🎁 My 2025 Holiday Gift Guide and Top Ways to Save (11/22/25)


πŸ‘‹ Hi Reader,

I hope you're having a great start to your weekend! This week we're focusing on our annual gift guide (with a few deals at the end), but we'll resume our normal newsletter format in two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday.

If you enjoy the gift guide, please share it with anyone who might like it as well too (and if that’s you, you can subscribe to my emails here).

Thanks so much and Happy Thanksgiving!

Chris


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🎁 2025 Holiday Gift Guide

πŸŽ™ Podcast Gift Guide (Full Guide Below)

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If you haven't done your holiday gift shopping yet, I have 100+ ideas across tech, kitchen, home, clothing, fitness, kids, and games to help spark inspiration for everyone on your list. I’ll also share tools and tactics to help you find deals and spend less this holiday season.

I've included the gift guide below for all the products, links, and deals. Some of these links are from our partners or are affiliate links, so thank you in advance for using them and supporting us. That said, if there's a better price elsewhere, please go wherever you get the best deal!

πŸ§‘β€πŸ”§ Personal Tech

  • ​MOFT iPhone Wallet (←25% off): My everyday wallet because it’s MagSafe and doubles as a vertical or horizontal phone stand.
  • ​ModRetro Chromatic: I love this premium Game Boy remake. It's such a fantastic piece of hardware.
  • ​Bambu Lab 3D Printers: I’ve researched entry-level 3D printers and would pick the P1S Combo (←$400 off) or A1 Mini (←$100 off). If you're willing to spend more, get the X1C (←$580 off).
  • ​Anker Wireless Charging Stand: I have one on my desk and my night stand.
  • ​Anker Prime Charger (←23% off): Perfect battery that plugs into the wall so I don’t need extra cords while traveling.
  • ​MOGICS Super Bagel: A travel power hub with a built-in extension cord, multiple outlets, and a universal adapter.
  • ​AirTags (←19% off): I put AirTags in every checked bag.
  • ​AirPods Pro 3: The noise cancelation on these is fantastic.
  • ​Synology DiskStation DS923+: A multi-drive home backup system that gives me redundant local storage and automatic cloud syncing to Google Drive, Dropbox and more.
  • ​DJI Osmo Pocket 3: I love this stabilized 4K camera because it feels less intrusive than filming on my phone.
  • ​Insta360 X5: I don’t have this (yet) but I'm fascinated by 360Β° cameras.

🍳 Kitchen, Food & Drink

Appliances

  • ​Ratio Coffee Machines: This is probably our most used appliance in the house. It's beautiful and makes fantastic coffee.
  • ​Vitamix 5200: There's no comparison, it's the best blender.
  • ​Ninja CREAMi: We use this to make amazing protein ice cream.
  • ​Ooni Pizza Ovens: We've given the gas powered Ooni's as gifts before, but the new Volt looks amazing.
  • Air Fryer: We user our air fryer a lot. There's so many options, but we were gifted the Cosori 9-in-1 (←25% off) and love it.
  • Countertop Griddle: Lots of options here too (we have a Wolf Precision Griddle), but we use this for pancakes, smash burgers, and more.
  • Belgian Waffle Maker: I also love having one of these. Sadly our Waring Double Belgian Waffle Maker isn't easy to find, but the Cuisinart Double Flip looks like a great alternative.
  • Wireless Hand Mixer: We love having one of these and got my mom one last year. Ours is the EvolutionX Cordless, which unfortunately, isn't always in stock.
  • ​Thermomix: I don't have this yet, but it's on my list after a few member recommendations. It's a do-everything kitchen appliance that combines a food processor, blender, scale, rice cooker, slow cooker, and sous-chef into one device with guided recipes that weigh, chop, sautΓ©, and cook each step for you. It’s very pricey, but it can also replace half your kitchen.

Drinking

Other Ideas

Subscriptions

🏑 Home

  • ​Eight Sleep (←Up to $400 off): The temperature-controlled sleep system I credit with dramatically improving my sleep. Also the #1 most recommended gift by our members.
  • ​Barefoot Dreams Blanket (←10% off w/ email sign up). There’s a cheaper dupe on Amazon that’s surprisingly similar.
  • ​Dyson Cordless Vacuum (←19% off): We got this for Christmas last year and I don't know how we waited so long to get one. It's amazing and the green light is the best.
  • ​TOTO Washlet Elongated Bidet Seat: A transformative bathroom upgrade with heated seats, warm water, and drying.
  • ​Aura Frames (←Up to $50 off): A wireless digital photo frame we've given to everyone in our family.
  • ​StoryWorth (←$10 off): Create a book filled with stories of your loved ones. Have given it multiple times in the past.
  • ​Aesop Hand Soap: We love this soap, though it's not cheap, so you can also look at Element Brooklyn as a good alternative.
  • ​The Dyson Airstrait: I'd definitely gift this to my wife, Amy.
  • ​Philips Norelco OneBlade 360: Highly recommended by our members, so it's now on my list this year.
  • ​Rechargeable Ultra-Mini Air Pump (←$29% off): I don't know why, but I feel like I need one of these.

