Electronic Gifts & Gadgets for Parents

Looking for an electronic gift to pick up for a loved one – or to add to your own holiday list?

For the coffee lover: Save a loved one (or yourself) from $4 daily latte runs with the Cafe Modena Espresso Machine by Breville. This brushed stainless steel espresso machine looks gorgeous on the counter and makes delicious espresso. The machine heats up quickly, is simple to use and cleans up easily. Use the single or double filter with your own favorite grind or pop in a single-serve pod for an even quicker espresso. The steam wand makes great foam – add on the frothing attachment, and the foam is, dare I say, life-changing. The machine even comes with a frothing pitcher, a combined scoop/tamper and two espresso cups and saucers – everything you need to start having great espresso drinks at home as soon as you open the box. At under $200, the Cafe Modena keeps the coffee-lover in your house happily caffeinated and your kitchen in style.

For those who love music, not wires: My husband recently upgraded to an iPhone, and it’s wonderful to have everything combined in one tight packaging.  But when we listen to music on it, his phone is stuck to the dock. Not so good. Enter the TENQA SP-109 Bluetooth Speaker. Using the Bluetooth technology available on many phones, computers or iPods, the TENQA speaker provides incredible, stereo sound…wire-free! Stay within 33 feet of the speakers and you can enjoy all the content of your music library, easily controlled from the palm of  your hand. So imagine this – you’re having a little get together, music playing in the background, you’re mingling, saying hello to people, a song comes on you don’t like? No need to rush over to the stereo/iPod dock, etc. to make a change. Just whip out your phone/iPod out of your pocket and choose the next tune. Done. It’s compact and sleek design makes it a perfect addition to an office, living room, bedroom or dorm.  We even brought it outside to add some ambiance to an outdoor gathering we recently held. Retails for $90, but Amazon is selling it for $45!

For big picture lovers: There are many superb projectors that can go for many hundreds of dollars. The Discovery Expedition Wonderwall Entertainment Projector is not one of those projectors. But for under $150 (and even less than that at Overstock.com!), you can pick up a very decent projector for showing slumber party movies on the “big screen” (up to 7.5 ft. wide) or hosting your own backyard movie night. The Wonderwall Projector connects video games, TV’s, DVD players, and other components through A/V inputs and includes features like built-in stereo sound, a headphone jack and volume and image controls. I was happy with the picture quality through our DVD player though wasn’t able to try it out with any video game consoles which I heard project less vividly. This is a great alternative to buying a big-screen TV when you have friends over for a movie night or the big game, and it’s portability makes it easy to tote around. Make it a night to stay in with this holiday find.

For those who love clean…and style: Granted a vacuum is not usually a wise holiday gift decision, but Dyson is different.  In the vacuum world, it’s kind of like getting a little blue box from Tiffany’s. New to the Dyson line-up? The incredibly sleek, lightweight but holy moley powerful! handheld DC31. If you’ve ever owned a handheld vacuum before, you are probably familiar with their bulky, awkward size and limited effectiveness. The DC31 changes everything. Weighing in at under 3 lbs, the DC31 is compact and offers two suction powers, 38 airwatts or a whopping 65 airwatts. I can’t tell you what an airwatt is, but I can tell you that under my fridge is clean thanks to the Dyson’s super sucking power. The DC31 has all the other Dyson features you would expect – a one-button-touch bin emptyer, washable filters, no bags, no loss of suction. Plus it comes with two tools (crevice and combined debris/dust tool) – or upgrade to the Animal model and get the additional motorized brushbar that means my couches can actually look like we don’t own a dog – at least for a few minutes. If you buy your loved one any other vacuum, I can’t promise what the outcome will be, but with Dyson you’re bound to get a smile.

*All sample products were provided for review by the company.*