Whether the loved ones in your life binge-watch everything, or savor their weekly dropped shows, they’re probably a little hard to shop for. In this age of on-demand everything, people tend to just buy now and forget about making a wish list. That’s where we come in.
Your favorite team of TV addicts at Tom’s Guide thought long and hard about the stuff we wish we’d get this holiday season. Or, in other cases, the stuff we’re planning on giving our friends and relatives.
This list has everything from merch from the best shows of the year to gift subscriptions to the services we love (and one your friends may not be hip to yet). On top of that, we’ve got great (affordable) options to upgrade your current entertainment center, including the latest version of one of the best streaming devices, the remote every Roku owner needs and a way to build your own streaming service (programming not included).
The Work Is Mysterious & Important Mug, Severance TV Mug
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Severance is a workplace thriller that likely speaks to anybody who’s ever worked in an office. We named the Apple TV Plus drama the Best Streaming Service Original Show in our annual Tom’s Guide Awards, citing its clever premise, puzzle box nature and captivating characters. This mug bears a line that employees of Lumon Industries are told, which functions as a kind of chill pill. It’s the kind of corporate-speak that doesn’t mean much of anything, much like “Let’s circle back on that” and “Cascading information.” Hey, no need to know what your job or anyone else’s is — the work is mysterious and important! — Kelly Woo
A gift subscription to the Criterion Channel
Last year, I gave my parents a gift they keep telling me they love, so I thought I’d share this recommendation with you. For every movie-lover who’s hit a wall in Netflix’s movie library, and even thinks HBO Max doesn’t have enough deep cuts, a gift subscription to the Criterion Channel is a great gift. Stocked to the gills with classics from the masters — Goddard, Haneke, Varda and Fellini — Criterion Channel is the cinephile’s streaming service. It routinely hosts monthly runs on specific topics in cinema, such as New York City, noir and (for October) horror. — Henry T. Casey
Elago R5 Apple TV remote cover
Unlike Fire TV and Roku, Apple doesn’t have a way to find your lost remote. Even though it has a whole Find My technology in the Apple AirTags. So, if you keep losing your Apple TV remote, we recommend you get this slip-on remote cover that has a slot for an AirTag (sold separately). This way, you’ll be able to find your remote super-quickly, so you can focus on the streaming you were enjoying in the first place. — Henry T. Casey
Hulu gift card
Hulu’s gift cards not only deliver its excellent originals (the best shows on Hulu and the best movies on Hulu should not be missed, trust us), such as The Bear, Reservation Dogs and Hellraiser (2022). But Hulu’s just as important for cord-cutters, as it offers the gift of next-day TV shows across many channels. For example, those without ABC (which isn’t on Sling TV), will love Hulu for access to the amazing sitcom Abbott Elementary, and those without cable need Hulu to watch FX’s Atlanta. — Henry T. Casey
Apple gift card for Apple TV Plus
Apple TV Plus may be the best value streaming service, when you think about how much great content it delivers for the subscription price. For $7 per month, you get access to a rich spectrum of shows and movies. Apple TV Plus may not have the quantity of a Netflix, but it can certainly compete on quality. It had our No. 1 streaming original of the year, Severance, as well as other favorites like For All Mankind, The Afterparty, Pachinko, Black Bird, Trying and Bad Sisters. And of course, we’re excited for the returns of Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest. With a gift card, you can give someone special the chance to binge happily for months. — Kelly Woo
World’s Second Best Lawyer travel mug
You know that friend who can’t stop talking about Better Call Saul? You know, that friend who keeps saying you need to watch it already, because Bob Odenkirk,Rhea Seehorn and the rest of the cast are doing amazing work? Well, first, they’re right. But if you’re waiting on watching, you could make it up to them by giving them one of Jimmy McGill’s best personal effects, a thermos that says “World’s Second Best Lawyer.” We won’t spoil its importance, but any Better Call Saul fan knows its worth, and how it showed up in the amazing final season of the AMC series. — Henry T. Casey
Roku Voice Remote Pro
