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The line between home and office has never been blurrier, so getting someone you love a gift that helps them cut down on their list of chores, improve their productivity, or help them relax has become incredibly thoughtful. This can mean gifting something practical, like a more comfortable office chair or an extravagantly large 4K TV. Many of these gifts are appropriate for both homeowners and renters, too. If you live with the person you’re gifting these home upgrades to, you also benefit, which is a nice holiday bonus.
Best Wi-Fi routers: Amazon eero Pro 6E mesh Wi-Fi System
One of the keys to a happy home during the holidays (or any other time) is a smart home, and a smart home needs a fast, consistent connection to the Internet. Eero’s latest Wi-Fi routers support the latest wireless standard (Wi-Fi 6E), supporting speeds of up to 2.3 Gbps. For reference, Netflix recommends just 15Mbps to stream video in 4K, which is only .006% of the routers’ total potential bandwidth. If you’re shopping for someone who pays for a fast internet connection but finds their devices don’t get the speeds promised—or they have places in their home where their wireless connection is spotty—this is the optimal solution. Amazon says this two-pack of Eero routers can cover an area of up to 4,000 sq. ft., which should be enough for most homes, and it can be connected to over 100 devices without slowing down.
Every home or office needs an all-in-one printer for when a document needs to be scanned, printed, or copied. This may only happen a handful of times a year (unless the printer is living in a house with school-age kids), but you’re guaranteed to get a “THANK YOU!” text each time it does. We like Canon’s G3270 because it uses ink tanks rather than in cartridges. Canon says you should be able to print roughly 6,000 black and white and 7,700 color pages without having to refill them.
If the person you gift this to prints 100 pages of each per month, this means they won’t have to buy new ink for several years. Households with kids—or folks who like to craft—will have to change them more frequently. In our experience, the G3270 had no problem printing text and photos without blotches or smudging, even during long jobs. The fact that this printer is wireless is especially appreciated because they won’t have to keep plugging and unplugging it into a computer.
The downside to laptops getting thinner and lighter is the loss of ports, which makes it annoying to connect accessories to them. If you know someone who’s always carrying around a bunch of adapters, you can simplify their life significantly by gifting them Plugable’s new Thunderbolt 4 Dock. This tool has four USB-A ports, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SD card slot, HDMI 2.0 port, headphone jack, Gigabit Ethernet jack, and a USB-C to HDMI adapter.
Your friend and family member can use UGREEN’s hub to connect their computer to three external displays (assuming their computer supports this feature) and nearly a dozen other accessories with a single USB-C cable. The hub can even recharge their laptop while connected, which is an excellent bonus.
Nobody thinks about ergonomics until their body starts hurting, so this gift serves two purposes. AmazonCommercial’s Ergonomic High-Back Bonded Leather Executive Chair is so comfortable that we can recommend it to anybody who works at home. The chair has ample padding, height-adjustable arms, and a satisfying swivel. We recommend gifting a high-back chair, which cradles the back, shoulders, and neck to address multiple potential pain points. This is a type of gift nobody thinks about getting for themselves.
Best mouse: Logitech MX Master 3S
Logitech’s MX Master 3S is the tech accessory office workers don’t know they need. The Bluetooth mouse is shaped so an entire hand can fit on top of it, with a dedicated thumb resting on its left side. The MX Master 3S’ ergonomic design makes it much more comfortable to use over long periods. Additional buttons on the side and top of the mouse give users quick access to different apps or system functions, which can save the person you gift it to several minutes every day. One of this mouse’s coolest features is the ability to pair it with up to three devices, so your friend or family member can use it with their work and personal computer. Nobody thinks about the computer mouse they use, but once you gift someone the Logitech MX Master 3S, they’ll never return to a generic wired one.
If you’re already gifting someone an ergonomic mouse, pairing it with a mechanical keyboard makes sense. Logitech’s newly released Wave Keys is one of the best we’ve ever tested. It can connect to a PC or Mac wirelessly over Bluetooth, or with a USB-C cable, so it’s great if you’re shopping for someone who works on MacOS and Windows. The sensation of typing on an ergonomic keyboard after years of using the slim ones built into laptops is revelatory. The built-in palm rest will keep their wrists elevated, while the sloped keys are more satisfying to depress. Comfort is key when typing all day, and the person you gift this keyboard to will wonder how they ever got along without it.
