The most practical gifts to give this Christmas 2024

For the serious candle enthusiast, investing in these wax votives can cost a pretty penny. And with an estimated burn time of 70 hours on average, there’s only so much you can get out of your beloved scents before they are depleted entirely. Unless of course, you happen to purchase a candle warmer like the ones available from Gaia Gifts. Instead of an open flame, candle warmers utilise the heat from a halogen bulb to melt away candle wax, revealing the fragrance imbued within at a comparatively far slower rate. What’s more, you won’t have to worry about soot or potential fire hazards, allowing you to reap all the benefits of a candle with none of the risks.

Give a gift of convenience, especially to your friends and family who want to take the stress out of preparing a home-cooked meal every day after work. No more pots and pans galore, you’ll find that the Ninja Food 11-in-1 Multi Cooker is up to the task of air frying, pressure cooking, slow cooking, grilling, roasting, and so much more. In its latest guise, it can now even precisely sous vide your meats, turning elegant at-home steak dinners into a reality. With a 6-litre cooking pot and a non-stick Cook & Crisp plate that can hold a whole chicken weighing 2.3 kilos, consider this your new favourite kitchen companion.

This still is the hair dryer to beat, despite having been in the market since 2016. That’s all thanks to Dyson’s proprietary Air Multiplyer technology producing a jet of controlled, high-pressure, high-velocity air to not only push water out of hair but also press onto follicles for a silky finish in little to no time at all. But what makes this the beauty gadget of the moment to own is the varied attachments that the Supersonic Hair Dryer comes with, from a smoothing nozzle that aids in smoothing out hair texture, to a high-precision Styling Concentrator that focuses narrow blades of air on sections of your hair that you want to work with, without disrupting the rest.

If you want to bolster your intake of macro-nutrients, then there’s no easier way to do it than by blending up your choice of fruits and vegetables into a single gulp that you can take with you in your bag. But of course, that will typically require the use of a full-sized blender. Or does it really? The Morphy Richards Portable Blender shrinks down the chopping and blending finesse of a regular blender into a pint-sized carry tumbler, with a motor that spins up to 17,500RPM. Simply cube your fruits, julienne your veggies, and pack them all in for a one-touch nutrient-dense punch.

Live it up like its 2012 all over again, and Beats headphones and speakers were the de facto wishlist item of choice for anyone under the age of 40 when you pick out a pair of the company’s latest Studio Pro Wireless Headphones this holiday season. Far from just a brand name, these come complete with custom 40mm drivers in each earcup for enhanced sound clarity, while Active Noise Cancellation technology keeps the outside hustle and bustle at bay, cementing their audio chops. Better still, they are compatible with Apple’s Spatial Audio technology for an immersive, 360-degree soundstage, in addition to Siri accessibility for on-the-fly commands.

A supersonic evolution of Apple’s iconic AirPods, the 4th Generation version of the industry’s leading wireless earbuds is easily its most monumental upgrade to date. Don’t think of them as any less than their in-ear counterparts, as the regular AirPods now come with an almost similar feature set, which includes everything from Personalised Spatial Audio to Active Noise Cancellation, both of which were previously only available on the AirPods Pro. Slight tweaks in its overall design also translate to improved ergonomics, which ensures that they will stay in your ears without the risk of slipping out during motion.

Take men’s grooming up another level when you present the man in your life with the NateSkin Premium Bundle 2.0. Dubbed as the company’s most comprehensive all-in-one kit for all his manscaping needs, this kit features one Bush Trimmer 3.0 that packs a powerhouse 7,200 RPM motor with NateSafe™ blades to prevent from nicks and scrapes down under, a Face Shaver 2.0 capable of delivering 0.2mm smooth results on the cheeks and jaw, as well as a Nose Hair Trimmer to tend to his nostrils. Aside from the tools of the trade, maintenance items such as a pack of trimmer blades are also included in the pack.

If you know someone who lives the life of a bona fide Apple enthusiast, then there is no doubt that this is the gift that you should be keeping under wraps for Christmas. The ChargeTree Mag 3-in-1 Foldable Wireless Charger is appropriately named for the convenience that it offers to those who have all three core members of the Apple mobile family – an iPhone with MagSafe capabilities, an Apple Watch, and a pair of AirPods with wireless charging enabled. This handy fold-out unit is able to keep all three devices charged on your desk at a go and packs down into a slim form factor for easy travel use.

Sure, you could always have a conventional TV parked on your tabletop console. Or you could take things a step further by leaning into a proper cinematic experience by gifting yourself (or your loved ones) a portable projector. The sleek lines of the Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2 are especially worth your consideration with its relatively compact dimensions taking up very little room on most corner tables while offering a full suite of Android TV functions as well as immersive sound courtesy of Dolby Audio. With up to 1080P resolution for crisp images and multi-angle auto-keystone correction, every viewing experience is assured to be nothing short of memorable.

Charging docks are great for when you have access to a power outlet, but more often than not, we’re likely to find ourselves stuck outside as our devices reach critical levels of battery life, with no hope of plugging into a wall outlet. In which case, you will appreciate the virtues that the ANKER MagGo 10,000 mAh Power Bank brings to the table. With 15 Watt Wireless Charging, all you’ll have to do is snap the MagGo against the back of your MagSafe compatible iPhone and let it work its magic in resuscitating your phone’s battery. And with such ample capacity, you can even use it to charge up other devices too, like your Apple Watch or AirPods.