If you’re on Team Roku, you probably have a good, if not great, remote. But there’s a better one you might not know about. The Roku Voice Remote Pro is an excellent upgrade for a number of reasons, including the ability to make hands-free voice commands, for navigating the Roku and your streaming (as well as finding lost remotes). We love its rechargeable battery, though, as it means you’re free from wastefully buying more batteries. Oh, and if you’re annoyed that your Roku remote doesn’t have built-in buttons for the apps you use, this remote has two programmable buttons that you can customize yourself. — Henry T. Casey
Hellfire Club hoodie
What better way to celebrate Stranger Things season 4’s best new character Eddie Munson than to rock a hoodie that bears the logo of his Dungeons & Dragons group. Yes, while you wait for season 5 to come out, you’ll need some sort of extra layer of warmth, and this one tells others that you know the power of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Oh, and if you’re OK with a slightly different design, there’s also this official Metallica-branded version sold by Netflix (opens in new tab). — Henry T. Casey
Italian Beef & Gravy from Buona Italian Beef
My personal favorite show of the year, The Bear, is an adrenaline rush like no other. You will sweat and possibly develop an ulcer watching Jeremy Allen White’s rising star chef Carmy try to bring discipline to a rundown Chicago sandwich shop. The Hulu dramedy will also leave you hungry. The shop’s signature Italian beef sandwich, dripping in gravy, looks absolutely delicious. No wonder locals are always lining up for one. While the restaurant in The Bear is fictional, real versions have long been a staple of Chicago. Through Goldbelly, you can get your own sandwich kit from Buona Italian Beef, which claims to be the last family-owned Italian beef restaurant in the Windy City. — Kelly Woo
Lego Baby Yoda
This Lego Baby Yoda provides users a neat way to spend the months before The Mandalorian season 3 drops in February 2023. Made of 1,073 Lego bricks, this lil Grogu has a posable head, and its ears and fingers move too. Measuring 7.5 x 8.5 x 5 inches, the Lego Baby Yoda is perfectly sized for your desk or mantle, where you can display it as proudly as the little one presents the gearshift knob you can place in its hand. — Henry T. Casey
Apple TV 4K (64GB)
The new Apple TV 4K is the latest and most affordable version of one of the best streaming devices ever. Apple just added the A15 Bionic system-on-chip to make the streaming device even faster than it already was, and HDR10+ is a welcome addition as well. On top of that, it’s $50 less than it used to be, so you can give the Apple TV 4K without it taking a huge bite out of your budget. We’re so confident that the new Apple TV 4K will be as great as the predecessor that we’re even willing to recommend it before we publish our review. Yes, it’s light on changes and upgrades, but that’s arguably a good thing: less changes means less risk for going wrong. — Henry T. Casey
Roku Streambar
Some people may feel a little hesitant about getting a soundbar. It’s a bit of added complexity that you might not need. That said, the Roku Streambar is the soundbar for beginners. Not only because it packs 4K streaming capabilities (it is a Roku), but because it’s packing enough sound to completely fill a smaller living room. That sound is delivered through four 1.9-inch drivers (two face forward, the others to the sides), to have you swimming in better sound. And, next year, you could upgrade their soundbar with some low-end power, by giving them the Roku Wireless Bass (also $129). — Henry T. Casey
Synology 2 bay NAS DiskStation DS220+
Some people, the true collectors and archivists among us, make their own streaming services, which they host on Plex or something similar. But in order to stock your Plex with content, you’ll need a system to store all your legally-ripped movies and TV shows on. And the multi-bay Synology setups are a popular choice. Of course, you’ll also need to provide your own drives for your Synology, but we bet your favorite hoarder/tinkerer would love to start to build their own setup. This is definitely, though, not the kind of gift you buy blindly. Try and see if your friend or loved one knows about Synology, and hosting their own content before you buy. — Henry T. Casey
TCL 55-inch 6-Series 4K Smart TV
More-affordable TVs can get a bad rap, but the TCL 6-Series is a 4K TV we love to recommend. It offers enhanced brightness and color in picture quality thanks to QLED technology, and mini-LEDs for perfect-looking backlighting. It even produced an impressive 99.92% of the sRGB color space. Oh, and since it’s a Roku TV, it has every streaming app you could ask for, from Amazon Prime Video to Tubi. So, if you want to give a gift that will make them say “oh you shouldn’t have!” This is the TV that won’t break your own budget. — Henry T. Casey
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