Practical presents

November 25, 2024

🎁 Useful gifts they’ll appreciate … because no one needs another ugly sweater.

Everyone hates ironing. This travel steam iron is so much easier. Click the coupon box for 25% off.
Give the gift of coziness with a zip-up fleece jacket for under $30. Every guy I know would wear one.
Feel safer with a Ring floodlight cam (40% off) — or use it to finally catch the dog digging up your flowers in the middle of the night.
Get the doodler in your life a reusable spiral notebook (under $30 and 17% off!).
Figure out how good the acoustics in your bathroom really are with a waterproof Bluetooth speaker for under $50.

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See when your gift list items hit the lowest price

I love shopping online. I don’t have to leave the house. I don’t have to be nice to anyone. I don’t have to put on a bra (guys, same thing for you and pants!). There are already Christmas, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales on every site now, but finding what you want at the lowest price is tricky. Fear not! I’m here to save you from all the clicks, countdowns and wasted money.

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Winter essentials to grab before they sell out

Don’t wait for the holiday chaos to hit. The best shopping trick this season isn’t about gifts — it’s about stocking up on essentials now. Beat the rush, avoid packed stores and snag better prices while you still can. This will save you time, stress and money. Get it done today and make your winter easier.

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'I bought a house on Amazon'

A YouTuber bought a $39,000 house on Amazon and made this unboxing video, which just hit 7.5 million views. The 26-year-old was not pleased when he realized he couldn’t plug in anything. You guessed it: He didn’t read the entire product description. “Please hire an electrician for American standard wiring.” D’oh.

Holiday cooking is already on my mind: An inexpensive cookbook holder will keep your tablet out of the mess of flour, stock and butter. This one is gorgeous if you have a bit more to spend.

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🤠 Don’t make me go all Beth Dutton on you: Coming soon to Warner Bros. Discovery, AI-driven ads for shopping while watching. “Shop With Max” identifies products in shows or movies and displays a QR code for you to scan with your phone and buy, buy, buy.

5,000% jump

In Google searches for “tonies set.” They’re the hot Christmas gift for little ones. Tonieboxes are $99 screen-free wireless speakers. To start a story, pop a Tonie doll on top (that costs extra). The starter set with Disney princesses is $154, dang. How do I get a Kim Komando Toniebox?

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Shop smarter: Try this Google Lens upgrade next time you’re shopping at a store. On Android or iOS, open the Google app, snap a picture of an item on the shelf, and voila! You’ll see product details, customer reviews, stock and price comparisons (online and nearby), and similar products in the same store. Fun times!

🚨 Be smart; don’t put anything in your cart: A Chinese fraud network is using thousands of fake online stores to steal credit cards. They’re impersonating brands like The North Face, Ikea and Wayfair with (fake) massive discounts. Red flags? Many sites have “blackfriday” in the domain name and end with .shop, .store, .vip or .top.

💸 Amazon’s new budget battleground: Say hello to Amazon Haul, their latest venture geared toward selling ultra-cheap items (think under $20). Why? Because Shein and Temu are mopping the floor with Amazon. With Haul, expect to find items like $2 earrings, $10 blenders and, yes, even a $20 wedding dress. (Pro tip: Don’t walk down the aisle in that!) Don’t expect Prime’s speedy shipping, either; your order will take one or two weeks since it’s coming from China. Heads-up: You can only shop Amazon Haul through the Amazon app for now.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Find the hidden gems: The next time you search for deals on Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp or another site, type in the name of a brand you really like. Say I want an outdoor couch. I might type “Restoration Hardware outdoor” instead of scrolling endlessly through junky old stuff.