21+ practical gifts that are too useful to get re-gifted: toilet paper, fancy salt, stress balls and more

Detailed summary

The best practical gifts are ones your loved ones actually need and will use in everyday life. Shop expert-approved picks from Apple, Brick, Kindle, Amazon and more.

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I’m a firm believer that the best gifts are the most practical ones. That includes everyday items your recipient genuinely needs, products that make their lives easier, upgrades to their favorite basics and tools they’ll actually use — no trinkets or tchotchkes that create clutter and will likely end up in their re-gift pile, or, even worse, the junk drawer.

To narrow down my picks, I polled the NBC Selected staff, talked to my loved ones and even asked people from across the country while they visited New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza. I also thought about the practical gifts I’ve received that genuinely made a difference in my life, and ones I’ve given that got the best reactions from recipients. Read on to see my full list of the best practical gifts this year.

An AirTag is a gift that anyone in your life will be grateful for, even if they already own one — we all have a few things we need help keeping track of, be it keys, a wallet or luggage. Apple’s coin-sized device automatically pairs with your giftee’s iPhone and shows them its location in the Find My app via GPS. As needed, they can use the app to ping their AirTag so it plays a sound from its built-in speaker, as well as get step-by-step directions to find it. The tracker’s replaceable battery lasts for longer than a year, according to the brand.

I attach AirTags to my keys and bags with a Belkin keychain. I always gift one along with the device to make it as functional as possible for my loved ones from the moment they unwrap it.

You can’t give your loved one a better night’s sleep, but you can give them helpful tools that might lead to improvement, like the Hatch Sleep Clock. It’s a sunrise alarm clock and sound machine with built-in sensors that track your recipient’s sleep patterns — the sensors monitor movement and breathing patterns, so they don’t have to wear…

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