Stuck for Christmas gift ideas?
CHOICE experts assess hundreds of products each year, so they're well placed to tell you which ones will be well received and which will end up relegated to the back of the cupboard (or listed on eBay come Boxing Day).
To help make sure you stay on the Christmas card list for next year, our experts have compiled a list (and checked it twice) of their top picks of products we test here at CHOICE – plus the ones to avoid.
On this page:
- The best gift for a savvy shopper
- The best gifts for kitchen connoisseurs
- The best gifts for fitness fanatics
- The best gifts for movie buffs, audiophiles and tech heads
- The best gifts for backyard bosses
The best gift for a savvy shopper
If your Secret Santa recipient is absolutely impossible to buy for, we've got you covered. Give them the gift of choice – literally!
A CHOICE membership gives even the pickiest purchaser all the intel they need for their next big buy.
It's the perfect gift for someone setting up a new house (or renovating their existing one), having a baby, or just someone who wants to buy the best performing products at the best price.
A CHOICE membership gives even the pickiest purchaser all the intel they need for their next big buy
With access to more than 200 reviews, there's something for everyone, so you won't have to agonise over choosing between teal and duck egg blue, like you do with a pair of socks.
And because it'll help them avoid buying an expensive dud, it'll save them money – now that's a gift that really keeps on giving.
The best gifts for kitchen connoisseurs
Coffee machines
With prices hitting $5 (and upwards!) for a small takeaway coffee, a coffee machine could be a welcome gift for anyone who's feeling the effects of their coffee habit on their budget.
Just bear in mind that even though pod machines can be cheap to buy, the cost of the pods themselves can quickly add up – they're much more expensive than buying whole beans or even ground coffee.
However, they're a great option for anyone who just wants a no-fuss coffee, quick smart. A manual or semi-automatic machine requires a bit more learning but can deliver a better-quality brew.
Or for the ultimate in convenience, a fully automatic machine will create the coffee of your choosing at the press of a button – but they're pretty pricey.
We've calculated that a coffee machine could save a household of two more than $2000 a year by switching from buying two cafe coffees a day to making coffee at home.
(And that's a conservative estimate – we based these numbers on a $1200 machine and fancy coffee beans costing $49.50/kg.)
Not sure which type to buy? We can help you decide which coffee machine is right for you.
This is one barista that would be out of a job: the Sunbeam Cafe Barista EM5000.
What not to buy:
In terms of pod machines, we suggest you avoid the Nescafe Dolce Gusto Piccolo XS 9781, which scored just 30% in our taste test.
And any barista who made coffee as poorly as the Sunbeam Café Barista EM5000 would be out of a job. (It also scored just 30% on the taste test.)
If you're looking for a one-touch wonder, the fully automatic Gaggia Anima Prestige is a good way to waste $1599 in one hit: it received an abysmal CHOICE Expert Rating of just 51%.
Unfortunately the Aarke Carbonator Pro's beauty is only skin deep.
Soda makers
Buying for the host with the most? A soda maker can add some extra sparkle to their soiree, even if they're not serving alcoholic drinks.
Not only does a soda maker give you sparkling water literally on tap whenever you want it, it can also expand your beverage repertoire: you can get creative with juices, syrups, spirits and different soft drink flavours to create delicious cocktails and mocktails.
Plus, instead of lugging heavy drink bottles home from the supermarket and then filling the recycling bin with them, having a soda maker means you can significantly reduce your plastic waste. Not to mention the carbon miles you've also saved by not purchasing bottled sparkling water.
What not to buy:
At an eye-watering $499, the Aarke Carbonator Pro will look pretty, but if you buy it for a friend, they might end up shoving it in the back of the cupboard: our experts weren't won over by its good looks and scored it just 66% overall in our latest soda maker review.
Kitchen knives
You might not have considered this one, but a good-quality knife can make a great gift. No, not for the street thug in your life – for keen cooks and amateur butchers.