If you want to gift surface area to someone with limited space, Flexispot’s Electric Standing Desk with Drawers can help them stay elevated and organized. Its 55-inch work surface is more than sufficient for multiple monitors and plenty of tech accessories. This desk has four memory modes, which will allow the person you gift it to preset their optimal sitting and standing heights. A pair of USB-A ports on the front of the desk offer a convenient way to charge devices, while the drawer can help them get paperwork and other supplies off their desktop.
Let’s not beat around the bush here: Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are arguably the hottest holiday gift this season. Apple’s latest earbuds sound better, last longer, and cancel out more noise than the pair they replace while keeping the same iconic look, feel, and shape. Active noise cancellation is the biggest feature for office workers, as it’ll allow them to concentrate on work instead of being distracted by the sound of typing keys, swiveling chairs, or idle conversation. One of the most underrated features of the AirPods Pro 2 is the microphones, which are surprisingly good at picking up a speaker’s voice without much room noise. At their price, you won’t find a more well-rounded, fully-featured pair of earbuds than the AirPods Pro 2. Apple recently updated its earbuds with a USB-C charging case, which is helpful so your giftee won’t have to use a proprietary charging cord. Want to save a little money but still get a lot of great features? We also are into the AirPods 4.
Need a gift for an audiophile who listens to music in their home office and continues their play session hours after logging off? Maybe someone you know is setting up a starter home studio but also games? Get them beyerdynamic’s DT 700 Pro X over-ear headphones, which come from the makers of our overall best mixing headphones. What separates the DT 700 Pro X apart from the pack is the extremely soft ear cushions, which make the headphones extremely comfortable to wear while simultaneously isolating a listener’s ears from unwanted outside sounds without any tonality-altering circuitry. Additionally, the headphones clamping force (how much pressure the headphones push against a listener’s head to keep them on) was also calibrated to optimize comfort without sacrificing performance. The headphones also sound excellent, with deep bass, wide midrange, and clear-but-not-crispy treble that lets you identify stray frequencies in the mix or threats in the game. And, as we said earlier, anyone who loves listening to music at home will really like these headphones.
Best noise-cancelling headphones: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Headphones
Bose
Blocking out distractions is one of the most effective ways to put yourself in a productive mode—especially in a crowded office—and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Headphones are the best tools for that job. These are the best noise-cancelling headphones we’ve tested. They’re light, comfortable, and block out all ambient noise when listening to music even at a low volume level. Softer sounds like footsteps and typing on a keyboard will be eliminated first, then people’s voices, followed by loud noises like doors being closed. Having an immersive work environment all to yourself can help put you in the zone, and the active noise cancellation mode on the QuietComfort Ultras allows you to create one anytime, anywhere. This is especially help when you’re trying to get work in more challenging environments, like a coffee shop, train, or plane. It doesn’t hurt that the QuietComfort Ultras also sound fantastic, with plenty of bass, smooth mids, and sharp but not painful treble. If you’re shopping for someone who gets distracted by people at work or sounds outside, this is the home office upgrade you need to gift. And the Bose QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds have saved our sanity on many long flights.
If you know someone who’s been thinking about making their home smarter but doesn’t know where to start, get them Sonos Era 100. Sonos’ latest smart speaker looks modern, has a surprisingly good multi-driver audio system, and will immediately become the hub of their smart home. The speaker can be used with Sonos’ built-in smart home assistant or Amazon’s Alexa. Both of these assistants can be used to control the speaker hands-free. We were enormously impressed by the Era 100 during our tests, and we encourage you to read our full review for more information. If the person you’re shopping for cares about multichannel audio, stepping up to Sonos’ Dolby Atmos-compatible Era 300 is a great idea. And if they’re going to spend time outdoors, the Move 2 is fabulous. Honestly, we’re just really into Sonos speakers.
Smart lights are the first smart home accessory we recommend gifting people if they already have a smart speaker, and GE’s Cync Smart Hexagon Panels are a lot cooler than a typical smart light bulb. These panels can be attached to one another in any number of configurations, creating a unique art piece. Each hexagon can be adjusted to one of several million colors. You can even have multiple colors on a single hexagon and blend them together. These smart lights would look great anywhere and may also become a part of your friend or family’s holiday decorations, accenting other pieces they typically put up.
