OmarKnows Holiday Picks 2025
🎁 A Curated Collection of Thoughtful Gifts, Tech Treasures, now in its 11th year! ✨
Welcome to the 2025 edition of the OmarKnows Holiday Gift List! I’m back with some new picks as well as from favorites from years past. Each recommendation has been personally tested or thoroughly researched to ensure it meets my standards for quality and usefulness.
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Previous OmarKnows Holiday Gift Lists:
TECH & ACCESSORIES
Govee RGBIC Smart Table Lamp
I recently got a few of these lamps for my son and daughter’s bedrooms. They are really nice and easy to set up, and can act as a boring old lamp or something with a lot of color and pop.
WHOOSH! Screen Shine Go
My laptop screen is always dirty and got smudges on it. I’ve tried carrying around small wipes but they tend to make a mess. I’ve had great luck with the Whoosh products and like that they come in a travel size.
Oura Ring 4
These have become so popular and I continue to recommend them. First get a sizing kit if you do not know your size. Wear the ring overnight so you can get a sense of the fit. If you have an American Express Platinum Card you get $200 off a ring every year(as a credit to your account). Be sure to register for this offer.
Ray-Ban Meta Gen2 Glasses
The Gen2 glasses are a big improvement over the Gen1. They have double the battery life (8h instead of 4h) and higher photo resolution. I have the polarized glasses in matte black and find they are the perfect balance between outdoor and indoor wear (not as great as transitions, but the transitions are not as good outdoors).
reMarkable Paper Pro Move
I recently reviewed this and really love this device. If you are a note taker (or ever were a note taker) these are worth considering.
Anker Nano Travel Adapter (5-Port)
This is honestly the swiss army of travel chargers. It’s not a high power charger (only 20W) but for charging your phone anywhere in the world it cannot be beat. My favorite use is with the UK or EU style plug on every flight I go on since they never fall out of the airline sockets vs the US plug which is always loose. I have gifted these to so many people this past year!
INIU for MagSafe Portable Charger
This is a cheap and great MagSafe battery. It has a built in stand and USB-C cable and comes in a small package. It supports the faster wireless charging standard (Qi2).
Apple AirPods Pro 3 Wireless Earbuds
These are exceptional with one issue I hope apple fixes. The only thing holding me back from saying they are a must buy is this high pitched whine that sometimes happens but not always.
Soundcore Sleep A30: Sleep Earbuds with Noise Cancellation
I just recently reviewed these, and definitely recommend to put those on your Christmas list for somebody who does not already have them.
Soundcore Sleep A30: Sleep Earbuds with Noise Cancellation
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd gen
I’ve watched a lot, I mean a lot, of YouTube videos and concluded these are the over the head noise cancelling headphones to get in 2025. The AirPods Max used to be my pick but they have fallen behind and are very heavy. I mostly use my AirPods Pro 3 now for flights.
Aura Frame – Ink
This is an interesting device. I got one so you don’t have to, and my verdict is that for the quality and use cases it’s pretty darned good. I love Aura Frames in general (the LCD models) but this e-ink version lets you showcase a photo or art on a wall for a few months without a charger or plug going into it.
Sonos Era 100
If you are looking for a small portable speaker (let’s face it the HomePod minis are not great) I’d never hesitate to suggest a Sonos product.
CHRISTMAS THEMED
Swarovski 2025 Annual Edition Ornament
Always in my picks. We have 24 now. Remember to purchase from authorized retailers, as counterfeits have become increasingly common on marketplace sites.
DESK & OFFICE
Craighill Desk Knife
I can never have too many tools for ripping open Amazon boxes. This one is on my list to purchase for myself. Ugmonk (the seller of this knife) makes lots of neat products you should check out.
Studio Neat Keen
The most high quality box opener. I have three. Pricey but very high quality.
Studio Neat Mark One and Two
Also from Studio Neat are some awesome pens. Beyond writing with them they are a joy to fiddle with.
Buy on Mark One on Studio Neat →
Buy on Mark Two on Studio Neat →
Fantik Cordless Electric Scissors for Cardboard
I love using this thing to destroy and cut my cardboard shipping boxes to fit in the recycling bin.
2026 Letterpress + Silkscreen Calendar
On my list every year. I love to give these out as gifts.
ACCESSORIES & APPAREL
Begg x Co Superfine Cashmere Scarf
I continue to believe this is an extremely nice luxury gift. I have yet to find a scarf that is as thin and comfy as this one. I have had my original for many years now, and it’s held up very well. I now have it in three colors (gray, black, and tan). When I first recommended this it was $400, today it’s $610.
Louis Vuitton Passport Cover – Monogram Shadow
I decided to include something from a fashion house this year - because I have it and love it. I got mine in Sydney, Australia and at purchase time you can get a stamp on it - mine is the opera house. I hope to add more stamps as I travel the world for places that are special to me.
Bemboka (Robes & Throws)
I discovered this brand while in Australia last year. In particular their bath robe. Their throws are also great. The robes run large. I am a large and Lora is a small.
Hardgraft Collectors Watch Case
If you have a watch person in your life, this case is a very nice way to protect a watch with a clasp when you travel (or to keep in a safe).
Valextra Glasses Case
My wife wanted me to suggest this. I got this for her a few years ago on recommendation from my sister and on a recent trip she said she loves it and I should write about it.
