Something I was always told as a kid was that I’d know when I was an adult based on what kind of presents I looked forward to each year. If you’re thrilled by home gifts, I’d hear, then you know you’ve hit 30. The home goods would change—a premium vacuum; a blender; a great new laundry detergent—but the sentiment would stay the same.
Well, I grew up boring and I grew up young, and I kind of love that for myself. I’ve been thrilled about new appliance purchases since my preteen era. What changed as I got older was that now I could suddenly buy my family great gifts. Now, I was the one wrapping up a beautiful new premium vacuum, blender, or fancy laundry detergent for my family.
As someone who loves buying gifts for others, it feels great to be able to get my family gifts that they can use. These gifts help them save a little time and stress during the day so we have more space in our lives for get-togethers, family video calls, and group movie nights.
I’ve owned a surprising number of vacuums and tested even more for Best Buy. My favourites are always cordless vacuums.
When you find a powerful, cordless vacuum, vacuuming feels like it instantly gets 10 times easier. (This applies to mops, too, like the Dreame H11 Wet and Dry Vacuum that I’ve reviewed and loved.) My favourites are stick vacuums, which are lightweight and easy to use. When it comes to a stick vacuum, I find that budget models are convenient, but premium versions have the power behind them to function as your primary vacuum. The portability and ease of a stick vacuum makes them a great entry point for family members just getting into the swing of vacuuming—such as kids and, occasionally, wayward spouses.
Hi-tech stick vacuums like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim come with special features, like the V12’s laser light that illuminates every particle of dust and hair. Plus, when you opt for a premium vacuum, you get a great user experience along with powerful suction (the V12 delivers up to 100,000g of force) and a long-life cordless battery. Christine has reviewed this model on the blog, so make sure to check out her review if a cordless stick vacuum sounds like the right fit for your family!
For more power and weight, opt for a canister or upright vacuum instead. You can find out more about which type of vacuum is the right choice of gift for your family in Best Buy’s Vacuum Buying Guide.
Another great gift for the whole family is a robot vacuum. These nifty little robots do your cleaning for you. They get your floors clean and crumb-free without you ever having to get up. I think that self-emptying models with smart mapping features make the best gifts: They’re truly as hands-off as you can get. With a self-emptying, smart mapping model, you can set up both on-demand and scheduled cleanings, then only need to empty your vacuum dock once a month.
Try a premium robot vacuum with the iRobot Roomba j7+, a self-emptying vacuum with vSLAM-led smart navigation and multi-surface brushes. The j7+ comes with intelligent, camera-based object identification to avoid messes like pet poop and charging cables, making it a pretty unique gift!
Choose a product that vacuums and mops
For cleaning big messes off the floor, your gift doesn’t have to stop with a dry vacuum. To take the hassle out of chore days and get more out of your family weekends, try upgrading your family’s mopping setup.
I’m a wet/dry vacuum and wet/dry robot vacuum fan. Hard floors feel and look noticeably cleaner after they’ve been mopped. The rotating pads of wet vacuums do a fantastic job of getting your floors sparkling clean—even without cleaning solution. They’re way easier to use than a manual mop and are great for cleaning up spills in addition to maintaining your floors on a regular basis.
For a product that does both, I’d look at brands like Roborock, iRobot, and Redroad. (I recently reviewed a self-washing Redroad vacuum and mop.) These companies offer robot vacuums and mops, which are so handy to have in the home—but they’re pricy to buy out of the blue, making them the perfect “splurge gift” for the whole family. I use a Roborock in my home, and it vacuums my floors, mops my apartment, and washes its mopping pad as it goes. iRobot also recently released its first robot vacuum and mop combination device in the Roomba j7+ Combo, which is a great upgrade option that doesn’t have the self-washing aspect.
Give the gift of time-saving with a vacuum
As I mentioned in my post about the best gifts for the chef of your family, the best thing you can give your family is, at its core, time. Gifts that make things like chores and scheduling easier are so great because they take the stress out of everyone’s day. When you and your family members spend less time doing the dishes, vacuuming, or mopping the floors, you create more time for the things that you love.
Plus, you don’t need to be all grown up to enjoy the sleek likes and fun features of a brand new vacuum. Who doesn’t love a beautiful new appliance?
Shop vacuums online at Best Buy today.
