WHAT GOOD is a smart suitcase if there’s no trip to take? Or a precious, pebbled leather football you need to wipe down after each toss? This holiday season, impractical gifts are even more untenable than ever. We’ve had a tough year and no one has the patience for pointless extravagance. So when it comes to finding gifts for fans of gear, gadgets and all things geeky, we’ve focused on under-$300 items they can use and value right away. Here, ideas to relieve seasonal stress, provide aural escapes, spruce up whatever your giftee is calling an office these days and more.
A Gaming Classic That Fits in Your Pocket
Your favorite gamer might just blow off Christmas dinner to obsessively play this modernized, 35th anniversary iteration of Nintendo ’s Game & Watch handheld arcade, which pays homage to the brand’s early Japanese design. The retro-inspired device comes preloaded with two “Super Mario Bros.” titles, including “Lost Levels” (initially unreleased in the U.S.). It will trigger nostalgia for the morning when he breathlessly tore the wrapping paper off his first Nintendo. Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., $50, gameandwatch.nintendo.com
A Mini Massager to Work Out the Kinks
If anyone on your list has been looking particularly listless, clenched or brittle over Zoom these days, we wouldn’t be surprised. Send them the stress-zapping power of Theragun’s pocket-sized muscle massager. The therapeutic device packs a punch with three speed settings—up to 2,400 percussions per minute—that mimic the power of the brand’s beefier model. And thanks to Theragun’s “QuietForce” technology, it won’t further rattle the nerves by making a racket. Theragun Mini, $199, theragun.com
An Easy Way to Spruce Up the ‘Office’
Man does not live by screens alone. This beginner’s plant kit will help someone with a not-entirely-green thumb add life and color to whatever corner of the home he or she is using as a workspace. An all-in-one starter, it includes: potting mix, lava rocks, fertilizer, a long-stem watering can, an earthenware planter in black or blush and, of course, a low-maintenance, 4-inch plant. Choose from Philodendron Green or Snake Plant Laurentii and cross your fingers. Small Beginner Bundle, $99, thesill.com
A Colorful Carry-All to Organize Their Lives
Spark joy quickly in Marie Kondo-types by helping them marshal school, office or craft supplies with this steel cantilever toolbox, first designed in 1969 by Japanese heritage brand Toyo Steel. This handy, minimalist carrier—in a new aqua hue—features an easy-access center opening for larger detritus, 10 adjustable side compartments to wrangle miscellaneous markers and errant pins, and collapsible handles that make the box sleeker for simple storage. Toyo ST-350 Tool Box, $78, store.moma.org
