2020 Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Products for Everyone on Your List
Gift ideas at every price point for gadget geeks, gamers, parents, pet lovers and more.
The 2020 holiday season likely looks a bit different this year than in years past. What with a continued pandemic, quarantine restrictions, and the general 2020 blues, choosing the right gift this year can be a bit more challenging, especially if you can’t just stroll into the nearest gift shop. Whether you’re seeking a fun or thoughtful present for the people in your life—parents, pet owners, bakers, or gadget lovers—this guide should offer some helpful suggestions to consider.
The Gadget Lover or Gamer
For all the gadget lovers out there, there are plenty of gift options this year to fill any tech obsessed soul with glee.
If your tech lover misses the movies and wants to recreate the experience at home, buy them a projector like the GPX Mini Projector from Lowe’s ($82.39) to turn any empty wall into a movie screen. Pair this with their own Netflix, Disney+, or Hulu subscription and they’re in business. If they’re in need of an alarm clock that does more than rudely jolt them awake, the Wake-up Light Clock from Wayfair ($102.99) is a great buy to softly wake them up and help with the effects of seasonal affective disorder. If they’re looking to expand their mind in the coming year, a Kindle PaperWhite is a great way for them to check out more books while many libraries remain closed, and is likely high on their Christmas wish list. Lastly, if they’re more of the gaming type you can always help them get the games they love with a Nintendo eShop gift card or surprise them with one of Epic Games’ popular titles.
The (Now) Fully Digital Coworker
You used to see them in the workplace, chat over coffee, and walk to lunch, but now it’s very likely you haven’t seen anything beyond their little Zoom video in months. But just because the office secret Santa isn’t happening this year doesn’t mean your favorite coworker has to miss out on a holiday gift from you.
From Zoom, you’ve likely gotten a closer look at their home and how they like to decorate their space. If you’ve noticed that their home looks a bit like a jungle, you could get them a little tongue-in-cheek mug like this one from Etsy that goes for $16.00. This gift is likely to please every plant lady in your life. If your coworker is a fan of taking notes by hand, you could buy them this Rocketbook Smart Spiral Notebook from Target so they can scan their handwritten notes to a multitude of notes applications. If your coworker is the type of person who’s always interested in learning something new, try a desk calendar with 365 words they should know.
The Pandemic Parent (New and Seasoned)
Being a parent is difficult in normal situations, let alone during a pandemic. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but during these times when much of the village has to be virtual, parents deserve all the gifts they can get.
For new and first time parents, a more practical gift to consider are two waterproof crib covers like these from Buy Buy Baby ($17.99 - $19.99), helping mom and dad double up on protection for those late night infant changes and potential crib sheet accidents. In the daylight hours, it’s likely that these new parents haven’t been able to sit down and enjoy a hot cup of coffee in peace for a little while. An easy solution to preserve their coveted caffeine experience is a mug warmer like this one from Bed Bath & Beyond. Last but not least, you could always buy them a gift card to their favorite restaurant or to a food delivery service like DoorDash — ensuring that they’ll be able to treat themselves to a nice meal when they find themselves at their wits end.
For the more experienced parents you know, when the home expanded to include a home office and then a school, the house likely felt much smaller than before. With so many people and their devices on a single network, spotty WiFi is nearly inevitable. Help these parents from having to — yet again — restart their router by buying them a new one ($69.99 - $499.99) that works and keeps Zoom meetings running smoothly. The TP-Link Archer AC1750 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 5 Router is $79.99 from Best Buy and comes highly rated. Finally, help them avoid squabbles over chargers and gadget power by gifting a multi port USB charger like the Ipax USB Charging Station Multi Device Port Charger Hub Brick ($19.99) sold at Walmart and offering a whopping 8 USB ports for the whole family’s smartphones, tablets and other devices.
For moms and dads who need a chance to wine down and relax, Winc ($60 - $150) lets you gift a few months of their wine subscription box. There are also many great noise cancelling headphones ($149.99 - $379) on the market today, promising parents some much needed peace during the holidays. The Bose QuietComfort 35 from Best Buy is normally $299.99 but is currently on sale for $199.99. Alternatively you could buy them the AirPods Pro from Apple for $249 so they can enjoy the benefits of noise cancellation without the bulkiness of headphones.