πŸ‘• Clothing & Travel Gear

Accessories

Luggage/Bags

Shoes

Stocking Stuffers

πŸ’ͺ🏼 Health & Fitness

Health Testing

  • ​Instalab | Function Health | Superpower | Ulta Lab: Services for biomarkers, bloodwork and functional testing.
  • ​DexaScan: A reasonably affordable body-composition test.
  • ​Prenuvo (←$300 off a whole body scan): These whole-body MRIs aren't cheap, but I personally know a few people who are alive today because of their Prenuvo scan.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

  • ​Pulse Oximeter: If you have young kids who get sick, this small gadget comes in handy.
  • ​LMNT (←Free sample pack): Amy and I drink LMNT pretty much every day (especially when we're traveling).

🧩 Games

  • ​Box One & Box Two: High-quality magic sets that are fun and collectible. They also sell great playing cards.
  • ​Rolife Book Nooks: We were just gifted this last week and I don't know how to describe it (puzzle meets diorama?) but Amy and I have been making it in all our free time the past week and love it.
  • ​Coyote: Tim Ferriss’ new game that our entire family loves.
  • ​Coup (←12% off): Easy and loved card game for anyone ok with a little group deception.
  • ​Monopoly Deal (←30% off): We play this all the time.
  • ​Games Magazine (←36% off): I love getting this magazine and bring it on every trip to do on plane rides.
  • ​Tesla Box & Cluebox: At-home puzzle boxes that create a real escape-room vibe. I love these so much.
  • ​Lockpicking Kit: I'm not sure why I've enjoyed learning to pick locks, but for some reason I find it so fun to learn.
  • ​LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon (with lights): It doesn't have to be this set , but I love the idea of gifting Legos to adults, not just kids. My dad loves the Concorde set we gave him.

πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘¦ Kids

πŸ“– Learning & Books

I’m also a big fan of experiences because they create memories and give you something new to learn or try. Cooking classes, hot air balloon rides, pottery workshops, and even go-karting all make incredible, meaningful gifts.

πŸ’° Apps/Sites To Save On Shopping

  • ​Rakuten (← Free $50): My go-to shopping portal that also lets you convert cash back to Amex points and or Bilt Points.
  • ​Keepa: My favorite Amazon price-tracking extension.
  • ​SaveWise: I love this tool to compare all the shopping portals.
  • ​CardPointers Pro (←50% off): Automatically activates card-linked offers on all your credit cards and has saved me thousands of dollars over the past few years.
  • Discounted Gift Cards: It’s an easy way to lock in extra savings on my purchases. While deals aren't what they used to be, I'm bringing my gift card site back online for the next few days and currently have 15+ brands on sale for 5-25% off

πŸ’¬ Have Any Gift Suggestions?

I'm always looking for new ideas for gifts, so if you have any suggestions, please reply to this email and let me know. They might end up in next year's gift guide too!


πŸ€‘ Top Deals This Week

While the focus of this newsletter is the gift guide, there are a few deals worth sharing this week:

πŸ’³ 100,000 Miles with Personal Capital One Venture X

Capital One has brought back this best-ever offer on the personal Venture X. You'll earn 100,000 miles after spending $10,000 in the first 6 months. This card earns 2x Miles on every purchase, which means you'll actually earn 120,000 miles after spending $10,000, which would be worth at least $1,2000. My wife and I both have this card and because you earn 2x on everything it's a great option for all your holiday shopping. You can find the offer and learn more here.

πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Free $180 to Visit Vancouver for 2 Nights

The Vancouver Hotel Destination Association is offering up to CA$250 (~$180 USD) toward a 2-night stay just for visiting. This deal is valid for stays between 11/14 and 3/31 and you must use the promo code "PrepaidCard" when booking via this website.

πŸ’΅ 20% Back With PayPal's Buy Now, Pay Later Feature

Another easy and great way to maximize your savings is through PayPal's new 20% cash back offer (up to $1,250 in spend per transaction) on Pay Later purchases through 12/8.

🎧 2-4 Months of Free Spotify Premium (New/Old Users)

Spotify’s offering 4 months of free Premium for new and 2 months for returning subscribers. If you canceled recently (or have a spare email address), this is an easy one to grab.

πŸ“£ New Hotel, Airline & Points Promos This Week

Airline Award Deals

Hotel Promos


πŸ¦ƒ Happy Thanksgiving

Thank you so much for reading and supporting this newsletter. I truly love putting it together each week. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving and get to spend some quality time with the people who matter most.

Chris

Chris Hutchins

Discover the latest and greatest hacks, deals and recommendations to upgrade and optimize your life, money and travel – all while spending less and saving more.

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