Cozy Earth Men’s Bamboo Stretch-Knit Long Sleeve Pajama Set
My wife and daughter say these are the best pajamas and they are on my list. I’m very fond of these pajamas from Handvaerk (topand bottom)
Buy on Women’s on Cozy Earth →
NWKC Clothing
Our friends Sommana and Tanya are now running NWKC. I love the Crew pullover and wear it a lot in the fall and winter.
BAGS & ORGANIZATION
High Above Lost Lake Tote
This tote gets used a lot in the summer. I can’t say how much I love a transparent mesh tote that can mostly stand up by itself. It’s an awesome size and made locally in Bellingham, WA.
Neuro Hair Dryer by Paul Mitchell Dry+
I’m a huge fan of the Dyson Supersonic but my friend Kelsi turned me on to the Neuro for my wife since it works globally and is much smaller. It’s as quiet if not more quiet than the Dyson.
AER Ultra Collection
Everything in this collection is awesome. I love Ultra cloth (hard to describe) but it’s all the rage for technical bag products now.
AER Simple Kit
This is the most basic and simple of all the pouches. It’s flat, it’s light, and has a decent amount of space to keep your everyday carry necessities close by.
AER Slim Pouch 2 Ultra
If you need more space, this is a really good bag to store travel chargers and accessories. This is the bag I take with me on all my trips.
Peak Design Roller Pro
By now you’ve realized that I have an obsession with different types of travel bags. Peak Design is one of my favorite bag companies, so when they announced they were coming out with a roller bag, I was all in. I’ve used this now on three international trips and a couple of domestic trips, and I have to say it is by far the best travel roller bag I’ve ever used. It has such thoughtful organization, it’s light, it’s easy to access. In particular, I really like the clamshell opening which means you can prop open the top and have easy access to all of the contents quickly and effortlessly. It also has a really nice laptop storage compartment and generally has a lot of thoughtful details. Highly highly highly recommend. Although I will say I’m gonna miss traveling with my Rimowas.
Peak Design Packable Tote
I’ve come to realize that this small packable tote is probably the best thing to take on a trip with you for many reasons.
One reason is that typically when I get to the airport, I want easy access to stuff on the plane, so I take things out of my backpack and dump them in here and use it as a way to just bring that on and stick it under my seat.
I also use this on vacations as a tote to take to the beach and pool. It’s great because it has a zipper, super light, and folds up into a little pouch. That pouch folds into serves as a small pocket to keep things like keys and other items. And in general price, you can’t beat the versatility of this bag.
OUTERWEAR
Crescent Down Works – Classico Down Parka
These down jackets are made locally in Seattle by a company I recently discovered. While expensive, the quality is amazing. The unique features are beautiful. And they make a lot of different styles. I have the Classic parka and really love it, as well as the Down shirt.
COFFEE & KITCHEN
Ratio Eight Series 2 Coffee Maker
I’ve had every single Ratio coffee machine they’ve ever made. They continue to be my preferred way of brewing since I’m a huge fan of pour over style coffee. The latest version of the Ratio 8 is incredible for a few reasons. It is a completely metal and glass product except for the water reservoir, meaning that the filter basket is now made out of metal. That also means that the temperature is more consistent through the brew process into a stainless steel carafe. The new carafe is a much better design than the old one with a bigger opening. Overall, the machine is a much improved upgrade over something that was already pretty amazing and rock solid. Another nice feature they added to this version is optimized for brewing small batches. I have since replaced my Ratio 4 at home with this new upgraded Ratio 8 with the stainless steel carafe.
Subminimal Subscale
This is just a really cool device. It’s basically a cup with a built-in scale that you can use for a lot of purposes, but probably the most common is just dumping a bunch of coffee beans into it and being able to read exactly how much it weighs without needing a scale.
Le Creuset Pocket Model Wine Opener
A bad wine opener is absolutely worthless. There is nothing worse than having a wine cork split or separate on the way out.
These wine openers from Le Creuset have extremely long cork screws that get all the way to the bottom of the cork, ensuring that when you are pulling it out, it is not going to do anything unnatural to break the cork. It also has a built-in foil cutter and is travel-friendly and easy to use.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Ricoh GR IV
My favorite camera, the Ricoh GR3, was upgraded this year after many years to the Ricoh GR4. I immediately ordered one knowing how difficult they would be to acquire. It seems that inventory is finally catching up, but this is really the camera to get for 2026.
It is tiny, it takes amazing pictures, super cute, and I love taking it with me wherever I go to take photographs that are such better quality than what you’re going to get at your iPhone camera. The iPhone camera is truly amazing, but it doesn’t take the level of quality that you’ll find on larger sensor cameras, such as full-frame or, in this case, the APS sensor found on the Ricoh.
This year’s model also includes the ability to attach a flash, which is tiny and very handy to have when you travel.
If you know somebody who’s into photography, this would be an amazing gift for them, but warning: you need to figure out a way to order it way ahead of time because, as I mentioned, these are difficult to acquire.
Happy Holidays and thank you Omar for the recommendations...
Happy Holidays! What is your favorite travel pack to take as a personal item on the plane?
I remember you recommended Patagonia mini MLC a while ago. Is it still your favorite?