The holidays are on the shopping horizon and total online sales for the 2024 holiday season are expected to reach a whopping $240.8 billion according to Adobe Business Insights. Mobile purchases alone are projected to hit a record $128.1 billion. With the clock ticking, retailers are racing to meet the surge in demand, offering everything from expedited shipping options to instant gift cards, while consumers hope to snag the perfect present before it’s too late. If your shopping habits are anything like ours at Techish (or 60% of holiday shoppers) you might find yourself scrambling to snag last-minute presents for some of the nearest and dearest to you. So we’ve picked out a few of our favorite 2024 last-minute gift ideas to inspire you.
A FAN FAVORITE SMARTWATCH:
The Samsung Galaxy Watch is the perfect accessory for your Galaxy or Android smartphone. It’s a stylish and practical way to handle everyday tasks, from answering phone calls to monitoring your heart rate and tracking steps. What’s inside is equally impressive. Samsung’s advanced BioActive sensor provides Sleep Coaching tips and Irregular Heart Rate Notification alerts, making it ideal for anyone looking to improve their health and fitness. Plus, it helps you look great while doing it. It’s the perfect starter smartwatch.
Price: Bluetooth: $199.99
A FULL-SERVICE CLEANING ROBOT:
The iRobot Roomba Combo j10+ with AutoWash Dock takes floor cleaning to the next level, vacuuming and mopping while doing all the dirty work for you. Its upgraded smart “Dirt Detective” prioritizes the dirtiest rooms, ensuring a deeper clean where it’s needed most. The AutoWash Dock is like a full-service station—it recharges the Roomba, empties its vacuum bin, washes and dries the mopping pad, and refills the water tank for the next run.
Sale Price: $999
THE PERFECT PANIC BUTTON:
The Aster App and small Bluetooth Aster disc creates the ultimate panic button. Pair the Aster button with the app, then press it three times to let emergency services, friends, and family know exactly where you are and that you need help—all without tapping, swiping, or even touching your phone. You can also call for help via the app, add emergency contacts to follow you, and schedule check-ins. It normally costs $15 for the button, but right now you can get one for free with an app subscription.
Price: Aster is free right now with the purchase of an Aster subscription.
A RELAXING EYE MASK LIKE NO OTHER…
Sale Price (December 9-15, 2024 ): $59.83
AN EASY WAY TO MANAGE YOUR BITCOIN:
Bitcoin is booming right now. Whether you’re thinking of dipping a toe in or you’re already a Bitcoin billionaire, Bitkey is the must-have device that makes owning bitcoin incredibly simple and secure. This device secures all your bitcoin and lets you manage your money from a simple mobile app. It integrates easily with major exchanges like Cash App, Coinbase, and Robinhood. You can compare prices across exchange partners before you buy, send and receive bitcoin, and track your wallet value over time. Bitkey comes with an integrated thumbprint reader and three layers of security, with no codes to forget or passwords to lose.
Normal Retail Price: $150
Sale Price: $99 with discount code BITKEY99 (34% off!)
A BIRD BUDDY:
Nature Cam PRO is the next-gen in birdwatching cameras. It delivers HDR image—you get to see the feathers in incredible detail—2k video and live streams, wide field of view, longer lasting battery power, and lets you capture high-speed images with a slow motion feature.
Price: $280
THE PICTURE FRAME OF THE FUTURE:
These are our #1 go-to gifts for everyone. You can send photos from your phone to an Aura frame, and invite loved ones to contribute. It’s WiFi-connected, has unlimited cloud storage, plays videos (up to 30 seconds) and live photos. It can also use AI to find the very best pics, and it includes a built-in quality filter so that only the best photos appear on the frame. And you can use Aura Frames for your kids’ artwork.
Price: $149
STYLISH, AFFORDABLE EARBUDS:
The CMF Buds Pro 2 are stylish budget earbuds with a literal twist. There’s a Smart Dial on the case: you can use this to control volume, play/pause, skip tracks instead of fumbling with touch controls on the earbuds or picking up your phone whenever you need to adjust something. You can also press to control noise cancellation, activate the Voice Assistant, switch to Low Lag Mode or mute your microphone during meetings. It’s all customizable too. It has 11 hours of battery life on a single charge. These earbuds are competitively priced and produce a big bass sound from their 11mm drivers. They have wind and noise reduction and water resistance, too.
Price: $47
A TABLET TO ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY:
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ Kids Edition is designed to be kid-proof and ready to use ready to go. It has a protective puffy cover, three Crayo-Pen styluses for all kinds of art and creativity and a built-in stand. It also comes with the Samsung Kids app pre-installed. This tablet is super easy for parents to set up. It also allows you to maintain guardrails like screen time limits and to limit access to certain sites, while still empowering children to explore, grow, and learn safely. Awesome way to combine learning and fun on one device.
Price: $269
ALL THE DIY PRINTED MATTER YOU CAN DREAM UP:
We’re impressed with HP these days. They’re turning to-do’s into ta-da’s! Their Festivity Activities, designed with DIY expert Brittany Jepsen of The House That Lars Built, let you create everything from bingo boards to holiday wish lists — all from your printer. The HP Envy 6100 series starts at just $140 and prints vivid, beautiful, borderless photos. Add their Instant Ink and paper subscription services for just $1.50 more per month, and you’ll always be ready to print last-minute holiday greeting cards, gift tags, and all the festive printed materials you can dream up.
HP Printables Price: Free
HP Envy 6155e starting Price: $139.99
SAFER SCROLLING:
How tired are you of getting scam texts and emails?! A not-so-merry fact: one in three Americans gets scammed while holiday shopping online. For the cost of a latte per month, you can surf and shop in peace with McAfee+ Advanced. From December 18 through January 8, you can get it for a whopping 60% off its normal yearly price. This all-in-one privacy, identity, and device protection plan even includes AI-powered Scam Protection that detects and blocks text messaging scams in real time. McAfee is offering all of this for just $80—it’s normally $200, so that’s a fantastic deal!
Sale Price: $79.99
AN UPDATED BABY MONITOR:
Harbor Next-Gen Baby Monitor made Time’s list of the best inventions of 2024. This next-gen camera and display work with or without WiFi and provide parent-specific haptic alerts through an Apple Watch, allowing it to wake one parent without disturbing the other. It offers enhanced security by storing all data on your device with end-to-end encryption. For as little as $20 a night, you can also access a “Remote Night Nanny” service, where expertly trained nurses or infant care specialists keep a watchful eye on your little one or help address specific sleep issues.
Price: $336 for the first year
A SAFE SMARTWATCH FOR YOUR SMART KID:
Kids want a smartphone but it’s not safe to hand them over and hope for the best. A “training wheel” gadget like this just-released BARK WATCH is a much better option. It lets you stay in touch with your kids, without turning them loose entirely on the internet or on social media. The Bark watch safely monitors texts and photos and doesn’t allow for any app downloads. It provides real-time GPS location tracking and there’s an SOS button on the side of the watch. It’s nice to have it there if you need it. This lets you gradually introduce gadgets carefully and responsibly.
Price:$169.99 plus $15.00/month
As the holidays gear up into a shopping extravaganza, keep checking back here to see what’s new, plus find out all the tips, tricks, and insider hacks to get everything you want and need at a price you can afford!
More soon!
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Read Jennifer’s latest columns at USAToday.com/tech or follow her @JennJolly on Instagram.