“Oh, I don’t need anything.” Chances are that you’ll hear these words when you ask a mom of any age what she wants for Christmas. Don’t believe her. It either means she doesn’t want you to spend money on her (ah, the selflessness of mothers) or she knows you’ll just get something she won’t like nor use. Break the trend by grabbing her a cool tech gift from this list.
Dyson Special Edition Ceramic Pop! Airwrap Styler
I always say that Dyson hair care products are ones that every mom secretly (or not so secretly) wants but will never buy for herself. That’s too much of an indulgence, but mom might appreciate this far more than she would another pair of earrings or yet another foot massager. At US$600, this special edition Ceramic Pop! Airwrap styler package doesn’t come cheap. But this Barbiecore-inspired hue adds a nice pop of colour to her bathroom and hair care routine. It’s designed for longer hair (at least chest length) but works for all hair types. She can use the barrels and Dyson technology to add curls, waves, and create a gorgeous hairdo for her ladies night out. It smooths, dries, and helps hide flyaways. The package comes with the barrel, smoothing dryer, soft smoothing brush, 1.6-inch Airwrap long barrel, firm smoothing brush, round volumizing brush and filter cleaning brush, as well as a stunning presentation case to store it in. She’ll be making room in her suitcase for the next business trip for this set so she can look her best.
Sennheiser Accentum Wireless Headphones
Ensure mom doesn’t keep borrowing your headphones by getting a pair for her that she’ll actually enjoy wearing and listening through. Featuring many of the great features found in the higher end Momentum line, the more affordable Accentum headphones offer hybrid active noise canceling technology (so she can drown out the repeated calls for “mom!” while she’s enjoying some much-deserved “me” time), a 37mm dynamic transducer tuned to provide a detailed sound experiences with deep bass performance, and Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint connectivity and support for the aptX HD codec. In addition to operating up to 50 hours per charge, Accentum can “quick charge” for up to five more hours of listening in just 10 minutes in case mom wants to charge them up at the office so they can last for her subway ride home. Out of battery at the worst time? She can use the USB-C charging cable as a back-up. There’s also two built-in microphones, a dedicated wind reduction mode if she walks to work, a simple, four-button layout, and optional companion smartphone app. Mom will love that the earcup and headband padding contact points conform to the wearer’s shape, with a gentle touch that always feels secure and natural. They come in either black or white with Sandstone accents for MSRP $250.
Garmin vivoactive 5 GPS Smartwatch
If mom isn’t tied to Apple, Fitbit, or Samsung Galaxy, consider a Garmin watch like the new vivoactive 5 GPS smartwatch. Ideal if mom loves to walk, run, cycle, or hike, the built-in GPS means she can track routes without needing her phone or leveraging her phone’s GPS. It has a bright AMOLED screen, offers on-wrist coaching, personalized health insights, detailed sleep stats, and more. She’ll get up to 11 days battery life per charge, much longer than most other smartwatches in its class, along with advanced metrics like Pulse OX, heart rate variability, and Body Battery, which advises of her energy levels at any given time. If mom is in a wheelchair, this watch has a wheelchair mode that can be used to track daily pushes and receive weight shift alerts plus wheelchair-specific sports apps and workouts. There are more than 30 pre-loaded GPS and indoor sports workouts as well. Mom can also use other apps and features, from Garmin Pay to music downloads from compatible services like Spotify and Amazon Music. Get it in black/slate, ivory/cream gold, navy/metallic navy and orchid/metallic orchid for an MSRP of $400.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Smartphone
Upgrade mom’s old iPhone to the latest and greatest: the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Now featuring USB-C charging and a titanium finish, the Pro Max has a massive 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR always-on display, 48MP main camera with a variety of photography improvements, and a new custom Action button on the side. With support for wireless charging and all-day battery life, the starting price is $1,749 for the 256GB version. If you can get your hands on mom’s old phone for the night and sneak out with it (or gift her the upgrade in person), she might be able to get a trade-in credit and save a few bucks.
Apple Watch Series 9 Smartwatch
If mom’s all set up with a brand-new phone having just renewed her contract and gotten the upgrade, consider complementing that with a new Apple Watch Series 9. Once she has it on her wrist, she’ll wonder how she ever lived without it. With a new S9 SiP, faster GPS and neural engine, it runs smoothly and efficiently, responding to her every touch command. It has an 18-hour battery life (sorry, mom, you’ll still have to charge it daily) and handy gesture features: mom can pinch her fingers together to pick up a call while she has her purse in one hand and a Starbucks Venti caramel latte in the other. From tracking her progress towards move, exercise, and stand rings, to tracking workouts, keeping in touch with colleagues and friends, paying for items from her wrist, accessing favourite apps, and more, the Apple Watch Series 9 will have her grinning from ear to ear. The safety features, meanwhile, like emergency SOS and call crash detection, are worthwhile for peace-of-mind. It starts at $549 and comes in 41mm and 45mm sizes in starlight, midnight, silver, (PRODUCT)RED, and a new pink aluminum case, as well as stainless steel in gold, silver, and graphite cases.
Dyson Airstrait Straightener
Yes, there’s another Dyson hair care product on the list. But once again, moms of all types and ages will love these but never buy them for themselves. The Dyson Airstrait Straightener does not contain hot plates yet it’s able to stretch and straighten all hair types, right from wet, using just focused airflow and without any heat damage. It contains your hair stresses using two arms that emit a precisely angled high-pressure blade of air, which is forced downwards and into the hair. This both dries your hair and styles it. The two 1.5mm apertures accelerate airflow, creating the high velocity blades of air, which are projected at a 45° angle. They converge to form a single focused jet of air. Alongside drying your luscious locks, the directional airflow also helps align hair strands to result in a “smooth and shiny finish,” says Dyson. Dyson says the device works via the powerful airflow, which negates the need for high heat, and results in less frizz, says Dyson, and fewer flyaways while also protecting your hair’s natural shine. It sells for $700.
