The Cave Project's Holiday Gift Guide (2024)
Get a Bird Buddy so our birds can be friends with your birds. 🦆
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We got so much great feedback on last year’s Make Your Dumb House a Smart House episode that we’re dedicating this issue to technology. And gifts.
We’re living in a world even better than The Jetsons imagined. At our home, we have five super-plugged-in humans who use technology as a key part of our lives, not an unnecessary add-on.
We get asked all the time about what we use — and why we chose what we chose — and it was really fun compiling the list of what’s working best for us so far this year. Here are our recommendations! And be sure to let us know your favs and recos, too.
🎁 The Cave Project's Holiday Gift Guide
Greg’s Picks:
BooksByAnyone.com uses AI to create a full 250-page, paperback-sized book about anyone and anything. Just by answering a few questions, it will “write” and ship you a book. Highly recommended for everyone on your list.
GravaStar USB C Charger —Why should charging your phone be so blocky? This thing looks like a Transformer that you plug your phone into. I play with it nonstop under the camera during Zoom calls.
Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in US History. —This book is so thorough! It's a great coffee table book. Do I believe it? Maybe.
Universal Remote Control Adapter for iPhone—This little chip slots into your phone and lets you control any TV! It's great for airports, doctor’s office lobbies, or anywhere you may need to turn the screamy box volume down.
The Labyrinth by Simon Stålenhag —I own three other books by the visionary illustrator and author (Tales From the Loop, Things From the Flood, The Electric State), but I don’t have this one yet. You must get the giant hardcover versions, put on instrumental music, and then lose yourself. It's my favorite.
Propane Blow Torch for Weeds — As a local yard dad, I have a hatred for dandelions and weeds. But you know what I need? A f-ing blow torch.
Oura Ring 3—As a decade-plus consumer of “quantified self” tracking products, the Oura Ring 3 has become my go-to health and sleep tracker, even though I wear an Apple Watch each day. The Oura Ring 4 is out, but the 3s are getting very affordable, and other than light cosmetic and material differences, it’s still a great product.
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses —I’m incredibly bullish on smart glasses coming into our everyday lifestyle, and these are by far the most affordable and accessible on the market. And yeah, you can clear and/or prescription lenses for them.
Jenny’s Picks:
Dyson Airwrap—I bought my first one in 2019, and after overcoming the learning curve of how to use it, it’s basically killed my desire to go have a blowout at a salon because I can do it better myself at home. This year’s upgrade will keep me out of the chair at Drybar for the foreseeable future, and it works with all of the previous iteration’s attachments.
Dyson Airstrait Straightener—This came out last year and is Dyson’s answer to the heat damage of using a flat iron. It uses air instead of heat.
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones— Do you know what sucks about AirPods? They can’t do multiple devices at the same time. I also need a way to signal to my coworkers I’m in a meeting. Bose is a brand known for great audio experience. With the industry now making devices that integrate multipoint Bluetooth, I can be connected to my laptop and phone simultaneously without switching devices - it’s all seamless. It helps me work, take calls from the kids ’ school, and feel like I’m not dropping the ball. Take note, Apple!
Anker Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse—As much as we use a computer mouse at work and during the day, I feel really strongly about ergonomics. I’m on my second round of this mouse for work and home.
Smart Sensor Wastebasket—This is one way to ensure that the trash panda tendencies of the person you live with are carefully hidden underneath a gorgeous, arty exterior that his little paws don’t have to touch, so he can’t ruin it.
YETI Camino Tote Bag—This thing is virtually indestructible, and you can spill as many Diet Cokes as you want. I am going to use this to haul my work and home stuff when I’m heading to the office. It even has pockets for your Stanley Cups, which is a big deal if you have a million Stanleys like me.
Stuff We’re Upgrading This Year:
Amazon Echo Show 8—We had the original Amazon Show in the kitchen for years and replaced it with a little Amazon Echo 5 in 2020. That little guy was the workhorse of our smart home and was due for an upgrade. It has a bigger screen, spatial audio, and a centered camera (finally). And it’s great for serving as the hub for our family intercom system.
Amazon Echo Spot—We’re replacing the Echo Dots in each of the kids’ bedrooms that we use for our family intercom system. These are great because they have mini screens, clocks, weather, and more. Will they help our kids get out of bed in the morning? It's too soon to tell.
Amazon Basics Color Light Bulbs—Wow, these got cheap. And they’re a quick way to change the ambiance of a room (or “dress” a room for the holidays).
Roku Sound Bar—We prefer the Roku menu’s user experience over the default version in our smart TVs and that of the Amazon Fire Stick (boo!!). This year, we’re upgrading to a Roku 4k Sound Bar that mounts under the main TV, streams in 4k resolution, works with all of the streaming services, and sounds much better than the tinny speakers in the TV. Sponsor us, Roku. You cowards!
