December holidays are a month of distilled fun. Without taking away from moments with family and friends, tasty meals, and reflecting on the year nearly done, the holidays and presents go together like eggnog in my coffee (or whatever combo of joy that you happen to like). In preparation, I sat down after devouring my Thanksgiving bird + trimmings and curated my list of favorite tech gadgets for 2025. I am sharing them here in case you have folks asking about something tech-frivolous that you would like this season.
There is something inherently "dark side" about playing darts during winter. Maybe I only sense rogues and villains throwing darts when the temps dip down because during the dark months, days are short and darkness has the upper hand. So in that spirit, sign me up for some high-quality Darth Vader-themed darts.
I do like my coffee. Every day, I kick off with the single best mug that my just-awakened eyes can navigate. Good coffee requires good beans. And when it comes to my friends, arabica and canephora, fresh = good. Hide them from light and air, so when you release, goodness happens. To make my new-day aspirations easier, I have my eye on this rechargeable vacuum canister that puts my beans into restful hibernation until just when I need them.
I have excellent memories of getting up on winter days around 4:00 a.m. to catch the ski bus to the Sunrise slopes of the White Mountains. The bus would deliver me with lift tickets in hand at 8:30 a.m. to spend a day sliding down mountains. During the dark five-hour drive back, a slightly more sore version of me would grab my original Game Boy, conveniently stowed in my ski jacket pocket, along with a stack of cartridges. Dark roads and time would slide by while playing side scrollers like Prince of Persia and puzzle games like Tetris. I have no idea what happened to that old Game Boy, but retro recreations now exist that mash up all the classic handhelds. Fueled by cheap memory and nostalgia, these clones offer thousands of my old games to enjoy while on a holiday break.
The Perseverance Rover is one of the great marvels of human technological achievement. This six-wheeled embodiment of "never going to stop" left Earth in 2020 and has spent the last 5 years exploring Jezero Crater. A few months ago, Perseverance detected electrical charges in the air that match the profile of lightning. I am never going to get to Mars and shake Perseverance's robotic arm. Still, I could build a homebrew version, AI it up with this kit, and give it a well-deserved high five.
My home includes Kipp, the border collie. This means each and every day, a low-grade sheen of soft tuxedo black and white fur coats my floors. I love my pup. The same is not true for vacuuming up after him. Especially when I rationalize that I personally have no hair and do not require floor clean-up. Any crumbs I leave are nibbled up by Kipp anyway. Problem solved with a decent vac'bot. The AI versions of these map my house, vacuum, mop, and empty themselves into a bin. And if a new puppy shows up and has an accident, these vac'bots have enough AI to avoid the gooey bits.
Sometimes I like gifts that are only vaguely useful, yet the idea is deeply fun. This is where a haptic vest comes in, knocking me around a bit as if I were at that concert or taking a hit. I don't know how many games support it, or even if any thumps from my Beats noise-cancelling headphones would translate into chest vibrations. But spending a day testing it out to see what it does and how close we are getting to Ready Player One would be holiday time nicely spent. And besides, "woojer" is really a fun word to say.
There are many days when I am pinned down for hours listening to what feels like a stew of problems, risks, other people's bad days, and stuff I need to sort out. My go-to solution is some combination of gym, pizza, pup, and family. But those all happen if / when I escape the day. It would be bliss to take it down a few notches while still sitting in those time-dilating meetings. This is the reason why the Truvaga Nerve Stimulator caught my eye. This nifty IoT device can be discreetly held in my hand so that when I feel a fight-or-flight moment coming on, I hold it up to the Vagus nerve in my neck (next to a major blood vessel) and let the Truvaga spend two minutes telling my nervous system to chill out.
So there is my list for 2025. With any luck, some of these will show up under my tree. I hope the same plays out for you!
Dr B.
From holiday tech thrills to hands-on innovation—take the next step with UAT. Apply or inquire today!