If you have an aspiring home theatre buff on your Christmas list, or just someone with some great home theatre gear, here are some ideas on how to fill their stocking with smaller stuff that can come in real handy. They qualify as stocking stuffers because they are small enough to fit, OK a couple of them you might have to have stretch socks, and they are very inexpensive.
Keeping that big screen clean
That big shiny flat screen TV attracts dust and dirt because of its’ electrostatic nature, so your theatre buff will need a way to keep it clean. Most people don’t think about cleaning their screen, which is a bit unusual considering the amount of time watching it. Keeping the clean screen will make HD really look like high-definition.
I particularly like the Falcon Dust-Off Cleaning Kit. It is a simple kit that comes with a microfiber cloth and 50ml of cleaner. It works well for LED, LCD, or plasma screens because of its gentle nature and no chemicals that could negatively affect the screen’s coating. It will do the job without leaving any streaks, and an added bonus will keep their computer screens clean as well.
Hide those cables
There is nothing worse than having a beautiful Home Theatre system with all the cables showing. There is a simple way to solve that problem, and it makes for an ideal stocking stuffer. The Insignia Cable Pass Through Wall Plate allows you to hide all the cables in the wall. It is a very easy DIY project that will create a nice clean solution with no more visible cables.
I use them to conceal the wires in my system. Just put two holes in the drywall for these plates to fit in to and that are between the same wall studs. Feeding the wire down from the upper hole to the lower one is easy and the plates make a very nice looking clean solution.
Clean up that mess
Another way to clean up all those messy cables is by using Bungee Wraps. They won’t help you leap off high bridges, but they do a great job of bundling your cables and attaching them to whatever you need to in order to get them out of sight. They have little suction cupped holders that you can attach the bungeed cables to. It’s a very nice solution that can be used in conjunction with the pass through plates.
While at it, colour coding the cables will finish the job nicely since bundled cables are very hard to later figure out which one is which. A simple solution for your home theatre buff is Wiremold’s Cable Labels. You will always know which cable is for the PVR, the Blu-Ray player, or any other boxes that are connected together.
Safety first
Your home theatre enthusiast is sure to have a big flat screen but if it isn’t mounted on the wall, a great stuffer is the Sanus Safety Strap. A large TV on a stand is not likely to fall over, but it can happen and it won’t be good news if it does. Not only might the TV get damaged beyond repair but it could also be a safety issue. The Sanus strap is a simple piece of insurance that will ensure a TV on a stand remains stable and safe.
Surge Protection
In addition to protecting that shiny TV from accidental mishaps, protecting it and the rest of that Home Theatre gear from sudden power surges is important. So if your special someone doesn’t already have a surge protector, it will be a very welcome gift that will last a long time, and will make sure all that their system lasts a long time. The Dynex 12-Outlet 2-USB Surge Protector is a great choice because it has lots of outlets, is inexpensive, and provides noise filtering in addition to surge protection.
With all the new home theatre gear that may be part of this Christmas, these stuffers might be just the right compliment to complete the picture, no pun intended.
