I'm Christine Zerette. I'm Kyra

Blackwell. I'm Rosie Garin. And you're

listening to the Wire Cutter Show.

Hey guys, it's Rosie. Today we're

reairing a favorite recent episode of

ours. It's a roundup of our colleagues

at Wire Cutter talking about items they

tried, tested, reported on, and loved

this year. It's a really special one,

and I always get the warm and fuzzies

hearing from all our friends and

colleagues. I hope you enjoy, and I hope

you have happy happy holidays.

Hello, friends. Hello.

Are you working on my holiday gifts?

What

Where are you at with that? your

specific.

I mean, we'll start with me and then we

can

it's getting to be that time and we're

talking about gifting.

I think I love and hate this topic. I

love this time of year. I feel so much

pressure to get all the all the kid

gifts, all the friend gifts, all the

spousal gifts. Yeah, it's a lot. It is

extra hard too when you're a wire cutter

employee because people really do expect

you to get it right every single time.

The bar is high.

The bar is very high. I'm convinced that

giving gifts, like good, thoughtful, and

meaningful gifts, does get harder every

year because I think even if you're

inspired throughout the year and jot

things down, by the end, there are

always like four or five people, you're

like, "Shoot, what about them?"

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's also hard because everybody

kind of already buys exactly what they

want when they want it. You can get it

delivered to your door within 2 days,

sometimes within a few hours even. So,

it's hard to get people something that

they haven't already gotten themselves.

That's true. To help make gift giving a

little easier this year and hopefully a

little bit more fun, we're kicking it

off with wall-to-wall dispatches from

the wire cutter staff about the items

they discovered this year that they

truly loved. These are things they came

across throughout their reporting over

the last 12 months or things they tested

themselves and loved, items in their

shopping carts or on wish lists to give

to their loved ones. I am super pumped

to hear what these folks are going to

recommend because in the past when I've

gotten recommendations from our staff,

they are always really unique. They're

very interesting and they're also really

well tested.

Hello, I'm Ann Marie Ki. I'm a deputy

editor at Wire Cutter and I'm here to

tell you that I love the Yummy Taper

candles. It's a top pick in our guide to

taper candles. And I am not really a

candle person. I don't love the idea of

fire and wax inside my house. But my

11-year-old is a fire person. She loves

candles. She loves birthday candles. She

loves the smell of blown out candles.

She loves the atmosphere of candles on a

table. And so I bought our pick because

they're relatively inexpensive. They

burn well. They burn cleanly. And we

have been using them for almost every

meal that we eat together. And it's

lovely. It's a lovely way to upgrade the

everyday. And so you can totally eat

Cheerios by Candlelight. And frankly,

you should. My name is Jackie Reev and

I'm a senior staff writer covering

bedding for the home decor team. The

best thing I bought this year was

actually a quilt that I've tested and

recommended for a few years. The company

stores company cotton vo quilt if you're

feeling fancy in French or voy quilt

some people say. I have a lot of

blankets on my test shelves, but if I

particularly love something in testing,

I will buy it. so I can keep it forever.

And that's what happened with this

quilt. I just kept gravitating towards

it during testing over the last few

years. And I saw a color I liked on

clearance at a great price. So, I bought

a twin size to use as a throw. And this

one became particularly wonderful this

year because I had to have surgery. And

when I got home, it was my go-to comfort

blanket for recovery. You know, my other

blankets, some of them were too heavy or

too clingy or not the right texture or

temperature, and it was perfect. It was

lightweight, super easy to wash that

twin size. I washed it many times, even

really hot, and it did the job and made

me feel so much better physically, but I

don't know, maybe also mentally,

spiritually, emotionally. There is

something about a quilt that just makes

me feel well taken care of, like it's

all going to be okay. And I really

needed that this year and this quilt

came through.

Hello, I'm James. I'm the staff writer

covering games and hobbies for Wire

Cutter. So, this year I happened to get

married, which was a great time

obviously, but when I was looking for

gifts for my groomsmen, I ended up

getting very special gemstone dice from

a place called Norse Foundry, but you

can get them in a lot of places.

