the most coveted thing out there these days. With a massive 1TB drive, incredible graphics, reduced load times, 4K gaming, advanced 3D spatial sound, and more, 
it will be a delight for any gamer to find one under their tree.
If the gamer on your list is already set with the console they want, consider a unique gift like the Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset with Touch Controllers that can help them take their gaming to an entirely new, far more immersive, level.
Some other thoughtful gifts for gamers could include an extra expansion card, like the Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion Card for the Xbox Series X and Series S, and, for PC gamers, the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Backlit Mechanical OmniPoint Gaming Keyboard,  which you can program with complex macros to perform quick actions during high intensity game play.
Smart Home
There are so many advantages to adopting smart home devices, from the convenience and time-savings factors to safety, security, and energy-savings. Each smart home device has its own advantage, and there are so many from which to choose, that any household can continuously expand their smart home selection. What can you get for someone who might already have some smart gadgets set up?
Video doorbells are becoming more popular these days, as they make a convenient way to see who’s at the door without having to open it or peep through the window. The Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell 3 lets you enjoy 1,080p video and two-way communication so you can tell the delivery person to just leave the package at the door, thanks to compatibility with Amazon Alexa devices.
Now that the weather is getting colder in many parts of Canada, those with a green thumb have to take a break from growing fresh herbs, fruit, and vegetables. Or do they? The Click and Grow Smart Indoor Garden makes it possible to grow indoors, and easy for those who want to grow at home but don’t have the knack, time, or patience for it. It monitors the health, growth, and life cycle of the plants using built-in Smart Soil that automatically delivers water, oxygen, and nutrients as needed. It comes with three basil plants to get you started but works with a wide variety of seeds.
Most people with a smart home already have a smart speaker, but why not upgrade them to a smart display? The Google Nest Hub Max offers all of the benefits of a smart speaker with the addition of a screen for watching videos, engaging in video calls, surfing the web, and more. It’s perfect for watching TV or following video recipe tutorials while cooking in the kitchen, and the 10″ screen is large enough for video calling the grandparents using Google Duo so the whole family can participate.
Wearable Tech
Around the holiday season is when people start re-evaluating their health and wellness choices, especially after gorging on turkey, pumpkin pie, and all the fixings at Thanksgiving followed by loads of candy on Halloween. And there are lots of wearable tech gear that would make perfect gifts for the person looking to get in better shape or just monitor their health.
The Fitbit Sense Smartwatch is the latest model in the market leader’s line-up, and it delivers some really cool upgrades, including a sensor for measuring your skin temperature, an EDA Scan app for stress management, Sp02 measurement, continuous heart rate, built-in GPS, and voice control via Alexa. Plus, it does everything else you’d 
expect from a fitness-friendly smartwatch.
While the Fitbit is great for both Android and iPhone users, Apple fanboys might be dead set on the Apple Watch, in which case, the new Apple Watch Series 6Â under the tree will have them jumping for joy. New features include the ability to measure blood oxygen level, ECG and sleep tracking (finally!), and tons of new face options for further personalization.
Portable Audio
Who doesn’t have a pair of headphones these days? But most of us have different headphones for different reasons, like a pair of noise-cancelling over-ears for travel and earbuds for video calls. The latest trend involves true wireless earbuds which not only cut the cords but the headband, too. They just pop right into your ears, making them really versatile and comfortable to wear in any setting.
The no-brainer pair for the owner of an iPhone are the Apple AirPods Pro, which boast in-ear noise cancelling along with a Transparency mode so you can hear your surroundings when you want, and come with a convenient charging case and extended battery life compared to older models.
For those who aren’t laser-focused on Apple, a good option is the Sennheiser CX 400BT in-ear truly wireless headphones which offer an impressive up to 20 hours of play time (using the included charging case) along with voice assistant support for both Siri and Google Assistant and an integrated mic for when you want to make hands-free calls.
Digital Imaging
A lot of people these days are taking up photography as a hobby, whether it’s to create professional-looking portraits or make cool videos to share on social media or other platforms. And there’s lots of cool gear you can get to help them capture great footage.
When it comes to capturing exciting point-of-view videos, the GoPro is unrivaled, and the GoPro HERO9 Black Waterproof 5K Sports & Helmet Camera is the latest model. Use it to capture high-resolution videos as well as still images using HyperSmooth 3.0 technology so they are shake-free, no matter what high-action activity you’re engaged in, like biking down the trails, heading out on the open road with your motorcycle, or skateboarding around the block.
For budding vloggers, consider the DJI OM 4 Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer, which they can use to shoot compelling videos on the go. Gesture controls make it easy to snap a photo or start a recording while holding it with your arm extended. And it easily folds up and stores in the included travel pouch so you can take it with you anywhere.
Toys
Chances are you have a kid or two (or 10!) on your shopping list for the holiday season. The holidays, after all, are all about the kids, right? But rather than opt for a throwaway toy they won’t get much use out of, or that will stay in a box all year along with the hundreds of others they receive, consider something that’s both fun and educational so mom and dad will be eager to open it up.
The Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit is a great gift for kids aged 3-5 who are just learning things like identifying letters and spelling words, problem solving, and creativity. Designed to be used with an iPad (not included), it comes with four game apps that work with the various pieces.
Suitable for kids aged 3 up to 7 (though kids even older might love it), the Roybi Smart Educational Robot is designed to work as an educational companion for your child, asking questions, recognizing the child’s voice and their response via artificial intelligence (AI), and responding with encouraging words, whether they get the answer wrong or right. It works with an iOS or Android app so you can schedule lessons for your preschooler or school-aged children and track their progress as they go.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re getting a gift for one person or an entire family, adults or kids, there are plenty of great ideas to consider so that your gift stands out among a sea of socks, ties, bottles of wine, and generic gift baskets.
