Holiday Gift Guide: Practically Perfect Energy Savers

I wasn’t there, but I’ve been told that my father’s first Christmas gift to my mother as a married couple was a set of jumper cables. Safety was very romantic back then.

So I guess I come by my gift-giving tendencies honestly. I often try to mesh usefulness with the wow-factor when selecting gifts; however, it’s often not possible for a gift to be both terribly useful and ridiculously fun. Afterall, when was the last time your 16-year-old exclaimed “Thanks for the surge protecting power strip, Mom. I’m going to go plug it in right now, weeeee!”

So here’s a list of useful gifts whose wow-factor comes in the form of super energy saving, earth-friendly lifespan, or completely sustainable in its creation.

SMART STRIP POWER STRIP
from BITS limited, $41.95
That’s right, I’m leading with the power strip! But this model is one mother of a power strip. It boasts autoswitching technology that only uses the power you need – saving energy and your electricity bills.

KILL A WATT
from P3 INTERNATIONAL, $22.39 on Amazon
This handy device assesses the efficiency of your electronic devices. Not only will it help you calculate electrical expenses but it will help determine which appliances are in need to being replaced.

CRANK HANDLE “ELECTRONICS”
from Freeplay, prices vary
Freeplay makes a line of flashlights and radios that operate without any battery power. They work simply by cranking a handle. Wow-factor bonus points for the clear casing so you can see what’s going on inside!

USB RECHARGEABLE USBCell
from Moixa Energy, $20
This show-off item makes keeping batteries out of landfills sexy! The USBCell recharges by being plugged in to a USB port. “Wow, Mom! I’m going to go plug this in right now, weeee!”

So throw out the jumper cable gift idea, and get your hands on these green gifts that not only bring that special someone joy and happiness, but also let’s them know how you feel about sustainable actions.