Essentially, they're normal array of

dice, so D20 through D4 that are made of

precious stones. Like for my groomsman,

I got lapis lazuli, blood stone, blue

vein stone, malikite, jade, all sorts of

stuff. They're gorgeous, number one, and

number two, they feel good in your hand

when you're rolling them, and they make

a fairly satisfying clacking noise.

Although, you shouldn't pluck them

together too much because they are

precious stones and they will break. But

it was lovely. They all appreciated it.

It's my favorite gift I've given this

year. And yeah.

Hi, my name is Amy Kravitz, and I'm an

editor on the baby and kid team at Wire

Cutter. I bought our 5-year-old a Swatch

Flick Flack watch and she's loved

wearing it throughout the year. We

recommend it in our gift guide to

seven-year-olds. It's a simple analog

watch. Nothing smart about it except for

the fact that it's helping to teach my

daughter how to tell time. She doesn't

wear it everyday. It's an accessory she

asked to wear for a special event or if

someone is visiting and she wants to

show off a bit. I think it's a nice

accessory that's not too expensive, but

just special enough that she knows to

treat it with care. The watch is very

similar to the Swatch I had as a kid,

and I also love the nostalgia factor,

even if that part's just for me. Thanks.

I'm Trey French and I'm a staff writer

covering outdoor gear. I like this

Sawyer Squeeze water filter. I've kind

of designed my life around hiking. I do

it several days a week and I like to

bring this water filter because it's

small and lightweight and it's really a

no-brainer just to throw in my pack in

case I run out of water and need to

filter water from natural sources along

the way or just so that I can bring less

water, which is pretty heavy to begin

with.

Hi, I'm Brent Butterworth, staff writer

covering audio products for Wire Cutter.

I've been getting all my radio off the

internet using smart speakers, but they

go through services like TuneIn and

iHeart Radio, which insert a lot of

repetitive advertising, even on public

radio stations. So, I bought a Sanjen

WR15, which is our top pick in tabletop

radios. It sounds really great. And

there's an old school manual tuning knob

on the front that lets me flick between

my local stations as fast as I could

probably give a voice command to a smart

speaker. I keep the radio within arms

length of my desk chair, so it's always

with me all through my workday. Now,

there are times when I still want to

listen to internet radio, and I can get

that off my phone. The WR15 doesn't have

Bluetooth, but it does have an auxiliary

input on the back. So, I connected a

Bluetooth receiver that lets me play the

sound from my phone through the WR15.

It's a perfect blend of vintage and

modern tech, and for a day-to-day audio

listening system, it's just fantastic.

Hi, I'm Jennifer Hunter, Wire Cutter,

senior style editor. One of my absolute

favorite style finds this year was the

TWWP Next Morning shirt. I am a

button-up shirt connoisseur. I wear one

almost every single day and I'm

extremely picky about them. And this

shirt does all the details right. There

are these ingenious buttons down the

sleeve so when you roll and cuff your

sleeve just right, you can button it in

place and it doesn't come undone

throughout the day like other shirts I

wear. It also has this really nice cut.

It's shorter in front and it's perfectly

slouchy. And the fabric is gorgeous,

too. It's this really lovely smooth,

crisp cotton. It just feels so expensive

and it better. This shirt is a splurge.

It's almost 400 bucks and I know that's

painful, but if you're buying for

somebody like me who likes to get one

beautiful splurgy thing and then wear it

forever, this is a great contender.

Happy hunting everybody. Hey, this is

John Chase. I am the smart home editor

at Wire Cutter. A gift I would recommend

for kids around 10, 15 years old. And

don't get upset when I say this is an

Amazon Echo Dot. I was reluctant to put

one in my son's bedroom, but it was

better than him having a device for when

he wants to listen to music, if he wants

to listen to the radio. It gives him a

little autonomy and allows him to

experience music that he wants to hear

and to explore music. And it also lets

me set alarm clock alarms, be a little

creative. Sometimes I can use it to drop

in like an intercom system. So yeah, it

was it was something I I thought a lot

about and gave it to him and he's loved

it and it's been great for us.

