I love a good gift guide that’s super personalized, but I’ve been recommending things that aren’t at all surprising in most of my favorite tech products for over a decade. So I dug deep into my Amazon order history—and my soul—to unearth some of the gifts I’ve bought myself over the years and that I’m still using today. Sometimes, a simple gift is the best gift.
100 Reusable Velcro Cable Ties for $6 One of the best investments I’ve made in keeping my apartment neat and clean. Almost every appliance in my house – game consoles, air purifiers, kitchen appliances, etc. – has cords neatly bundled together instead of dangling here and there. Why? Because I hate hanging wires and my cats love to bite and claw at any wire-like object. Whether you have cats roaming around your place or not, tie some cables for yourself and finally get all your unruly cables under control. You won’t regret it.
I know people swear by their iFixit toolkits, which have every imaginable tool for opening and repairing a gadget, but once inside you still have to manually turn tiny, tiny screws. This electric precision screwdriver from Xiaomi has proven to be a boon on my gadget surgery table. This makes repairing the device less time-consuming, and I can attest that I removed far fewer screws than I would have done using a regular screwdriver.
It has two buttons: one to turn the screw bit to the left and the other to the right. It comes with 24-bit and charges via USB-C. Each piece fits into a smooth, aluminum case. Sure, it’s no power drill, but for tinkering with small tools, it’s convenient and a joy to use.
You don’t know how dirty all your little doodads and tchotchkes are until you run them through an ultrasonic cleaner and wash off all the dirt that’s on them. I originally purchased this Voraya Ultrasonic Cleaner to wash my clear aligners when I had Invisalign. Reviews were mixed on whether or not it can actually clean them, but it works. Since completing Invisalign, I’ve used this thing daily to clean my retainers, electric toothbrush heads (bacteria thrive on those bristles!), as well as silver rings, bracelets, and metal watch bands.
Is this thing supposed to provide industrial-strength UV cleaning? Not at all, but mine is still working three years on.
I live in New York City, so it has started slowly and as winter starts, it gets colder. But as soon as the summer season comes, mosquitoes and all kinds of crazy-legged insects like to invade my apartment for some reason or the other. Honestly, I didn’t think this “catchy flying insect trap” would work because it sounds like some “as seen on TV” BS. But it happens!
There’s really nothing groundbreaking about how it works – it uses blue lights and a fan to attract and suck insects, which are then trapped on replaceable sticky pads in the base. My two cats go crazy whenever they see a fly or mosquito, but since getting this magical whirlpool box, my bedroom has been mostly bug-free during the warm season. I also have very little bites on my arms.
I have a lot of cameras and I bounce back and forth between them. However, the camera I would go out of my way to carry around my neck is the Fujifilm X100V. This fixed-lens camera with an APS-C-sized sensor came out in 2020, and then TikTok caught on during the pandemic and drove up prices to the point where Fujifilm couldn’t make enough to meet demand.
Yes, smartphones have incredible cameras, but my beloved X100V takes photos that blow me away feel things. And isn’t that what photos are supposed to do? I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years noodling with film simulation “recipes” to capture film-like photos that look like something out of an old SLR. I was never one to take photos with manual controls until I got the MyI know it was Me Those dialed in the settings – aperture, shutter speed, ISO, film simulation, etc. – exactly as I imagined looking through the viewfinder.
I’ve shot all kinds of events and weddings (including my little sister’s wedding) with the X100V and the joy I get from turning all the knobs and dials never gets old. I’ve also broken my X100V twice this year, but still, spending a total of $600 to fix it has been worth it because it’s brought me so much joy. I’m not saying that an
I’ve been writing about the latest and greatest consumer tech for *checks calendar* the last 15 years, and despite the many digital to-do list apps out there, I’ve found that using a physical pen to cross out tasks written in a physical notebook is actually the best way for me to manage the millions of things I have to do every day. The act of writing down a task and then finishing it is very powerful. Then, I look at all the work I got done in a day/week/month and can actually see tangible signs of productivity.
Use any pen or notebook or notepad as you wish. As soon as I saw this in the Hightide store when I visited Tokyo in the summer, I knew I had to get this 3-in-1 (black ink, red ink and mechanical pencil) from Penco. It’s made of aluminum, has a knurled ring in the middle that keeps it from rolling, and is made in Japan.
The Japanese Yen is quite weak against the US Dollar at the moment, so it was relatively affordable. I see it selling for $40 online, which is quite expensive. I think it cost about $10 USD when I bought it. I pair mine with Penkow’s soft PP notebooks (B6 size) with grid-lined pages. However, you can get a similar pen and notebook combo at Muji for a much lower price.
Like I said, it’s freezing for me right now. Gloves can only provide so much warmth. When my fingers can’t take the cold anymore, I break out these electric hand warmers from Ocupa. They’re the size of Twinkies and provide up to 16 hours of heat on a single charge. I found all four heat levels to be more than hot enough; Sometimes level 4 is too hot. Oh, and they also serve as portable batteries to charge your phone.
My only complaint is that they don’t fit inside gloves. Ocupa sells a model that appears to be thin enough to fit over a pair, but I haven’t tried them.
I got these for $30 a few years ago and then gave them as gifts to my entire family. Ocupa has added a lot of colors and patterns in the years since I bought them, although you have to pay more to get nice looking hand warmers.
I can’t tell you who makes these lights (they’re sold from “Skyripa Store” on Amazon, what brand could that be?), but they are amazing. My friend Zach gave me this 12-inch magnetic “under the cabinet” light when I went over to his apartment for our holiday video shoot. As soon as I saw them magnetically attached to her gear closets, I knew I had to have some.
See, I also have metal gear cabinets where I keep all my camera equipment, etc. But there is darkness behind. These slim lights can be set to three different color temperatures (I set mine to warm), detect motion so they automatically turn on when I open the door (and then automatically turn off after a few seconds), and charge over USB-C. There is a remote control to adjust the brightness and set the timer etc., but I found no need for it. I attached them via their built-in magnet, but even better if double-sided tape and clips are also included in the box.
I bought a 4-pack for $30 a few months ago when it was on sale, but they were so useful that I bought four more packs on Cyber Monday to brighten up my hallway closets. Motion-detecting mountable lights may not sound sexy, but they sure are useful.
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