Anyone know how much the average Irish parents spend on a child each Christmas? We didn’t either but it turns out the figure is somewhere in the region or €300 and €400. I have made my own Christmas gift list letter to Santa compiling my top tech picks under budget for this Christmas. so Mam, if your reading this take notes.
Huawei Y5II from €89.99
The humble smartphone. A staple in pretty much every teen’s Christmas hit list. The latest iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung S7 are guaranteed to be sellouts this season. Lower budget phones can also be a smash hit around the festive season. The Huawei Y5II is looking like this year’s budget special. It boasts similar specs as the vastly more expensive Samsung J3. The Huawei Y5II sports a tidy 8MP camera, decent memory and comes in three colours; Black, Gold and Pink. Depending on the network you are looking for, the Y5II starts at €89.99. This makes it the highest spec phone on the market under €100. The best offer we’ve seen
This makes it the highest spec phone on the market under €100. The best offer we’ve seen comes from Three. For €120 you get six months access to Deezer Premium and a set of Energy Sistem BT1 Bluetooth headphones. Nice!
Football Manager 17 from €30
It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a fresh game to waste away. NES Mini could have represented gaming, but I’m going for the less social option. Football Manager returns for its 2017 instalment. The amount of time I’ll dedicate to playing this is crazy. Arguably, the series is one of the most complete games ever created. We’re slightly partial to a game of Football Manager. Depending on where you buy the game, you could be looking at forking out €55 to €30. Generally speaking, if you pick it up online, you’ll save some money.
Secrid Wallet from €60
Simple, beautiful, innovative are just a few words to describe the Secrid wallet. The Dutch designed wallet is not just a smaller and well-designed wallet. Its core is made from aluminium to protect your cards from RFID scanners. It will also protect your cards from you, so you don’t bend your cards. The really cool bit is the trigger mechanism. One flick launches cards for you to make your payments while looking like a boss. Secrid has a wide range of cases with designs that can hold over ten cards, coins, keys and more.
Lumi Drone – €60
From child to manchild and everyone between. Most people would have a drone on their Christmas gift list. My personal favourite, without breaking the bank, is the Lumi. You can pick up the Lumi Drone in any Smyths toys for €60.
It looks awesome and it’s so simple to fly literally anyone can do it. You need an app on a smartphone or tablet and off you go to drone heaven. The Lumi features one touch tricks as well as an autopilot mode so you can play the interactive games with it. You can even build your own air show. A simple and fun way to have a laugh on Christmas day annoying the family. Remember the batteries.
The Christmas gift list needs NES Mini – from €65
So, I lied. I said it had to be Football manager or this. There is still enough left in the budget to pick up the niftiest little item on sale this year. The NES Mini is essentially a mini version an HDMI cabled update of the original 1985 NES. Just plug and play one of the 30 preloaded games for some retro love. For an extra ten bucks pick up a second controller and make it a two player experience.
