Gadgets and gag gifts perfect for the holidays

While this week draws the end of the semester closer and all of us are busy preparing for finals and making plans to spend time with loved ones, we might find ourselves equally distracted by last-minute Christmas gifts. Thankfully we have the Internet just in case we missed out on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday or even Hangover Sunday. With websites like The Grommet and U Gift Ideas you can easily breeze through an assortment of gift ideas for anyone. These sites even have custom gift options in case you want to include someone’s name to an item like jewelry or just simply add a “love you” card or something.

I personally haven’t ordered any products from U Gift Ideas, but I did order a couple items for the kids on The Grommet. The site is user friendly and easy to navigate. They offer live customer chat if you have questions and they ship their merchandise relatively quick. I used PayPal to make my purchase and I received my parcel in four days. One quick tip: If you’ve never used PayPal and you make a lot of online purchases, I would suggest trying it. It’s easy to use and is linked to your email account. You can make fast, multiple purchases online with a few mouse clicks all without the hassle of having to continuously add your credit card information (safety first!).

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Contributed photos/BioPop

The Bioluminescent Dino Pet gives a new name to night lights for just $60.

So while I have been steadily surfing the Web, I’ve found some interesting gift ideas I thought deserved a worthy mention. Don’t worry, this is the holiday edition and we want happy thoughts so we’re not going to be burning anything off or implanting ourselves with anything today. The first item on the list is the Bioluminescent Dino Pet. The product is a clear plastic dinosaur and inside the dinosaur is bioluminescent marine algae. The algae will glow at night creating a unique nightlight. What’s in the box? Sea water, the bioluminescent marine algae, food for your new pets and instructions. The manufacturer notes the way it works is the Dino Pet will photosynthesize during the day and glow at night. The cost? $60.

Next on the list is the drone. They are fairly cheap to purchase and easy to maneuver. If you go to Amazon, for under $60 you could purchase the Syma X5C quadcopter. It comes complete with an HD camera and extra battery for more flight time.

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Contributed photos/Syma

The Syma X5C quadcopter equipped with an HD camera and extra battery life can be found on Amazon for just a price under $60.

So now I’ll try to bring you the funny for your holidays needs. This isn’t a great tech product, but you could put that really wanted tech gift for your children or loved ones in it so it made the list. What you’re buying is the package and not the actual product on the package. It’s made by Prank Pack and can be found on Amazon. It’s described as “gift box appears to contain ridiculous products from clueless companies” and they have an assortment of gag packaging for your gifts. For example you could easily slip a new tablet or smartphone into one of these boxes so your victim believes they received a horrible gift. Some of their ideas include The NapSack, which is just a bag with a fan attached to the top of it that you slide over your head. Or the iArm, which looks ridiculous. Total cost for this holiday barrel of laughs — $7 each or they sell Prank Packs of three for $17.

 

Contributed photos/Prank Pack

The NapSack is the perfect holiday gifts for good laughs for $7 each or in a Prank Pack for $17.

Lastly I’d like to mention the re-gift. These gifts are the ones you get when you’re not sure what to get someone. Yes the fruitcake is classic but I think the modern age has spruced it up a little with The Micro Beer Bucket Gift Basket. I stumbled across these gift baskets on GourmetGiftBaskets.com. The beer package comes in a tin bucket and has a six-pack of micro beers and an assortment of popcorn and peanuts. The mix will set you back $70, but what else do you get someone when you just do not know? The wine basket they have. The price for this package is as steep as the beer package, but for the drinker in your recipient I think whether man or woman would rather have the wine package because it comes with more food. Happy holidays!

 

Charles_GonzalezC. Robert Gonzalez

Columnist

cgonzalez@foghornnews.com

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