An external display will give your friend or family member a lot more digital space to work with, which can help improve their productivity or ability to multitask. There are a lot of monitors out there, but Dell’s S2722QC checks all the right boxes. The 27-inch 4K screen can display 1.07 billion colors and has HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C inputs so that you can connect it to any machine. The USB-C port should be of particular interest if you’re shopping for a MacBook owner since it’ll allow the display to charge their laptop while it’s connected. The S2722QC’s speakers aren’t anything to write home about, but they’re helpful in a pinch, especially if you’re gifting the monitor to someone who likes to keep their laptop lid closed while working. It’s a little more luxe than most monitors on the market, but the S2722QC is the one to get this holiday season.
Simple problems don’t have to get spartan solutions. Portland, Ore.-based design and fabrication shop Grovemade initially broke into the e-commerce ecosystem with engraved bamboo iPhone 4 cases and has been crafting an expanded range of workspace products ever since. A decade-plus later and the Grovemade Desk Shelf system, available in three sizes and multiple woods/finishes, is yet another product that shows how efficiency and ergonomics can be elegant. It’s a sleek platform to help align your virtual world with your real one, and it comes with shelf space that can store cords and keyboards or additional Grovemade trays, desk pads, and accessories you can add to your cocoon of productivity. Got some flagship headphones that deserve to be showcased? The Grovemade headphone stand is another statement piece that is as appealing as it is functional.
Webcams have become an essential home office accessory, and OBSBOT’s Tiny 2 PTZ 4K Webcam is among the best we’ve tried. The camera can stream or record incredibly crisp video, and will automatically compensate for poor lighting conditions to help the person you gift it to look their best. What makes the Tiny 2 PTZ 4K Webcam particularly distinctive is its rotating base, which allows the lens to track a person as they move up, down, left, or right. Free software provided by OBSBOT allows you to position the webcam perfectly and lock it in place, too. If you’re shopping for someone on a video call more than three times a week, this is a slam-dunk gift.
Sharing memories with less tech-savvy family members can be tough if you only see them a few times a year, which is why Aura’s Carver Wi-Fi Digital Picture Frame makes such a great gift. The 10.1-inch HD display can be loaded with photos remotely, so the person viewing them can keep up with your latest adventures. Multiple people can access the same frame so that siblings can share all of their family photos with parents or grandparents at once. Aura doesn’t charge for cloud storage either, so this picture frame will continue to show new pictures as long as it stays connected to the internet.
Know someone who would want to automate some ambiance to elevate an environment? With the twinkly Squares, you can change the mood without changing location. These LED panels support 16 million colors and/or warm white light, and you can group them through an app for synced scenes of animated hues or 8-bit art. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi allow you to connect and control ON/OFF, dimming, timers, etc. Additional accessories like a USB sound sensor allow you to have your setup pulse and cycle to music. Other functions include integrating with Razer Chroma RGB or OMEN Light Studio for reactive lighting, and using voice commands via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. This starter set includes one master tile and five extension tiles (64 RGB pixels total), and someone can add as many as their wall and imagination allow.
Hisense
Nothing says “happy holidays” quite like gifting someone a massive 4K TV, and if you go with a big screen, it should be Hisense’s U8N. The television is available in sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches, but we recommend the 65-inch version as a nice sweet spot. The U8N is the perfect TV for every type of person. Gamers and sports fans will appreciate its 144Hz refresh rate, which makes video (virtual and live games) look incredibly smooth. Gamers can use two of the U8N’s HDMI ports that support this, so a current-generation console and PC can be hooked up simultaneously. It’s equally great for older family members, as well.
TV show and movie lovers will immediately notice the vividness of its colors thanks to its support of many HDR formats, which makes colors pop without being overly saturated. If the person you’re gifting this TV to has a room with a lot of natural light, the U8N’s 3000-nit peak brightness ensures whatever they’re watching or playing will still be perfectly visible. Hisense built this TV with a respectable integrated multi-speaker audio system capable of decoding Dolby Atmos surround sound. If you’re shopping for someone who hasn’t made the leap to 4K or complains that their set is on the fritz, we can’t think of a better gift. And if you’re gifting it to someone you live with, you can enjoy this TV as much as they do.