Hi, this is Rachel Sarakola, senior

writer with Wire Cutter. The gift I'm

looking forward to giving this year is

the bird buddy, which combines a bird

feeder, a video camera, and a smartphone

app. I've filled a lot of bird feeders

over the years, but I always seem to

miss all the bird action, which just

leaves me with a bunch of seed holes,

and a whole lot of bird poop. The Bird

Buddy will alert your phone when birds

come to feast and capture it videos and

images that are bursting with color and

detail. The app also provides

information about the type of visitor

and trivia bits about the species. It

even has a whole community of birders so

you can share visits or get a peek at

other feeders all around the world. It's

like having your own private nature

channel. Just make sure to get the one

with the solar panel so you never have

to worry about charging the camera. It

really is a great gift for bird watchers

of all ages and anyone just looking for

a fun new hobby. Hi, I'm Katherine Cast,

a senior editor at Wire Cutter. And the

thing I've bought this year that has

sparked the most joy for me is this $15

Oxo bench scraper. It was recommended by

my colleague, kitchen writer Mackie

Yazawa, who has used it since going to

culinary school almost a decade ago and

has cooked in restaurant kitchens. It's

one of those things that you don't

really know that you need until you try

it. It's awesome at getting every single

chopped veggie from your cutting board

into your pot without making a mess or

losing any little pieces of red pepper.

It's also, weirdly, helped me scrape up

baby food off of my countertop at meal

times, which gets super messy. The great

thing about it is that it's under $20,

so it means that you can also buy just a

bunch of them for gifts, which is what

I'm planning on doing. I'm going to give

one to my father-in-law, who does all

the cooking over the holidays. I think

he's going to love it.

We're going to take a quick break and

when we come back, more gifting

recommendations from our colleagues at

Wire Cutter. Stay tuned.

Welcome back. Let's jump right back into

more recommendations from our colleagues

at Wire Cutter. Take a listen.

Hi, my name is Tom Dunn. I'm a senior

staff writer here at Wire Cutter and I

live in Boston. The best pick I bought

this year was easily the Kosori air

fryer toaster oven. We'd had our old

toaster oven for probably 15 years or

so, and it was probably dangerously on

the fritz for a while, and then our main

oven died. And long story short, it was

going to cost us several thousand to

replace. At which point, we realized

that we may as well just update the

entire kitchen. But that's not the kind

of thing you can do overnight. So, in

the meantime, we bought the Kosori air

fryer while we figured out our plans.

And it became the primary cooking source

in our home for the next 6 months. It

did more things than our old oven ever

did. And frankly, it did them all a lot

better. It cooked more evenly. It It

toasted more evenly. It broiled better.

It's just amazing. In fact, it was so

helpful and convenient that we just kind

of got used to it and kept putting off

our proper renovation plans cuz they

just didn't seem so urgent. Thanks.

Hi, my name is Ellen Lee and I'm a

senior staff writer on the baby and kid

team. And the thing that was most fun

for me to test this year and which I now

plan to gift was the Oh My Hair Chalk.

My daughters have long, luscious black

hair, and this stuff shows up. It has

clamps, so it's easy to apply, but it's

also very easy to wash out. And if you

are inspired by the K-pop demon hunters,

it adds a lot of color into your hair.

Hey, this is Liam. I write about home

improvement for wire cutter. The most

surprisingly useful thing I bought and

tested this year was this inflatable air

wedge that I'd seen on Tik Tok that

makes it really easy to prop up

furniture or appliances a few inches.

I've used it to get a duster underneath

my fridge. Uh, last night I used it to

help roll a rug out underneath the legs

of my couch. It was about 18 bucks. It's

not the kind of thing I use every day or

even every week, but just having the

thing makes me a little more likely to

follow through on certain projects that

would be uncomfortable or frustrating

enough that I'd probably try to avoid

them otherwise. The thing looks sort of

like a blood pressure cuff. You just

slide this flat deflated bag under

whatever you need to lift. Squeeze a

bulb and it gradually fills up with air

and then your heavy thing just floats

there while you do whatever you need to

do. I keep the thing in a drawer.

Doesn't take up much space. No

indication that it'll wear out anytime

soon. When I need it, I'm really happy

that I have it and it's even sort of fun

to use.

This is Nicola. I'm a senior style

writer. I was given a tube of Prada lip

balm.