Not only can it make meal prep much faster, but a good kitchen knife can be a real pleasure to use.
Most of us work with knives that aren't as sharp as they could be (which as well as being inefficient can also be unsafe), but a quality kitchen knife should stay sharper for longer.
Some knives can cost hundreds of dollars (the most expensive we've tested costs $400), but you don't necessarily need to pay more to get the best blade for your budget: a number of more affordable knives performed very well in our testing.
You don't necessarily need to pay more to get the best blade for your budget
We recommend kitchen knives with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 80% and higher; however, knives that just missed out on being recommended are still worth considering.
While gifting a fancier, high-end knife might have that 'wow' factor, giving your loved one the gift of a knife that'll stand the test of time is far more thoughtful, so check out our review to find the best kitchen knives.
What not to buy:
The $200 Mundial Kitchen Knife may be made from high carbon stainless steel, but it didn't deliver high-grade performance in our testing. It scored just 60% – that's less than some cheap knives from the likes of Ikea and Kmart!
The Ovation ice cream maker didn't garner any applause from our experts.
Ice cream maker
Given the size of the ice cream section at the supermarket, you could be forgiven for wondering why on earth anyone would bother making their own ice cream from scratch, but for a particular type of person, it can be a lovely gift.
But it'll actually be a treat for both the recipient and for you: they'll get a fun new kitchen appliance, and you'll get to enjoy the fruits (or rather desserts) of their labour.
(Just don't tell them about your ulterior motives in giving it to them.)
And they're not just for making ice cream: you can also use them to whip up gelato, frozen yoghurt and slushies.
This is also a really thoughtful gift idea for people who love ice cream but may have special dietary requirements so want to make their own. (Read about more pros and cons of buying ice-cream makers.)
What not to buy:
You probably won't want an encore after using the $299 Ovation Ice Cream Maker, which was the lowest scoring product in our review – by a long way. It's not the most expensive, but if you have $300 to spend on a Christmas present, the Ovation will get you a frosty reception.
Other gifts for gourmands:
The best gifts for fitness fanatics
The Samsung Galaxy Watch5 is no smart watch.
Fitness trackers
Looking for a gift that'll get their heart racing? Whether you're buying for a seasoned gym bunny or someone who's just taken up jogging, a fitness tracker is a thoughtful gift idea that'll help get them motivated and monitor their progress over time.
Depending on your budget – and the recipient's goals – you could go for a simple fitness band that'll cover the basics, or go all out with high-end smart watch.
While a complicated Garmin or an Apple or Google Pixel watch might seem like an impressive gift, sometimes less is more: the top scoring fitness trackers in our tests weren't necessarily the most expensive.
Sometimes less is more: the top scoring fitness trackers weren't necessarily the most expensive
Our experts found a number of more affordable options that outperformed some pricier models, so if you want to put the 'smart' into 'smartwatch', check our review to find the best fitness trackers for your budget.
What not to buy:
Samsung's Galaxy Watch5 took home the wooden spoon in our testing, with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 68%. Our testers experienced significant delays in the watch updating pace and distance counts, and female triallists found the watch band uncomfortable.
Personal blenders
Quick, nutritious and portable, smoothies are a hit for good reason. A single-serve blender is a great gift to help your friend or family member stick to their healthy eating goals for the new year.
They're not as powerful as traditional blenders, but they more than make up for it in convenience: all you need to do is throw in the ingredients, whizz it up, and then you're good to go – you drink directly from the blending cup, which saves on washing up and helps you get out the door faster.
A single-serve blender is a great gift to help your friend or family member stick to their healthy eating goals for the new year
Or, if you know the gift recipient also get use out of a larger blender, some models now come with single-serve cups as well as the usual larger jug format, which makes them a more versatile (albeit more expensive) kitchen appliance.
If you're looking at a high-performance super blender, you're probably asking 'Is an expensive blender like a Vitamix worth it?'
