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Here’s Your Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

Sometimes the season gets the best of us and leaves us scrambling around Kyle and nearby cities for a last-minute holiday gift for someone. Thanks to sites like Amazon, you have a treasure trove of gift possibilities that can arrive on your doorstep within a day or two.

But it can be overwhelming to browse Amazon and other ecommerce sites when they have thousands of products from A to Z. You’re also not far from great shopping in Kyle with Kyle Marketplace, Kyle Crossing, Target, Kohl’s and Walmart. Or you can drive a short 15 minutes to the outlets in San Marcos. Whichever route you take, here’s your gift guide to help.

Gifts under $50

Board games: There’s nothing more fun than an old-fashioned game night. You can’t go wrong with Monopoly, Scrabble, or Apples to Apples.

Insulated mug: Insulated mugs come in various sizes and you can never have too many of them. They keep cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. Make sure you get one that fits in a standard car cup holder. Most do, but not all of them.

Laptop desk: This is like a TV table tray except it has smaller and shorter legs. It’s good for other things such as eating in bed and writing. This is one of those things you wonder what you ever did without it.

Weighted or electric blanket: Some people who struggle with sleep say a weighted blanket has made a difference. Who likes getting in a cold bed? Putting an electric blanket on the bed beforehand can warm it right up.

For the Home

Candles: You have many options in colors, scents, and design. Many places carry candles and it’s one of those things you can never have too many of.

Decorative pillow: Like candles, you have many options for decorative pillows in different colors, styles, sizes, and shapes. Some contain sayings that might ring with the recipient.

Robot vacuum: This is one of those things people don’t buy for themselves but would love to have. What’s better than having a robot sweeping floors without your lifting a finger?

Sign with Inspirational saying: You can find boxes for shelves and wall hangings with inspirational sayings and thoughts. Bet you can uncover one that fits your recipient.

Smart speaker: Even if someone has an Alexa at home, you can always use another smart speaker for a different room. Give the recipient a way to ask questions and get answers without pulling out the cell phone.

Wireless and Wi-Fi garage door opener: This is garage door opener 2.0 that allows you to open and close your garage door from anywhere. Can’t remember if you closed it? No problem. You don’t have to get up out of bed or drive home to check. Expecting a package but you don’t want it left on your porch? Have the person contact you when arriving and you can open and close the garage door for leaving the package.

Electronics

E-Reader: Know someone who is about to take a long trip? An e-reader will make packing so much easier as you can put hundreds of books on one lightweight device. The advantage e-readers have over tablets is that they’re made with reading in mind. It’s not always easy to get the screen just right on other devices.

Portable Bluetooth speaker: Whether you’re listening to music, while swimming or playing an audiobook, you can almost never go wrong with a Bluetooth speaker.

Portable charger: Many folks have multiple devices they need to keep charged. Portable chargers are lightweight and can fully recharge a device. You might look for one with two USB ports so you can charge more than one device.

Tablet: A tablet can do a little more than give you a way to read ebooks. They allow you to surf the Internet, watch streaming videos, check email, and hang out on social media from anywhere.

USB flash drive: Presentations, documents, movies. You can put a lot of things on a flash drive to take with you anywhere. Many devices are compatible with USB, so you won’t have to worry about whether it will work.

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