This is a very good year to get a gadget for a gal. There is so much! I have been trying things I want, my friends want, or my daughter wants all year long. Don’t take a man’s word for what a woman wants. Listen to me. I have tried it all. And I am telling you that this — right here — is what the women want.
Note: Prices fluctuate during holiday sales but what’s here is what things cost as I am writing this. Cheers!
1. Aura Frame, $299, Buy
This is an amazing digital frame. It’s so much smarter than any of the others I’ve tried. Upload photos straight from your smartphone. It also has light, motion, and gesture sensors. So if you don’t like one photo just swipe — by waving your hand — to the next frame.
2. Peloton Bike, $1,995, Buy
Believe the hype! This is the only piece of home exercise equipment I have used steadily for two years+. I love it.
3. iHome Zenergy Flameless Candle, $69.99, Buy
Add a warming charm to your home with the Zenergy Candle by iHome. The lights shimmer and dance as they reflect on the gold leaf style finishes. It also delivers meditative lighting and sleep therapy that will keep you focused and relaxed. Or it will take you straight to dreamland with the 4-7-8 breathing technique inspired by yoga.
4. Kindle Oasis, $249.99, Buy
The all-new Kindle Oasis features Amazon’s largest and highest-resolution display in a thin, light ergonomic design. It’s the first waterproof Kindle. So you can read anywhere, including the bathtub or the pool. It’s the perfect pick for a book lover who wants a library always at her fingertips.
5. Polaroid POP, $199.99, Buy
This just-released camera lets you instantly capture, print, and share all your photos from one device. Bluetooth enabled, the Pop prints photos from your smartphone through the camera, or lets you upload anything you take on the camera to your phone or social media. You can even edit pictures before you print with filters, stickers, and text. The camera also shoots 1080 HD video and GIFs, too!
6. Apple Watch Series 3, $329, Buy
Is she married to her phone? That might not be by choice. She has so many projects and people to keep track of disaster reigns when she leaves it behind. This bit of bling, strapped to her wrist, is the solve. She can leave her phone and still get texts and calls, listen to her soundtrack, and ask Siri for help keeping it all straight. She will be thrilled with this.
7. RocksBox, $21 per month, Buy
Were you thinking of buying her jewelry? Hello! What year is this? Get her a monthly subscription to jewelry that she can wear, send back, or buy what she likes. (She gets a monthly credit for purchases.) She gets jewelry. You get to find out what she likes. No one spends hours combing jewelry stores in a state of horrific decision angst.
8. Portovino Wine Purse, $74.95, Buy
You know she would love it if you found a way to sneak wine into the movies, sports events, the theater, and even that adorable third-grade Christmas production. So what do you think she won’t like about this? It’s a cute, big purse. That holds — and insulates — wine. It has a spigot so you don’t have to haul the bottle out in front of all those elementary school teachers.
9. iPhone X, $999, Buy
If you really want to score points, or make up for huge mistakes made, this is it. The iPhone upgrade of the century. Or, er, the decade. She might say she doesn’t want it. But you know she does. If you have the coin, go for it.
10. Beats Solo 3, $199.99, Buy
Sometimes a woman just needs a minute to herself. Even if she is surrounded by toddlers, arguing with a teen, or riding the train. This headset delivers respite right to her ears: 40 hours of battery life, fetching colors, a sexy design, great sound. And it lets calls through so she doesn’t have to fret she’ll miss an emergency while she looks for calm.
11. Simplehuman Sensor Mirror Pro, $400, Buy
Save her from heading into the world wearing the wrong shade without remodeling the whole house to get some natural light into her dressing area. This smart mirror not only lights and magnifies, it lets her recreate the light outside before she goes out so that her colors are spot on. If you love that’s she glam, enable her.
12. Amazon Echo $79.99. Buy
“Alexa, set a 10-minute timer for my hard-boiled eggs. Alexa, I’m jonesing for a cookie! Talk me down!” Alexa, remind me to pick up the kids at 2:30 pm. Alexa, how’s the weather?”
This is the personal assistant she wants and needs. If she doesn’t already have one, get this. If she does already have one, get this. She probably wants another for another room and now they come in cute colors.
13. ThirdLove, Shop & Buy
How do you get around this universal shopping dilemma? You want to buy her sexy underthings but you don’t want to first pelt her with a bunch of rude personal questions. ThirdLove. You buy, she chooses — in the privacy of her own browser.
14. Sphynx Portable razor, $17.99, Buy
“Let’s go to the beach,” you say impulsively, three days into your road trip. She, usually up for anything and in a long-term love affair with the ocean, hesitates and makes excuses. She just needs this super portable shaving kit in her road-tripping gear. She can touch up while she changes into her bikini. No one will ever know. No jokes about the 80s.
15. Samsung Darth Vader Robot Vacuum, $799, Buy
If the kids want to set Darth Vader loose cleaning the house while she sips wine, it’s not child labor. They are playing! This ultra-powerful vacuum is doing all the work. Maybe it seems like a toy for the kids. Or even the dreaded ‘vacuum cleaner gift.’But when the house is clean and her glass is full, she will see your wisdom.
16. Wisewear Calder Smart Bracelet, $325, Buy
Smart watches with panic buttons built in are a smart idea for any woman who goes anywhere by herself, ever. But they aren’t pretty. Except this one is. Three taps to this bit of bling, alerts her network that she needs help. It’s also a step tracker and buzzes to alert her to calls and messages on her phone. If her steps tend to be taken in glamorous shoes while her purse is tucked away in a purse, she will love this. It comes in several lovely designs.
17. Hyperice Vyper 2.0 High Intensity Vibrating Fitness Roller, $199, Buy
This device is a massage therapist and that rolled up towel she has been using to cope with back pain all rolled into one. It comes with instructions on how to incorporate it into a workout to prevent muscle pain. Smarter than popping ibuprofen, with much prettier results.
18. Hey Girl Crew Neck Tee, $39, Buy
She has embraced the language of emoticon. Let her wear it on her chest. This is a cute T-Shirt with a sparkly emoji on the pocket.
19. Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer. $399.99, Buy
Dyson — of fan and vacuum fame — has taken on the hair dryer and the results are spectacular. Spendy but worth it. This thing is rocking the world of cheap, hair-destroying appliances and giving women back their lovely locks.
20. Lumee LightUp Selfie Phone Case, $38.49, Buy
My daughter told me that, on average, she has her picture taken 60 times a day at school. I cringe at the idea of all those photos taken in the glare of average lighting. This phone brings the soft lighting to the selfie so she can be ready for every single one of those close ups.
21. DateBox, Subscription Service
Has she given up asking for date night because you always want to go to the same pub for the same grub? And when you try something new, it fails spectacularly? You want to solve that, man. Movies have been made about how that ends. Get her this. You pay. It sends a box with stay-at-home date ideas. So you don’t have to get dressed, overspend, and fail — ever again.