Celebrate this year's bacchanal of consumerism by purchasing your loved one a smartwatch to nerd out their wrist, a drone to help them claim air superiority, a new laptop for their schoolwork, or maybe just a selfie stick to indulge their narcissism. Follow our lead and don't get caught gifting a lemon.
A new gold MacBook weighs 32.48 oz and costs $1,299. An ounce of gold currently trades for over $1,300. That means you can get 32 oz of gold MacBook for less than the cost of a single ounce of gold. It's a deal only a fool would pass up.
Have a friend who's always late? Are they also terrible at responding to texts? The Motorola Moto 360 tells time and keeps its owner connected. Now your friend has no excuse.
It's never been easier to record yourself bombing down a mountain on a bike, paddling through rapids, or falling out of the treehouse in the backyard. The GoPro Hero 4 Session makes up for its pared down features with its compact size. Heck, it's almost cute.
Does someone you know dream of drones? Then they're probably dreaming of the DJI Phantom 3 Pro. Make their dreams come true.
Wine and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, iPhone and... Apple Watch. Yeah let's go with it. The best pairing for the Apple lover in your life.
It's a selfie stick! What else is there to say? Stuff it in a stocking for your dad and move on with your life.
Pebble's Time Round is for the person that wants a smartwatch, but doesn't want everyone in the world to know they have one. It's not the most capable device of its kind, but it's discreet and looks great.
With the rise of giant phones, small tablets have somewhat fallen out of favor. But if you know someone that wants an all-around device that can be easily held in one hand, you can't do better than the iPad mini 4.
Everyone's smartphone has a camera, but if you know someone who wants a "real" camera, get them the Olympus OMD E-M10 Mark II. It takes great photos, has lots of manual controls, and has tons of lenses available.
Sometimes you just want a really great-looking dumbwatch. The Instrmnt 01 watch is just that; it's cool, modern, and has reliable Swiss movement.
Even though smartphones have become ubiquitous, there's still room for the humble iPod touch, which just got refreshed this year. It gives you access to over a million iOS apps, has two cameras, and will fit in nearly any pocket. And it doesn't cost $650.
Nintendo still doesn't let you play Mario games on an iPhone, so the only way to get your fix is with a 3DS. The new 3DS XL is the best one yet, and when you've beaten Super Mario Bros. for the thousandth time, there are a ton of other great games available for it.
Is it a tablet? Is it a laptop? Is it... both? It is! If you're shopping for a Windows fan, chances are you can't do better than Microsoft's own Surface Pro 4.
Samsung used to make terrible smartwatches, but now it makes pretty good ones! The Gear S2 looks sharp, has a great display, and features a really fun rotating bezel that will keep you entertained for days. Okay, hours. Fine, minutes. Whatever, it's cool.
Wireless headphones are a dime a dozen, but good-looking headphones that work well and are comfortable to wear are still pretty rare. This year, we really like the Plantronics BackBeat Sense, which can automatically pause your music when you pull them off your ears.
There's a saying 'round these parts: gifting an iPhone 6S Plus means never having to say you're sorry.
Fine, not everyone wants an iPhone. The Samsung Note 5 is a great Android phone with some neat stylus features. If you don't mind shelling out the big bucks, it's going to make someone you know very happy.
Tablets are among the most popular gifts during the holiday season, but they don’t usually come cheap. But with Amazon’s bundle of Fire tablets, you can give six of your friends real, bona fide Amazon tablets for less than the cost of a single iPad mini.
The easiest way to get Adele's new video onto your TV is with Google's Chromecast. It's the simplest, most popular streaming stick by a mile, and it's even better this year. $35 gets you one heck of a nice stocking stuffer.
Got two phones you need to charge? Do both of them have wireless charging support? Then you need the Incipio Ghost 220, which can charge two phones at the same time. Bonus: if you have a Motorola smartwatch, the Ghost can charge that, too. Charging bliss!
Look, it's not the future of television we were promised, but the Apple TV is still a really good streaming box. You can get pretty much any content you want, it's fast and easy to use, and has a nifty touch-sensitive remote. And now it has apps! And games!
Bluetooth speakers are great and all, but when you want to get serious about your wireless home audio setup, go Sonos. The Play:1 is the entry-level Sonos speaker, but it sounds fantastic and is an easy way to get someone on the road to wireless. (It's available in black and white — sorry, the blue model is sold out!)
Routers are a pain to set up and maintain, and if you're trying to troubleshoot one for a family member across the country, good luck. It's almost impossible to screw up Google's new OnHub router, and you can control it from hundreds of miles away with your smartphone. It's really a gift for you more than for them.
The Motorola Moto G isn't the fanciest phone out there, but it works well and you won't be completely hosed when your kid drops it in a puddle while filming that epic Snap.
Fitness trackers are everywhere, but if you want to gift one that doesn't end up in a drawer, go with the Fitbit Charge HR. It can count steps, read your heartrate, and even tells the time.
Makers are everywhere, and most of them got their start tinkering on simple Arduino kits. It's the Erector set for the new generation, and this inexpensive kit has everything a young maker needs to get started.
The thing about everyone owning an iPhone is that everyone's photos look the same. Mix up your shots with a Moment lens, which lets you get a wider field or get up close with your subject.
If you want to get someone started with drones, but don't want to pony up a full G, the Blade FPV Nano QX is a great choice. For about the price of a game console, you get an honest-to-goodness real life (tiny) flying machine.