These Are The Only Holiday Gifts Worth Buying — And They’re Totally Worth The Splurge

Holiday shopping can go one of two ways: Either you buy a bunch of moderately priced, smaller gifts, like socks — or you buy one really big gift to knock those socks off. This gift guide is for people looking to elicit shocked and excited responses from their recipients.
The items on this list may take a little more out of your wallet, but they come with the assurance of high quality and even higher satisfaction ratings. The holidays are a time to show appreciation to your loved ones through words, food — and, if you choose, through extravagant gifts for people who might be too modest to get them for themselves.
Let us save you time pondering the perfect gift by suggesting one of these totally splurge-worthy items.
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A single candle is a nice gift but a risk if you don’t know the recipient’s fragrance preferences. A set of mini candles gives them the chance to test out a few scents to figure out their favorite. The Home Ambiance Set from Flamingo Estate includes six of the brand’s most popular scents, including Roma Heirloom Tomato and Douglas Fir & Ancient Vetiver.
Help them meet their daily step quota by gifting Maksone’s highly rated walking pad. These pads have a modern wood finish and fit easily in tight spaces with a height of only 6.5 inches. Clip the on-page coupon for an extra $90 off.
So many devices, so few chargers. Courant’s exquisite Mag:3 tray is made from Italian leather and can juice up AirPods and recent iPhone models since iPhone 12. The brand also makes a more affordable linen version.
There’s plenty to love about reading a physical book, but e-readers will ultimately save you money. Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite signature edition is the brand’s fastest offering to date, featuring 32GB storage and wireless charging. It also comes with three free months of access to the Kindle Unlimited library of titles.
Anyone who has ever owned a Bose personal audio product knows the comfort and sound quality are unparalleled. Folks who want the earbud experience without having to shove them into their ears will be thrilled with their Ultra Open concept.
Help them live their coziest life this winter with a smart mug that keeps beverages heated to an exact temperature. With over 13,000 5-star reviews, Ember’s app-controlled option is loved for its ease of use and ability to remember a user’s preferences.
If there’s anything splurge-worthy on the list, it’s most certainly this wearable tech that helps people stay on top of their health. The Oura Ring tracks sleep patterns and monitors other vital data, and alerts wearers to any abnormal readings. It’s a gift that just might save their life one day.
Hikers, campers or just frequent travelers will appreciate unwrapping this water-repellent backpack with plenty of storage for their gear. This collab between Adidas by Stella McCartney and Terrex is designed to protect your belongings from the elements, and it’s partly constructed from recycled materials.
Every hour can be happy hour with an appliance that acts as a personal bartender. Black+Decker’s Bev cocktail maker takes drink capsules and lets users set how strong they want their beverage before mixing up a boozy treat. Drink pods must be purchased separately.
Finding a pair of soft slippers that are also durable enough to provide proper support is not easy. Kuru specializes in footwear for folks who deal with podiatric pain, and these loft slippers are built with the brand’s signature technology, which auto-adapts to the shape of the wearer’s feet. The slippers are available in women’s (pictured here) and men’s styles.
Ninja has a knack for cooking up (pun intended) kitchen gadgets that go viral, and the Crispi air fryer is one of their buzziest offerings to date. It’s a portable appliance that cooks and reheats food in the same glass containers used for storing your leftovers. Kiss the microwave goodbye!
Remote employees looking to build up their home office or gamers wanting to enhance their playing experience will get a lot of use out of a surround-sound setup. The Z906 system from Logitech includes two satellite speakers and a subwoofer all controlled by a Bluetooth-enabled dial.
Keurig has come a long way from just brewing a single cup of coffee for one person. This all-in-one offering brews single cups and carafes in both hot and cold options. Dealer’s choice on whether you brew from a K-Cup or loose coffee grounds. It’s a no-brainer gift for the coffee lover in your life.
There are a dizzying amount of audio tech brands out there flooding the market with portable speakers of all shapes, sizes and price points. Not all of these brands make the amps used at the concerts of your favorite bands. Marshall has been churning out top-of-the-line speakers for over 60 years, and the Emberton II is one of the best options when it comes to personal audio.
Sleep more soundly, knowing you found the best gift for your loved one who really values a solid night’s rest. Ostrichpillow is designed to offer the same level of comfort and support for people no matter their preferred sleeping position.
’80s kids and even younger folks may remember the thrill of opening a new gaming system for the holidays — and that same feeling will hit when they unwrap this Nintendo Switch. Nintendo’s holiday bundle includes the OLED console, joycons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and free access to Nintendo Switch Online for a year. You could also grab Mario & Luigi: Brothership and Super Mario Party Jamboree to catch them up on the brand’s latest game offerings.
Most of us have hundreds (if not thousands) of photos on our phones that we barely look at. Give them a place to display their favorite memories with Skylight’s Wi-Fi-enabled digital frame, which holds up to 8GB of pictures and rotates through them on a 10-inch screen.
Even the most difficult people to shop for will be grateful to receive a luxurious chunky knit blanket like this option from Samiah Luxe. Made from chenille fabric and measuring in at 50 by 70 inches, it’s nearly impossible to have a productive day after snuggling up underneath one of these.
Both amateur and experienced gardeners will have a field day setting up their own hydroponics system to grow veggies or fruits and flowers. Reviewers who bought this LPH-SE model from Letpot have been impressed by its design and the health of the plants it produced. If you know someone who has been curious about developing a green thumb but lacks the outdoor space, this is the gift for them.
This one’s for the animal lovers and nature enthusiasts. Netvue’s popular smart bird feeder works with an app to control a built-in camera allowing observers to get close to their winged friends like never before. Fans of this feeder praise the high-quality images it captures and how it holds up when cold weather hits.
If you’re looking to gift something truly unique, look no further. After raising over $376,000 from more than 1,700 backers on Kickstarter, Klydoclock is finally widely available through the brand’s website, and worth every penny. The clock connects to Wi-Fi, downloading tons of gorgeous artistic animations every day, which are the background to the clock hands and can be programmed using a remote. It’s pretty much guaranteed to be the coolest gift they’ll receive this year.