Technology
Fact-checked

At WiseGEEK, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

What Are the Different Types of Christmas Gadgets?

Geri Terzo
Geri Terzo

Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ in the Christian faith, is the most commercialized holiday that exists. There are gadgets that represent gifts, such as the latest technology items, often made in China and sold around the world, and also decoration products that can be used indoors or outdoors to express someone's faith. Christmas gadgets might include accessories including pine trees and artificial trees used for decorating and the items that are wrapped and placed below the trees for gifting.

Gift items are a certain type of Christmas gadget. Shoppers save money for months or longer in order to buy the hottest items that are being offered by the retail industry. Retailers often rely on the sale of holiday items to compensate for any lagging months throughout the year. Subsequently, consumers may find gadgets priced extremely low as stores compete for the business of the public. During times of an economic pullback, consumers can purchase Christmas gadgets, including wholesale electronics items, at prices that are even further discounted.

A Christmas light display in a yard.
A Christmas light display in a yard.

Decorating is a widely subscribed to practice by people who celebrate the Christmas holiday. Traditionally, people of the Christian faith display Christmas trees inside the home in preparation for the holiday. Gifts, including Christmas gadgets, are wrapped and placed under the tree in accordance with that tradition. Trees, whether real or artificial, do not remain bare. Instead, they are typically decorated by an array of electronic, sometimes flashing, lights and ornaments that are hung from many branches.

A house decorated for Christmas.
A house decorated for Christmas.

Trees, lights, snowmen figurines, and other items can be made with light-emitting diode (LED) technology as a source of light. LED technology is suitable for small items, such as tree lights, and may last longer and prove more durable than other lighting sources. Hanging strings of icicles, another type of outdoor Christmas gadgets, can similarly be powered with LED technology.

A Christmas tree with presents.
A Christmas tree with presents.

Christmas is celebrated once per year, and the technology gadgets that dominate the gift items keep changing. Electronics retailers are among the top sales performers during the holiday season amid demand for the latest computers, mobile phones, and other handheld devices. Advertising and marketing often influence the Christmas gadgets that will be most in demand each year, but some financial and consumer-oriented websites offer unbiased reviews of the best-selling electronic items. Novelty stores are quite popular during this season, and consumers increasingly purchase Christmas gadgets over the Internet in addition to undergoing the traditional shopping experience.

Discussion Comments

nony

@hamje32 - Electronics dominate top gadgets for Christmas each year. That’s why when retailers have their annual “Black Friday” sale you will find a stampede of customers rushing to the electronic aisles, to get their hands on the latest video gaming system or smart phone or personal computer.

Usually prices are slashed on these items but it’s a first come, first served basis for the most part. Why do electronics dominate?

I guess it’s because no matter how old we are, we still like to play with toys, and oven mitts aren’t exactly at the top of the list. Electronic items are cool and they give us a sense of empowerment and connect us to the world, whether real or virtual.

hamje32

@SkyWhisperer - Yeah, Christmas greeting cards have gotten to be more advanced. I still focus my energies on the gifts themselves, leaving the greeting cards as more of an afterthought.

One of the cool gadgets that I stumbled upon last year was this little roving floor robot with an onboard camera and microphone. You can use it to do surveillance or whatever.

What made it really cool however is that it can be controlled wirelessly through an Internet connection. Imagine being across the country and remotely operating your robot to see what was going on in your house!

I think this would be the perfect geek gift, or for anyone else who wants to play with robots and surveillance technology.

SkyWhisperer

One of the best Christmas gadgets is not a gadget in the usual sense of the term, in my opinion. At our company Christmas banquet we were supposed to participate in a “Christmas Santa” event, where we bought each other gifts for less than $15.

I got my friend something, which he liked, but he liked the Christmas card that came with it even more. When you opened the card, it had a little digital LCD display screen where it showed videos of various Christmas images.

That thing was amazing and he kept looking at it over and over again. He got a real kick out of it, and soon other people at the table came around and wanted to look at it too.

Christmas greeting cards have gone hi tech, that’s for sure, making them as much a part of the Christmas gadgetry as the gifts themselves.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • A Christmas light display in a yard.
      A Christmas light display in a yard.
    • A house decorated for Christmas.
      By: dred2010
      A house decorated for Christmas.
    • A Christmas tree with presents.
      By: Václav Hroch
      A Christmas tree with presents.
    • A string of Christmas lights.
      By: Artistic Endeavor
      A string of Christmas lights.