Kasa Smart Plugs—We have an army of these across the house because do you know what is so lame? Having to walk around and turn off the lights before you go to bed. Now we’re outfitting Jenny’s office lamp situation, too.
Kids’ Picks:
Valve Steam Deck Gaming System—This is like a Nintendo Switch portable gaming system, but it’s compatible with any PC game. You don’t need to buy the OLED screen one with the massive hard drive, but of course, that’s the one our kiddo asked for!
Roblox Gift Cards—It’s a surefire way that your kids won’t ask you for your credit card while you’re trying to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade. It also helps teach your kids how to put limits on spending. And they tend to sell out in the big box stores leading up to the holidays.
Dribble Dream Silent Basketball—If you have people in your house who love to BOUNCE BALLS IN THE HOUSE, this is a ball meant for that. And it’s silent. As in, you can’t hear it.
Meta Quest 3 —This is the most affordable and most powerful VR headset on the market, and our kids have loved both the Quest 1 and 2. The Quest 3 is incredibly social and surprisingly can have you break a sweat - have them play Gorilla Tag against friends and family. Amazing.
Stuff We Still Recommend
Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder with Camera Solar Power - yeah, even our bird feeder is smart. Greg’s favorite move is to export the video and use generative A.I. to make Daft Punk-inspired bird videos. Be sure to get the solar-powered one. Plus, you can 3D print add-ons! Fun!
Apple AirTags—For keys, wallets, purses, and even our dog. Things you don’t want to lose. Soon, they’ll work with your airline apps to track your luggage, too.
Netatmo Weather Station—This is an external weather monitor that hooks into a whole system of smart weather stations, as you can see on this map here. It also has internal home sensors with a CO2 monitor, which is so great when you have a bunch of people over because it sends a ping to my phone, and we go open a window or the door to refresh some oxygen in the room. We got an add-on Netatmo rain gauge that’s pretty fun, too. Micro-weather forecasting rocks!
Ring Security System—After getting pretty deep into the ADT ecosystem at our last home, we shifted to Ring and have really enjoyed the ability to integrate wired and wireless cameras, flood monitors, motion sensors, a doorbell, and others.
Ring Mailbox Sensor—Jenny Swan loves mail. She loves mail. And she wants to know when we get new mail. This thing tells her. Greg has notifications turned off.
Ring Flood Freeze Monitor—We use this for a sump pump alarm, and we have a second one next to our water heater in case it fails. Fingers crossed, we never have an issue! But at least we’ll know.
Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Control lets Amazon deliver packages inside your garage. Plus, you know that feeling when you’re lying in bed and aren’t sure if your kid closed the garage door? You can check it with your phone—and close it!
Wi-Fi Deadbolts—You’ll want to choose one that fits your home style, your budget, and that works with the rest of your IoT system. These are great for letting service techs into your house with a temporary code! Amazon has some affordable entry-level ones, too. But thanks to all of our smart home tech, Greg is *almost* off keys entirely. He can’t wait to declare, “I’m off keys!”
Midea Wifi Dehumidifier—This thing sucks… water! And yes, it has an app hooked into our Alexa ecosystem to tell you when it’s full.
GE Profile Opal 2.0 Countertop Nugget Ice Maker with Side Tank—Jenny Swan received this as a holiday gift last year. It makes Sonic Drive-In-style nugget ice, and yes, it hooks into your Wi-Fi system and has an app.
Kasa Smart Plugs—Turn your house into an IoT smart home with the ability to turn on/off anything with a power source (lamps, Christmas trees, etc). These are way cheaper than the Amazon brand and work similarly. They don’t need a hub and work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or set up your schedule in the Kasa app. When we have family or friends staying in the house, they have to text me to ask to turn the lights on or off, which is honestly the kind of power we crave.
Roku Streaming Stick 4K—We use these on all of our smart TVs, which all seem to have a bad native user experience. Roku is so smooth and satisfying. As noted above, Roku should sponsor us. But they’re afraid we’ll be too successful, and they won’t be able to keep up with demand and will go out of business.
Shark Ultra Robot Vacuum—We’re not even embarrassed to share that we have three! Jenny Swan calls them her robot army. After being frustrated with the Roomba’s chaos goblin mannerisms, we switched to Shark and have shopped Black Friday sales to upgrade to ones with a self-empty base, home mapping, and wifi. And yes, you know the fear of having it run through dog poop and ruin all the rugs in your house? That happened to us. We talked about that on the podcast in Season 1. What a great memory. Let’s end this on that note.
*Note: these are affiliate links. Because if you like a reco and buy something, we would love a check for $.08 cents. Greg promises to buy gadgets with it.
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If you’re just joining us, welcome! We’re on Season 2 of The Cave Project — a movement exploring the nuance of our modern-day reality and the tension of our technological future with Jenny and Greg Swan. Check out the archives here.
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See you in the future! 🚀
Jenny & Greg