It's $50, which is an insane amount of

money for lip balm, but it comes in this

really cute metal tube that has the

logo. I personally love the way that

mine looks kind of beat up from like

being in my purse and having little like

dings and nicks in it. Kind of just

makes me feel like it's mine. It shows

the time we've spent together. That's

kind of what makes it charming is like

it's a little bit extra for what it is.

And that is what makes it so fun to pull

out of your bag and live with. And I am

looking forward to refilling mine. I

think I'm going to get a color this time

cuz I've had just the plain one. Also, I

think you can get this at like Sephora

and Nordstrom and stuff, but I say buy

it from the Prada website or go into the

Prada store because then you get all the

cute little packaging and it just makes

it it's instantly giftable. It just

looks more special. I mean, you're

spending $50. Get everything you can out

of that $50.

Look, I love garlic. When it comes to

adding it to dishes, I believe you

measure that amount with your heart, not

a teaspoon. Hi, I'm Caitlyn Wells and I

cover the home office beat and

productivity for wire cutter in New York

City. And I love to cook. Chopping

garlic has always been my mini

meditation practice in the kitchen. And

when I need to chop a lot in a hurry, I

turn to my trusty OXO garlic press. But

last year, I developed peripheral

neuropathy, which causes muscle weakness

and tremors, among other things. It's

made completing basic tasks more

difficult, including opening jars and

chopping or crushing garlic. Squeezing

the oxo is no longer an option for me.

So, I turned to the O2 Garlic garlic

crusher, which has become my favorite

purchase this year. The Dracula inspired

kitchen gadget grinds garlic, seeds, and

spices with a couple twists of the

wrists. The back and forth motion is

reminiscent of my chopping days, and I

don't feel any pain while using it. This

is definitely a kitchen gadget to grab

if you want to add a little whimsy to

your space or just need something simple

and effective to use. Hello, this is Mel

Plout. I am pets writer at Wire Cutter

this year. The thing that I bought that

I found on Wire Cutter that wasn't a pet

product and that made a huge difference

in my life is buried deep inside the

guide to pocket knives. And it's

actually not a pocket knife at all, but

it is a knife sharpener. And it's called

the Spyderco Triangle

Sharpmaker. And it's this really cool

thing where it's like this little

plastic base that you open up and you

take out these sharpening stones and you

set them in their grooves and there's a

little protective poles that you put on.

I have been able to sharpen every single

knife in my house and is incredible. So,

not only can I open all the packages

with all the products that arrive in my

doorstep with a very, very sharp knife,

but I can also slice tomatoes as if they

had no skin at all. Everything's

different now when you're not fighting

with a tomato in your kitchen knife.

Anyway, that's it. Sharpen your knives.

Use a Spyderco. It's pretty awesome.

Hi, it's Kathleen Squires, staff writer

for all things kitchen at Wire Cutter in

New York City. My favorite gift idea

during my research and testing this year

is a truly wireless meat thermometer. I

gifted our pick, the ThermoPro Temp

Spike Plus to myself this year. It's

taken so much of the stress and

guesswork out of my grilling game. The

Temp Spike Plus allows you to monitor

your meat remotely from your phone or

tablet, so you don't have to hover over

your barbecue or oven while cooking. And

I love that it's accurate, easy to use,

and works at up to 600 ft. You can just

stick a probe into your meat and walk

away to watch your cooking progress in

real time. It is so convenient to keep

tabs on my meat while I multitask or

just simply take a breather. The best

part is I'll never ever have to fret

about under or overcooked meat again.

Happy holidays, everyone.

Thank you so much to our colleagues at

Wire Cutter for sharing their favorite

items with us. And don't fret, we will

include links to all of the items in our

show notes so you can easily find and

click.

The Wire Cutter Show is executive

produced by me, Rosie Garin, and

produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering

support from Mattie Naziello and Nick

Pitman. Today's episode was mixed by

Katherine Anderson. Original music by

Dan Powell, Marian Loausano, Alicia Eup,

Rowan Nisto, Katherine Anderson, and

Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wire Cutter's

deputy publisher and general manager.

Ben Fman is Wire Cutters editor and

chief. I'm Kyra Blackwell. I'm Christine

Sirette. And I'm Rosie Garren. Thank you

for listening.