In these tough economic times, many of us are trying to be practical with gift ideas so stuff for the home gets more consideration. Gifts like these might not be the most romantic if you’re buying for your wife or girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find cool stuff that brings a smile to someone’s face. Focus on things that either look great or make someone’s life a lot easier and you’ll make someone happy.
Check out the rest of our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide for more gift ideas!
Ernest Pool Bar Cart
The “Mad Men” craze has resulted in a new appreciation for classic cocktails and all the accessories for entertaining at home. We added Canadian Club Whisky in our gift guide for men, and here we’re including a classic bar cart which would be a great gift for a bachelor or a couple. This swanky design from Mash Studios captures the classic feel of an earlier time that will fit in well in most rooms. The cart has wheels which make it easy to serve guests during a party. The cart is steel-framed with hi-gloss pool powdercoat with interchangeable mirrored and tempered glass shelves. Make sure to include a nice bottle of booze with this gift!
Nespresso Coffeemakers
Single cup coffeemakers and espresso machines are becoming more popular, so a new coffee machine makes for a great gift for coffee-lovers. The espresso machines from Nespresso are very stylish and they make great incredible espresso shots along with other coffee concoctions. There are plenty of competitors as these machines become more popular so you should shop around, but you can’t go wrong with this brand.
The Ultimate Portable Heater
Dyson has revolutionized vacuum cleaners (see below), and now the company has an amazing portable heater/fan that’s perfect for that cold room in your house in the winter or that stuffy room in the summer. More importantly, it looks great so anyone who appreciates elegant design will love this product as well. With its sleek design, the Dyson HOT AM04 doesn’t look like anything else on the market. This heater/fan incorporates Air Multiplier technology by drawing in surrounding air to heat or cool a room faster than any other heater. It’s great for rooms of all sizes from dorm rooms to great rooms and you can select target temperature to the degree. It has a long range heat projection feature that lets you feel direct heat throughout the room.
Supersmile Holiday Gift Set
Everyone likes white teeth as many men are also joining the whitening craze. According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the demand for teeth whitening products has increased by more than 300% over the past 5 years and around 1/3 of the purchasers are men. This holiday gift set from Supersmile includes a cool electronic toothbrush along with a whitening system so it’s a great gift option for many people on your list. The Series II LS 45 Advanced Sonic Pulse Toothbrush is also sold separately at $99. It operates at 30,0000 strokes per minute and offers three custom setting.
iZON Remote Room Monitor
If anyone in your family or circle of friends has just had a baby or is expecting, this cool new monitor from Stem Innovation makes a great gift. This innovative and elegant video camera enables you to view and listen to activity in your home or office from anywhere in the world on your iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. You can use it as a baby monitor, or as a monitor in your home when the babysitter is watching your kid. It can also be used as a security device as well so it also makes a great gift for anyone who’s interested in a video monitor. Privacy is also protected ensured as iZON uses secure encryption to stream video and audio through your local wireless network. Set up multiple iZON on a single network and view in a list within the app.
KRUPS 10-Cup Programmable Coffee Machine
Single serving coffee makers are all the rage, but larger coffee makers are still a must in many homes. This beautifully designed 10-cup machine from KRUPS will look great in any kitchen with its stainless steel construction. It looks so much nicer than all the plastic coffee makers out there so anyone with a sense of style will appreciate this gift. It’s also fully programmable and reasonably priced at $69.
Dyson DC41 Animal
It’s hard to imagine a less romantic gift than a vacuum cleaner, particularly if you’re buying it for your wife. Yet Dyson products are incredibly popular now with their innovative products and cool designs. The days of vacuum backs are gone! Just tee this up with some jewelry as well and you’ll probably get a great response. The Dyson is also a good option if you have other friends and family who will appreciate a practical gift and cool technology. This is Dyson’s most powerful and strongest vacuum yet. The vacuum turns on a dime with the motor, ducting, valves and stand enclosed inside the Ball so you can steer under and around furniture without a problem. Dyson is also known for its impressive suction power. Bottom line – this is a quality and innovative product, and everyone needs a vacuum, so it can be a great option for plenty of people on your list.
KRUPS Panini Maker
Everyone loves a great grilled cheese sandwich, Rubens or Italian Panini sandwiches, so this Panini maker from KRUPS should be a hit on the holidays. It distributes heat quickly and evenly and nonstick cooking plates make cleanup as easy as cooking. It fits nicely on your kitchen counter and can also be used as a handy grille for meat as well.
Grip Grater from quirky
If you have ever used a flat cheese grater, you know that It’s difficult to hold it steady and then keep your cheese on the surface you are grating it onto. Or if you are using a box grater, you need to grate onto a big plate and try and hold it steady from the top. Somehow, neither ever feels completely right, and there is always a gripping problem, a cheese-all-over-your-counter problem, or — due to a loose grip — bloody knuckles (blech, sorry). But lo and behold, just in time for stuffing stockings, comes the Grip Grater, the kind of kitchen gadget that makes you wish you’d have thought of it first. The Grip Grater is an apparatus with handles, and has cartridges for different size shreds. But the best part is that you can close the handles in order to have a solid grip on the grater (hence the name), or the kicker — you can place the grates over a bowl, and then close the handles AROUND the bowl in order to lock it onto the bowl and make sure your cheese all lands in the bowl. Brilliant. To learn more about quirky’s social product development and how you can submit your own product ideas, visit quirky.com.
Verseur from quirky
This innovative multi-tool is like a Swiss Army knife for wine lovers, featuring a 4-in-1 design that’s sleek and practical with a base that allows you to store it standing straight up to prevent creating any more clutter in the kitchen drawer. The single-motion corkscrew provides a smooth removal of the cork without the usual struggles, while the incorporated foil cutter located in the base of the Verseur makes opening a new bottle even easier, since you won’t be fumbling for a knife to cut the seal. Of course, you can find a lot of these same qualities in several corkscrews on the market, but where the Verseur really stands out from the pack is in the ingenious integration of a rubber stopper for preserving wine and a pour spout to serve without spilling a drop. It’s about as close to full bottle service as you can get.
Plug Hub from quirky
Get rid of cord clutter for good with this simple yet extremely handy product. The Plug Hub, billed as an “under-desk cord management” solution, is a box-like structure featuring three openings at the top to funnel all of your cords down into your power strip, which sits at the base of the unit. Inside the Plug Hub are three integrated cord anchors to wrap and hide longer cords, and the hinged cover gives you plenty of room to set everything up neatly inside. Simply swing the cover shut when your cords are ready and slide the Plug Hub into a discreet location or even mount it on the wall. As the package says, the Plug Hub will help you “rid the rat’s nest” in your office, your living room or anywhere else in need of cord de-cluttering.