Klipsch
Need a gift for the person who’s already satisfied with their TV (or monitor)? The best answer is a soundbar, specifically Klipsch’s Flexus CORE 200. The soundbar made the cut in our guide to the best wireless surround sound systems—specifically when it’s paired with the Sub 100 and Surr 100 speakers—but it sounds great on its own, too. The Flexus CORE 200 is a 3.1.2 soundbar, which means it has three front-firing drivers, two upward-firing drivers, and a subwoofer. In our tests, it pumps out enough bass that you may not need a standalone subwoofer. Dialogue sounds clear, even when there’s a lot of action happening on screen, and the upward-firing drivers do provide some surround sound when watching a TV show or movie with a 5.1 mix. Klipsch nailed the audio and industrial design of this soundbar, and it’s the ideal complement to any big-screen TV.
If a less tech-savvy member of your friend or family group is trying to get into streaming the latest binge-worthy shows and blockbuster movies, there’s no better gift than a Roku Streaming Stick 4K. The ultra-slim media streamer is intuitive and has a simple remote plus dedicated buttons to take users directly to the most popular streaming services. The Streaming Stick 4K can playback video at its highest possible resolution, and supports every HDR (high dynamic range) standard to deliver vibrant colors. We can also recommend this accessory for people who often travel, as it’s easy to throw into a bag and hook up to a hotel or Airbnb TV, so you’re already logged into all of your streaming service accounts wherever you go.
Twelve South’s PowerPic is the most inventive wireless charger we’ve seen yet, and its unique design makes it an especially cool gift. The 10W wireless charging stand is built into a picture frame, allowing you to slip any 5×7-inch photo behind your phone’s resting spot. The picture will be revealed when the phone is not charging, so the PowerPic serves a dual purpose. If you know the person you’re gifting this to well enough, you can stealthily open the package, put in a meaningful picture, reseal it, then watch their face light up when it’s revealed.
Satechi Dock5 is a practical gift for anyone with several family members or roommates. The accessory has two USB-A ports and two USB-C ports, with dividers between each port so several gadgets can charge without looking messy. A Qi wireless charging pad toward the front of the Dock5 can recharge a pair of wireless earbuds or another small tech accessory. We all have someone in our lives with a messy, cable-filled section of their kitchen or living room, and this gift can resolve that issue.
Quartet’s Glass Whiteboard is an unexpected gift that fully remote workers and students will immediately understand and appreciate. The large canvas is perfect for sketching ideas, collaborating on tough problems, or something as simple as a hand-drawn calendar. Most of us are used to having all this information on a screen. Still, something is satisfying about being able to directly write, slash, and erase your work immediately rather than fiddling with a mouse cursor or stylus. Plus, Quartet’s Glass Whiteboard looks so nice that it practically invites people to use it right out of the box.
Best smart lock: Schlage Encode Century Wi-Fi Latitude Lever
Schlage
If you’re shopping for someone who wants to expand their smart home beyond lighting accessories, the best gift to give is Schlage’s Encode Century Wi-Fi Door Lock. This model topped our guide to the best keypad door locks because it was easy to install and use. It can be used to replace any lever-style door lock, and only requires a screwdriver for installation. We like the Encode Century Wi-Fi Door Lock because it can be opened in three ways: With an included key, using a programmed code, or via an app available on iOS and Android. The app allows you to lock and unlock the door remotely and double-check that the door has been locked after you’ve left the house. You can create custom passcodes for trusted people, and get alerts on your phone each time the door has been locked or unlocked. This is a practical home gift that’ll help improve your friend or family member’s peace of mind.