What not to buy:
It's budget-friendly, but the $50 Sunbeam Insta Go Blender was the lowest ranking personal blender in our test. It's definitely not one to buy for green smoothie enthusiasts: it was so bad at blending kale that our experts gave it a score of zero for this test.
Headphones
The right soundtrack can help motivate you to push a bit harder and top your personal best – or even just make those last 10 minutes on the exercise bike less dull.
But a killer playlist won't do much good if your headphones are uncomfortable or don't stay put when you're working out.
When we test headphones, our panel of five experts gives each pair a score for comfort, assessing how they feel to put on and take off, how comfortable they are to wear for 30 minutes, and how they fare when the wearer is moving around.
You can sort and filter the reviews by noise cancelling score, sound quality and comfort, as well as brand, price and style to help you find the perfect pair.
What not to buy:
While wireless earbuds are great for freedom of movement, JBL's Live Flex aren't a great example of the style. Our testers say they're uncomfortable, don't deliver good active noise cancellation, and the sound quality is ordinary at best.
The best gifts for movie buffs, audiophiles and tech heads
The Mereno Wooden 2.1: it wooden make a good gift.
Soundbars
Going out to the cinema becomes a luxury when you have small children, a hectic schedule, or you're on a tight budget. But a soundbar can help create that movie theatre atmosphere at home – at a fraction of the cost of a full home theatre set-up.
Plus, it can double as a wireless speaker so you can really get your money's worth by using it for movies and music.
You can spend thousands of dollars on a good soundbar, but the two top scoring models in our review cost less than $600.
We've rounded up the best soundbars at every price, so you can find the best bar for your budget.
What not to buy:
If you're looking for a bargain, the $119 Meredo Wooden 2.1 might catch your eye, but even at that price you'd be paying too much for it. It's the cheapest soundbar in our test, but it's also the lowest scoring with a CHOICE Expert Rating of just 48%. The next lowest score is 63%, which shows how ordinary its performance is.
Wireless speakers
If you're buying for someone who likes having a soundtrack for every activity, a wireless speaker is a good choice of gift.
Depending on how naughty or nice they've been, you can spend as little as $60 for a portable speaker like the JBL GO 3 or as much as $900 for a home speaker like the Sonos Five (or even more if they've been especially good this year).
For someone who's always on the go, a portable Bluetooth speaker means they can take the party with them, whether they're lounging by the pool, flipping steaks on the barbie or picnicking in the park.
For someone who's always on the go, a portable Bluetooth speaker means they can take the party with them
These can be an affordable option, with many costing less than $100.
Look for something lightweight and robust with a good battery life and ideally some level of water resistance.
If you're buying for someone who's on a first-name basis with Alexa, Siri or Google, a smart speaker is a clever buy. You'll be giving the gift of convenience: the recipient will be able to control things such as music, lighting, heating and cooling, calendars, streaming services, and more.
And then there's smart display speakers that also have a screen, so you can watch the news or follow a recipe via a YouTube video, for instance.
Megaboom? More like mega flop.
What not to buy:
The $329 Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 and $199 Boom 3 portable speakers were the lowest ranked products in our review, with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 45% and 43% respectively.
There are plenty of other wireless speakers that deliver better performance for less money, so check our review to find the best wireless speakers.
Bluetooth trackers
Have you had it with your absent-minded teen losing their house keys approximately 475 times a year? Does your spouse call you in a flap every week because they can't find their wallet again?
A Bluetooth tracker could help them and save your sanity. Essentially a small device that you attach to frequently-misplaced items, it connects to your mobile phone via an app that helps reunite you with whatever it is that you've lost.
We can't guarantee that it'll help your loved one change their habits, but hopefully it'll help cut down on the number of panicked phone calls you receive each week.
What not to buy:
The Orbit Keys and Orbit Stick-on. Both of these products failed our safety tests relating to button batteries, which can cause significant injuries and even death if small children swallow them. Mandatory safety standards for button batteries came into effect in 2022, but CHOICE experts still find products on the market that don't comply with button battery laws. Our Bluetooth trackers review will tell you which products are safe and which you should avoid.
