It’s that time of year when you must search for that perfect gift for all of the special people in your life. For some people that’s easy. For others it can be a challenge to get something that is just right for them. With the holiday season stressful enough without having to worry about gift shopping, this handy guide might make your life a little easier with great ideas for those certain types of people in your life with particular tastes.
The Interior Designer: Create a Lighting Masterpiece
The Nanoleaf Canvas Smarter Kit ($199) is comprised of nine touch-controllable LED Light Squares that connect together and can be easily mounted to non-porous surfaces—without drilling. So you can decorate your walls with any design of your choosing, whether it be a smart art decoration above your sofa, a butterfly in your nursery, or filling an entire wall for a surefire party room. You can personalize the lighting experience through compatible smart home platforms and the squares also react to touch and sound—creating a whole new experience when listening to music, watching TV, or playing games.
The Musician: Learn How to Rock
Positive Grid’s Spark ($179 and up) is a smart amp that can not only teach you how to play—it can also jam along with you! The Spark amp works with a companion app to learn how you play and then generate authentic bass and drums to accompany you. Additionally, the app can also display the chords to millions of songs in real time, which you can also slow down or loop a specific section in order to help you master the song. And the app responds to voice commands—so you don’t have to stop playing to control it.
The Gamer: Play on the Go
Nintendo’s Switch was already popular for letting gamers play on their big-screen or on the go, and now they have a dedicated handheld model for those that just prefer the latter. The Nintendo Switch Lite ($199) is designed specifically for handheld play with a lightweight and compact design that is smaller than the flagship version of Switch. And it is already compatible with the library of more than 2,000 Nintendo Switch games that work in handheld mode.
The Entertainer: Cocktails Made Easy
Other companies have tried to mimic what Keurig did for single-served cups of coffee with devices that make cocktails—well now Keurig has a device that does just that. The Drinkworks Home Bar ($299), backed by both Anheuser Busch and Keurig, lets you choose from a wide variety of pods that can deliver a single serving cocktail, brew, or wine. Current choices include classics like Old Fashioned, White Russian, Whiskey Sour, Margarita, Moscow Mule, Mai Tai, and Sangria (both red and white). However, the device is currently only for sale in Florida, Missouri, California, and Pennsylvania.
The Coffee Lover: Premium Travel Java
Some people are very particular about their coffee—and the options available in hotel rooms just won’t do. Travel product company Pakt is currently crowdfunding a product to change that—the Coffee Kit (pledge options are $149 and up with shipping promised in December). Built and optimized for travel, this kit includes everything you need to make pour over coffee as long as you have access to electricity and water. That includes an electric kettle, stainless steel mug, grounds container, pour-over dripper, scooper, and more—and it all fits together in a 12.5 x 4.5-inch container.