Best smart thermostat: Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen)
It can be difficult to get work done in an environment that’s too hot or cold, so if you need a smart home gift for someone who complains about the stuffiness of their home office, we’ve got the perfect gift. Google’s fourth-generation Nest Thermostat will allow them to control the temperature of their home from the comfort of their smartphone. The thermostat can also “learn” their routine by making note of when they make temperature adjustments, and begin making them automatically. The benefit of setting the Nest Thermostat on autopilot is it can heat or cool a home more efficiently by only starting your HVAC system when someone is currently home or typically around. This can actually help lower the utility bill in some cases. Google bundles this generation of Nest Thermostat with a battery-powered wireless temperature sensor, which can be placed in rooms that typically get warmer or cooler than the rest of your home. The Nest Thermostat will work to ensure that part of the home gets to the appropriate temperature, too.
We’ve never seen anything quite like the Vestaboard, which perfectly typifies the concept of ambient computing. The internet-connected smart board contains 132 “bits,” which flip to reveal different characters or colors. You can send messages to the Vestaboard through the company’s app, which is intuitive to use and comes pre-loaded with a few quotes and color patterns to show you its potential. A paid service called Vestaboard+ allows you to use applications to automate the board in even more creative ways, like displaying the current song you’re listening to through a streaming service, current sports scores, or playing a word game.
This is the ideal indulgent gift for someone who spends a lot of time in their home office or wants a fancy family bulletin board in their living room. Vestaboard owners can grant other people access to their board, allowing friends and family to send messages. The Vestaboard is a unique canvas for people to display meaningful quotes, words of encouragement, or mini works of art. We guarantee the person you gift it to won’t have seen anything like it.
Aerogarden
Growing an herb garden without outdoor space can feel intimidating, but AeroGarden’s Harvest Elite takes all the guesswork out of it. The indoor garden allows you to grow six plants at a time from pre-made pods, which fit into slots built into the Harvest Elite. This gadget feeds the plants automatically by drawing water from its built-in reservoir on a set schedule. Aerogarden provides liquid plant food, which is added to the water reservoir each time it’s refilled. A 20 Watt light array above the herbs provides them with ample light even on the darkest days, and turns on and off on a fit schedule. The Harvest Elite is guaranteed to grow greens as long as fresh water is added to the reservoir every few days, which makes it a great gift for both foodies and aspiring plant parents.
Have a backyard or balcony and an interest in growing greens? Another option is the Lettuce Grow Farmstand starter set. This vertical hydroponic growing system starts with 12 pre-sprouted plants in a tower just under 4-feet tall, but can be customized to your space and budget. It only takes minutes each week to add the water and nutrients necessary and, within a month, you’re enjoying pesticide-free veggies, leafy greens, herbs, fruits, and lettuce.
The fire licks out above the rim, but it barely smokes.
If you’re shopping for someone who’s into backyard glamping, Solo Stove’s Bonfire 2.0 is the fire pit we recommend. It was designed to be “smokeless,” meaning a continuous flow of air, and an intelligently placed ash pan prevents tons of smoke from billowing out of it constantly. There’ll still be some smoke, but not enough to make your eyes water, which means campers can sit closer to it (but not too close) to enjoy its warmth. Solo Stove addressed our one complaint with the original Bonfire by making this model’s ashtray easily removable, which makes cleanup a breeze.
Yes, we recommend you get someone in your life a trash can, but hear us out. Brabantia’s Bo Touch has a modern design that’s surprisingly eye-catching in person. Everybody needs a trash can, so why not gift them one they won’t mind looking at several times a day for decades? We also like the Bo Touch’s namesake feature: the ability to open and close its lid by lightly pressing it. Brabantia offers the Bo Touch in a handful of configurations, but the one we recommend has a single 9.5-gallon slot for trash. The person you gift this to may be confused initially, but they’ll quickly change their tune.
We’ve all used a phone flashlight to navigate around the house, which is why we’re certain about gifting SnapPower’s GuideLight to just about anybody in your life. The plate attaches to any duplex outlet and has a couple of small, downward-facing LEDs, which get triggered every time somebody walks by. All you need to install the GuideLight is a screwdriver; no previous electrical engineering experience is required. There’s not much to say about the GuideLight, but it’s an incredibly practical tool that’ll fit in anybody’s home.
An LED desk lamp is an essential accessory for anyone who works from home. It’s especially helpful as a source of illumination when making video calls. The Edge 2.0 is Lume Cube’s latest desk lamp; it has several points of articulation, which allows you to get the perfect angle below or beside a computer monitor. Its touch-sensitive base makes it easy to adjust the lamp’s illumination (up to 700 lumens) and color temperature (between 2700 and 7500 kelvin with a single swipe. Ease of use, flexibility, and design make this the perfect addition to anybody’s home office setup.
