Best Tech Gifts for The Family
I have a ton of difficult to buy for family members this year (as I’m sure you do as well) so, as part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias®, I’ve put together a Holiday Gift Guide of the best tech gifts we can pick up at Best Buy. #OneBuyForAll
This year is by far the worst year for my “difficult to buy for” family members. I have teens, siblings, parents, and this year Howard and I have the money to buy for each other for the first time. It seems that everyone is interested in technology now so I’ve compiled a list of the best tech gifts for each family member. Even our five year old, Benjamin, has asked for a Nabi and an XBox One. He’s starting early!
Music is in the souls of my family and everyone loves their own style. I found these Beats by Dre and remember that last year it was pink that was the rage. I love all the colors and styles of Beats that Best Buy had to offer and the display was interactive so I could try them out. I’m far from a teen now so I didn’t know what the fuss was all about until I put those comfy headphones on and cranked up the tunes. I say if the teen on your list doesn’t have these yet, this would be number one on my list.
Personally, I’m in the market for a tablet and it seems that everyone in my family is as well. All of the Black Friday ads this year had some type of tablet for sale and I’m having a hard time deciding which one is for me. Howard and I have been trying to research online and it’s proving to be very difficult. Of course, I’m difficult to buy for, just like my family, so having all the tablets on display was amazing. I was able to touch each of the tablets I have been drooling over online and, even better, they were all functioning on the Best Buy showroom floor. I could see and touch and hold each one and go online to see the speed of wifi. It was great to try out each of my top picks and be prepared for when I’m ready to buy one.
As we were looking at tablets, we also were looking for matching keyboards for each of them. I know that with my constant typing and Howard’s chubby fingers, we would need a good keyboard. We came across the Surface and love that it comes with a keyboard attached. We played with it a little, of course, and asked a few questions of the employee who came by to check on us.
Another hot product this year is the Smart TV. Howard wants one so bad that he can’t stand it. I really like the idea of having all the apps available on our screen since our family is becoming so much more tech savvy. With a Smart TV, we could stop paying for cable and sign up for Netflix or Hulu. We could watch YouTube videos together on a bigger screen. There is just so much to be “played with” on a Smart TV. It may not be in our budget right now, but I see one of these in our 2014 future.
Video games are always hot around the Holidays and this one is at the top of the list for our little man. Disney Infinity was on my Black Friday shopping list this year because everyone had it on sale. We recently bought the PS3 (and yes, I know the PS4 is the new and hot gaming system) and we are dying to get this for our boy. I didn’t find it on Black Friday (we shopped later than normal and missed all the doorbusters) but this is still on the list. Best Buy had an interactive set-up for us to finally see what it was really like. An employee came by to talk to us about it because we still have lots of questions and he assured us that buying this starter kit was all we needed to play the game. Of course, extra characters are what makes the game expand, but for now, this is it! Along with Disney Infinity, Skylanders is another interactive trading characters game and anytime I see one, I see the other. Either of these would be a perfect gift for that difficult to buy for kid on your list!
Okay, so for Mommy (or in my family, Daddy is the chef), we had to check out the small appliances section and there is so much for me to recommend here. Ninja blenders are on the top of mine and Howard’s lists this year because they are amazing. We have a small one at home for smoothies, but this all-inclusive one looks so professional. You know, Howard was a chef for 20 years so his original “tech savvy-ness” comes in the form of kitchen gadgets. He was oohing and ahhing over all the appliances at Best Buy. Along with blenders and “practical” type appliances, there were also things like a Sodastream (I want!) and vintage-looking popcorn machines. I think Howard and I could have spent the day (and a few thousand dollars) in this store.
We finally found the ultimate gift for everyone on our list…including ourselves…with the Google chromecast. The display itself is what caught my eye with GOOGLE written all over it. Google basically rules the online world right now and as a blogger, I know their products are perfect. This little doo-dad thingie right here is simply amazing. For $35, I can instantly turn my regular HD TV into a Smart TV! Of course, a Google expert employee came over when he saw us looking at it and I had tons of questions. Basically, this chromecast plugs into your TV and your laptop/tablet/smart phone apps are displayed on the TV. He said that Google had just released ten new apps to the system and there are more app developers lining up to get their app on it as well. He simply said that the flood gates are about to open and you will be able to do it all on your TV soon…for only $35!
This price is in our budget for any family member on our list so we picked one up and it came home with us that day! Just like that, I gave my husband his Smart TV and didn’t have to wait until the budget in 2014 was released. Now all he wants is just for the TV to be bigger…see, difficult to buy for…
Speaking of Google – Best Buy will be partnering with Google on 12/17 for Google+ “shoppable hangout” Broadcast hangout with a host and 10-12 participants. Theme of last minute shopping. You can view the hangout on a YouTube page or your Google+ page.
The first thing you want to do when shopping for tech gifts is know what your family members want and where to buy them. I looked on the top trending tech gifts at Best Buy for inspiration and found out that everything that my family was wanting was right there on the list. (I guess we can be “normal” sometimes) Of course, buying online is an option, but if you’re like me (a budding tech savvy person) you prefer to touch and play with all the tech stuff and some retail stores just aren’t going to let you mess with everything. Best Buy has the most interactive showroom of any retail store I have ever known. You can play with, listen to, and ask questions about every single item in the store. In fact, while Howard and I were in there touching everything, we came across a minimum of ten employees wanting to help us. Each section had an assigned employee who knew their tech and had all the answers we could throw at them.
Give It to Win It
If you’re still stumped after touching and playing with all the best tech gifts at Best Buy and you want to just pick up a gift card, Best Buy has a special offer for you! Best Buy is rewarding the Gift-Giver – From December 11-24th, every time a customer purchases a $25 or more Best Buy gift card, in-store or online, they can scan/enter their gift card number to enter for a chance to win one of the daily prizes. Customers can enter via the Best Buy app by scanning their card or by going to BestBuy.com and entering their card number.
Prizes: (1) Grand Prize: $10,000 Best Buy gift card, (5) First Prizes: $500 Best Buy gift card, (10) Second Prizes: $100 Best Buy gift card, (40) Third Prizes: $50 Best Buy gift card
Great ideas! I love that you can shop for everyone at Best Buy. It makes things easy! #client
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I love all the tech possibilities at Best Buy! What great ideas for the entire family. #client
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