Other gifts for a very techy Christmas:
- Headphones
- Movie and TV streaming devices
- Smartphones
- Simple mobile phones
- Smart doorbells
- E-readers
The best gifts for backyard bosses
A traditional Japanese high-heat hibachi grill can cook and infuse meat, seafood and vegetables with a smoky charcoal flavour.
Barbecues
Another gift that benefits the giver as well as the receiver, a new BBQ will fire up a backyard chef's enthusiasm for outdoor entertaining.
You could go for a portable barbie for balcony, verandah and park cook-ups, a larger size for bigger gatherings, or even a smoker for the especially keen (but patient) barbecuer.
From charcoal to LPG, electric to natural gas and even infrared, there are almost as many BBQ types as there are BBQ chefs in the world.
So before you start shopping, make sure you know what you're looking for so you don't get caught up in the moment and come home with a four-burner beast with a side burner for someone who only has a small balcony and mostly cooks just for one.
And if you're buying for someone who's already a grill master, take a look at BBQ add-ons like pizza stones, smart digital meat thermometers, or even a hibachi grill.
What not to buy:
The Ziegler & Brown Ziggy electric BBQ only just managed to scrape through with a pass mark in our tests. When our experts tested its roasting capabilities, it did so poorly that they gave it a score of zero.
Pool cleaners
Cleaning the pool is a thankless task: as soon as you've finished, it starts filling up with leaves again (and half the water ends up outside of the pool thanks to bombs and belly flop competitions).
Automating the job means that no-one has to miss out on the festivities because they're busy scooping debris from the depths.
A fancy robotic pool cleaner can cost thousands of dollars, but you don't need to max out your credit card for a good cleaner: of the 10 pool cleaners our experts recommend, four of them cost less than $1000 (and a fifth just over the $1K mark), with two costing less than $550.
What not to buy:
The Baracuda Tracker WS000029 really sucks – and not just because it's a suction cleaner.
It scored an abysmal 3% for its performance in the pool. Our experts stopped testing around the three-hour mark because they concluded that it'd be easier to just manually vacuum the pool.
Plus, it retails for $725, which is quite expensive for a geared suction cleaner – and especially for one this terrible.
A CHOICE membership costs just $83.95 for 12 months, but could save you from wasting hundreds of dollars on a product like this suction cleaner.
Instead, you could check our review, pick up a CHOICE Recommended robotic pool cleaner for under $550 and spend the difference on inflatable unicorns and cocktail umbrellas.
Battery lawn mowers
For the lawn-proud garden guru in your life, a petrol-powered mower could be making their job harder: they can be heavy, difficult to manoeuvre and tricky to start.
A battery lawn mower can lighten the load – literally. They weigh less, they're quieter, they start with just the press of a button, and you don't need to worry about buying, storing and handling petrol (and the associated fumes).
if they already have a battery-powered tool system, you might not need to buy a battery for the mower
While they generally can't handle large blocks, they're fine for typical suburban blocks up to about 500 square metres.
If your groundskeeper has other battery-powered tools (or is thinking about buying some), mower batteries are usually compatible with other power tools from the same brand – things like line trimmers, brush cutters and leaf blowers. So find out their preferred brand before you shop.
As a bonus, if they already have a battery-powered tool system, you might not need to buy a battery for the mower, which will bring the cost down.
The grass is definitely not greener with this Ryobi 18V mower.
What not to buy:
The Ryobi 18V 37cm Lawn Mower 4AH Kit sits at the bottom of the pile in our battery lawn mowers review. It scores 72% overall which doesn't sound too bad, but the top performers score 90% and higher.
Its battery only lasts for 22 minutes, so unless your backyard is the size of a postage stamp, you won't be able to knock over the mowing in one go.
Other gifts for an alfresco Christmas:
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