Citizen CZ Casual Smart Touchscreen Smartwatch
For moms who aren’t into the usual smartwatch or fitness tracker, they’ll love the sleek design and interesting functions of the Citizen CZ Smart touchscreen smartwatches, particularly the Casual model. It has a built-in self-care advisor through the proprietary CZ Smart YouQ wellness application, developed using research pioneered by NASA’s Ames Research Center and AI built through Citizen partnerships using the environment and tools within IBM Watson Studio or IBM Cloud. The software scientifically determines a wearer’s Chronotype to help you understand and anticipate patterns of fatigue and alertness, then offers customized insights and personalized strategies to manage stress, set activity goals, encourage self-care and well-being, and ultimately build better habits. Based on a wearer’s Chronotype and Power Score (Low, Optimal, or Peak), a personalized indicator of physical and cognitive energy, CZ Smart YouQ recommends one of a wide range of scientifically backed Power Fixes– from nutritional tips to performing acupressure to tapping and beyond️. The range of Power Fixes available ensures that any wearer can integrate simple actions into their daily lives to optimize for what’s ahead. The Citizen CZ Casual smartwatch offers an impressive 18-day battery life (varies based on usage) and marries the classic look of analog hands with a backlit 1.1-inch E-ink display for integrated smartwatch functionality. It delivers notifications for incoming calls, texts, e-mails, and calendar appointments as well.
Bruvi Single Serve Coffee Machine
Featuring patent-pending brewing technology, the Bruvi can make seven different beverages, including cold brew and offers a responsible pod disposal option. It also works with a mobile app, connecting over Wi-Fi so you can set a remote brew, auto-order pods, and access a user dashboard of consumption patterns. If you’re looking for something different, consider this coffee machine for mom, which sells for US$348 with a bundle that includes a variety pack of 20 B-Pods, premium water filter, and reusable Japanese knot bag.
JBL Soundbar 1300X
Whether mom is binging her favourite reality TV show obsession, from Love is Blind to Survivor or Big Brother, or she loves sports, movies, or dramas like Lessons in Chemistry, help her enhance the experience with the JBL Soundbar 1300X. At $2,500, it isn’t the most affordable option. But it’s a complete system that offers 1,170W output and comes with a 12-inch wireless subwoofer. The coolest part, however, is that it has detachable speakers on either side she can take with her to pair via Bluetooth to a mobile device. So this doubles as her home office or bedroom speaker, too. Pair both of them together for a stereo sound experience or place them behind the couch for a full surround sound experience, no other speakers needed.
JBL Bar 500 Soundbar
Want something a bit more affordable that mom can use for watching TV, playing video games, and immersing herself in a good movie with the ladies or hubby? There’s the new JBL Bar 500 soundbar, which is just $550 and comes with a 10-inch subwoofer and PureVoice Dialogue Enhancement Technology. This means even if she has to lower the volume because she’s watching her soap operas or reality TV shows late at night, she’ll hear the dialogue loud and clear. It’s easy to set up using the JBL One app, too, which mom can use to adjust settings when she’s just listening to a music playlist while cleaning or making dinner.
Urbanista Phoenix True Wireless Earbuds
Moms are busy, and the last thing they want is to grab their headphones for a morning run only to realize that the battery is dead. The Urbanista Phoenix true wireless earbuds come in a solar-powered case, which means mom might never have to plug them in to charge again. Wear them around her neck or clipped to her bag or bag while out and they will naturally gain a charge from the sun. Or place them under a strong artificial source of light at home to keep them battery boosted 24/7. I reviewed these $200 earbuds earlier this fall and you can read all about my experience to decide if these will suit your mom.
KitchenAid Food Processor
As a mom who loves to cook, Santa gifted me a KitchenAid food processor for Christmas last year, and I have found it tremendously handy. I have the 9-cup model, and I find it the perfect size to meet my needs. I make a kale and edamame dip, have used it to crush nuts for a homemade pesto sauce, and graham crackers for a cheesecake crust. It works effortlessly, able to also chop harder ingredients like hard cheeses (it’s best to freeze it for a bit first), cream butter, whip cream, knead dough, and more. While I haven’t even begun to test its features, I love the idea of not having to dirty my larger blender just do make a small amount of something. It stores all the accessories nicely inside (you’ll have to work a bit of a Tetris game to make it all fit) and it’s really easy to use. Available in a variety of colours, I opted for the Empire Red to match my other small kitchen appliances. At just $150 on sale, this model is the perfect Goldilocks size for the average family.
Epson FastFoto FF-680W Wireless High-speed Photo Scanning System
Mom might not have a lot of time on her hands, but whenever she has a spare moment, or is spending a lazy Sunday at home with the kids or her own mom, she might love to go through old photos. Why not help her actually doing something more with those photos? The Epson FastFoto makes it super simple to restore, organize and digitize priceless family photographs. It works blazingly fast (think a photo per second), can scan multiple images of different sizes at the same time, and is compact and downright cute. Mom will love features like being able to correct red-eye and enhance old black and whites. It’s a beautiful trip down memory lane she can then share via social media, make reprints, or turn into personalized photo gifts for family members and friends. $800