The Pandemic Pet Parent
You likely know at least one new pet owner. Pandemic times call for pandemic measures, and pets have come to fill the void left by missing friends and family.
For the pet parents who are fully obsessed with their furry child, My Pet Selfies ($18 - $45) offers a bevy of mugs, blankets, and socks to plop a pet’s face onto. There are also many pet boxes with a variety of toys and treats for the best pet. Chewy has an entire line of these Goody Boxes that go from $24.99 - $39.80. Lastly you could always ask the pet parent in your life what pet essentials they’re running low on (food, litter, treats) and buy what they need from PetSmart, Chewy, or even Target.
The Foodie—From Stress Baker to Pantry Packer
It likely started with banana bread, followed by sourdough starter, and now sky’s the limit for what their baking abilities take them. Luckily for these burgeoning bakers (and for those trying to gift them), there are plenty of amazing gift options available.
Dessert Person ($21 at Target) — the new cook book from Bon Appetit alum Claire Saffitz is sure to make sure their pie dough doesn’t crack. The Ove Glove is one of the infomercial products that actually works. Available at Walmart for $19.99 — they’re much easier to use than traditional oven mitts and can withstand temperatures up to 540 degrees Fahrenheit. For bakers tired of hidden flour pockets, overworked batter, unevenly mixed in dried fruit, or hard-to-clean spoons, the Danish dough whisk ($18.99 on Etsy) is a godsend. The oddly shaped whisk works like magic to ensure everything gets incorporated nicely and you don’t have any lumps stuck in your whisk.
Of course you can never go wrong with a gift card to places like DoorDash, Instacart, or Whole Foods to help your friend or family member fill their appetite.
The Not-so-Tech-Savvy (and Luddites)
2020, along with bringing us quarantines, has also brought a staggering rise in email phishing scams targeting people’s goodwill and worry about the pandemic. Unfortunately these scams aren’t going away anytime soon, and may continue to be an unfortunate fact of life. Check outthe worst of these scams and advice on how you and your loved ones who may not be tech savvy can protect themselves from these dangers. Since security is a gift that keeps on giving all year long, consider making online protection this year’s thoughtful present.
It’s likely that you can think of at least one or two people who would fall prey to these scams (maybe they already have). For these people in your life, you can give Edison Mail+ ($14.99/month) — the first-of-its-kind service that works within your device to warn you of suspicious and dangerous emails and email senders before they can harm you. Another great gift idea is antivirus software that will protect their device from any malicious malware. Walmart has a great selection ranging from around $20 to around $100. Lastly it might pay to sign them up for an online class ($49.99) where they can learn more about email phishing scams and how they can best protect themselves in the future.
The Person You Wish You Could See
We all have people we haven’t seen in a long time who we wish we could. A lot of hugs and kisses have been missed since March, but with cases rising, many of us are making the difficult decision to forego seeing certain loved ones this holiday season.
While nothing can replace the comfort of seeing them in person, there are some gifts you can send to help fill the hole. The Lovebox Spinning Heart Messenger ($100 - $120) is one of those presents that can help your loved one know exactly when you’re thinking of them. When you send a message through their app, the heart will begin spinning and the recipient simply has to open the lid to see the message you’ve sent. If you’d like to send them a book with memories of times you’ve spent together, Target offers the ability to quickly and easily make little photo books full of happy memories starting as low as $29.99. If you’d prefer your craft be more hands on, Michaels sells plenty of art supplies and even offers same day delivery. Lastly, a funny gift you can give is your face printed on a pillow they can hug. Websites such as All About Vibe sell different versions of their pillow that you can print your noggin on so your loved one has a funny, if strange, reminder that you’re thinking of them and wish you were there.
Finally, don’t forget to track all your shopping expenses and package tracking information for all your purchases this shopping season — you can check out our tips on how from last year.
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