At the end of every year, news websites start publishing their gift guides (usually about two months in advance). It helps them gather extra traffic, and when you make a purchase, they earn money through affiliate links. So here’s my list of gift ideas with no affiliate links. These aren’t necessarily for someone else—you can treat yourself, too!

Sennheiser Momentum 4

AirPods have taken over the world, but good over-the-ear headphones provide a completely different experience. While most recommend the Sony XM5, I suggest you check out the Sennheiser Momentum 4, which, in my opinion, sound even better. With these, I’ve rediscovered entire genres and individual artists. I wrote a separate review here.

Price: ~€269

Backpack

At some point, I realized that a good backpack is far superior to a regular one. The quality of materials, zippers, pocket design, laptop protection—all improve significantly if you invest around $200. Since everyone’s needs vary, I recommend two options:

• Aer City Pack for most people.
• PeakDesign Everyday Zip or Wandrd Prvke if you want to carry a camera with lenses.

Price: €150/€239

UGREEN 65W GaN Charger

One way to improve your life is to place chargers and cables around your home and workspace instead of constantly gathering them to take with you. If you need to buy new ones for this, check out UGREEN. It’s a great alternative to Anker with excellent service. For trips, I only take this adapter with a few cables to charge everything. It’s noticeably smaller than Apple’s equivalent adapter and offers two USB-C ports and one USB-A. UGREEN cables are also cheaper and reliable. There’s a 100W version if your laptop demands more power.

Price: €40

UGREEN Power Bank 20000mAh

Continuing the charging theme, UGREEN also offers an excellent power bank. It has three ports, fast charging, and a side display showing its exact charge percentage. There’s a version with a larger capacity, but some airlines limit battery sizes to 100W, so check if you really need it.

Price: €80

Anker MagSafe Stand

I love MagSafe chargers, but for the price, you can find more interesting solutions. For instance, this stand from Anker also charges your AirPods case.

Price: €49

Kindle Paperwhite

You might already own a Kindle, but if yours is from 2018, I highly recommend upgrading to the latest version. It’s hard to put into words how much faster and more convenient it is.

Price: €182

The Food Lab

This is the best culinary book, an ultimate encyclopedia that explains all the basic techniques scientifically. I first bought the digital version and later got the physical one. Highly recommend.

Price: €48

Fifine AM8 RGB USB/XLR Mic

If you’re on a lot of calls, it might be time to invest in a dedicated microphone. Sound quality is actually more important than video. Here’s a great affordable mic suitable for any purpose.

Price: €56

Mi Smart Bedside Lamp 2

I’m not a fan of overhead lighting, so I’ve filled my home with various lamps. This one looks great, is programmable, and can help you wake up on dark winter mornings.

Price: €65

Sunset Lamp

I won’t recommend a specific brand here—just visit any marketplace like Temu, order one, and place it in your living room or bedroom. Super cheap and cozy.

Price: €10

Kodak Ektar or Fujifilm InstaX

If you want to explore film photography, there are two relatively affordable options:

• Kodak Ektar, which shoots vertical photos on standard 35mm film you can develop and scan.
• Fujifilm InstaX, which produces small instant photos.

Price: €50/€60

Anbernic Emulator RG 40XXV

Anbernic produces endless retro game emulators at a low cost. It’s a great way to revisit the games from your childhood. It’s very affordable, perfect for flights, and compact enough to store away when not in use.

Price: $69

Steam Deck

If you’ve been living with just a MacBook and no PC, this might be the perfect way to get back into gaming. It’s relatively inexpensive, doesn’t require additional setups, and can connect to a TV, monitor, or peripherals. You can also install games from anywhere. Plus, it’s an engineer-driven device rather than a marketing one (in a good way). I now barely see the need for a PS5.

Price: €469

NuPhy 75

I hesitated to try a mechanical keyboard, fearing I wouldn’t like it. Turns out, I loved it! NuPhy makes beautiful ones. Typing feels much better to me than on the Magic Keyboard, and they’re similarly priced.

Price: $120

Logitech MX Master 3S

This is simply the best mouse in the world.

Price: €99

Flipper Zero

Flipper Zero is a unique device that visualizes invisible things: radio signals, data on NFC cards, or the chip code in your pet. Plus, it looks incredibly cute.

Price: €169