Ever feel like you’re just shuffling your feet, waiting for people to get back to you or for everyone to join a video conference? Feel like you’re just spinning your wheels, waiting for tech support to figure out what’s wrong with your laptop? Well, you—or your gift recipient—can turn purgatory (or any other time) into a type of productivity with one of the many compact Cubii under-desk elliptical systems. Aimed to help folks “get fit while you sit,” the low-impact apparatus turns fidgeting into function as you activate multiple muscle groups at the pedaling intensity you prefer, thanks to six selectable resistance levels. Whisper-quiet, the MOVE can live underneath your desk for daily use without distracting others but, at under 20 lbs, can also be easily moved if needed.
Best robot vacuum-mop: Narwall Freo
Narwal’s Freo Robot Vacuum and Mop can do two annoying chores and does a surprisingly good job making your floors look neat. The vacuum’s sensors allow it to clean around obstacles like chairs, shoes, and walls without bumping into them and will prevent the Freo from falling down a flight of stairs. Additional sensors will know when the robot vacuum has hit a particularly dirty flooring patch and focus its energy there. A feature called “smart swing” will position the vacuum to to better clean around corners.
Once the Freo is done cleaning, it will base to charge and empty its dirt and dirty water into two chambers built into its base. The Freo Narwal can be set on a schedule to clean when your friend or family member is out of the house, so they won’t have to hear the whirring sound of a vacuum ever again. Ultimately, this is one of the few smart home tools that will truly save your friend or family member time.
If you’re shopping for someone who’s really into health and hydration or really misses the office experience of gathering around the water cooler to talk about the latest must-see TV, you can’t go wrong gifting them The Well. This countertop water purifier runs the water in its tank through several filter, and can imbue it with minerals and flavors for a little extra kick. Touch-sensitive buttons on its front side make it easy to get pure water with a single press. Lang says its water purifier’s filters last about two years (this will vary based on how much water your giftee drinks). This is a gift home office workers won’t expect, but will immediately appreciate.
Do you know a bathroom karaoke superstar? Or someone who likes to start their day catching up on podcasts? No gift will make them happier than Kohler’s Moxie Bluetooth Showerhead. Installing it requires you just twist off your old showerhead and spin on the new one, a process that takes two minutes. A waterproof Bluetooth speaker sits in the center of the shower head, pumping out tunes or talk for several hours before needing to be recharged. The speaker was developed by Harman Kardon and sounds pretty good. Importantly, it’s easy to turn on and off with wet and soapy hands. This is one of those gifts they’ll never see coming and will use every day.
Amazon
Shopping for a reader who’s on the fence about e-books? Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite was just released, and it’s our go-to eReader recommendation. The device has a 7-inch high-resolution display, so text will look crisp and almost paperlike while reading. Amazon has upgraded the processor, which means pages turn more quickly, making it easier to move through books more seamlessly. The biggest benefit readers will find when using a Kindle is the ability to move an entire library around with them. The Paperwhite can hold thousands of books, and its battery is designed to last for weeks between charges. Amazon says the Kindle store has over 15 million titles available, so they can pick up the latest titles as they’re released while catching up on classics, too. The new Kindle Paperwhite is even equipped with backlights that will automatically adjust itself based on the amount of ambient light in the room, so reading sessions that move from day to night won’t get interrupted.
Austere’s VII Series Power 8-Outlet will keep your friend or family member’s gear safe in case of a sudden power surge.
This gift may not immediately impress but it is incredibly important for the home office worker. Austere’s VII Series Power 8-Outlet will protect their equipment in case of a sudden power surge, which could fry their computer, monitor, and other expensive tech accessories. Gifting someone this surge protector could save them thousands of dollars in the long run. We like Austere’s VII Series Power 8-Outlet because of its sturdy construction, seven-year guarantee, and USB ports, which allow you to charge smaller devices without taking up one of the outlets with a power adapter. Is this gift practical? Extremely. But no home office is truly complete without one.
VIA: popsci.com
