Xmas gifts to impress under £30

One of the challenges people face during Christmas is picking out the best present. Plus, if you tend to buy many gifts, the bill can get very high. I decided to try and find the best tech gifts under £30. There is something for everyone, and most are well under £30.

Huawei A2 Smartwatch- £29.99

This smartwatch has a simple design but is still packed with functionality. You can get notifications sent directly to it, and also receive details of incoming calls. The fitness tracker works quickly and stores data in the Huawei Health app. This is useful for viewing progress over time.

Unlike smartwatches that cost £100+ this isn’t designed to be a smartphone on your wrist. A few weeks after purchasing it, everyone in my office has one. We can quickly see texts, WhatsApp messages and make a mental note to reply later. It keeps you connected to your phone while managing to stay out of your way.

For such a cheap smartwatch, it is well built. It feels so comfortable that you forget it is there. I have dropped it many times, without any issues.

My favourite feature is the alarm. It buzzes strongly to wake you up. Therefore, it won’t wake someone in the same room. Plus, you can find your phone so long as it is connected via bluetooth.

I can highly recommend Huawei A2 smartwatch. It would be well received by a fitness fanatic.

Aukey 20000 mAh powerbank - £19.99

It isn’t always easy to find a wall plug. We do so much on our smartphones that going without power for a few hours can feel like a part of you is gone.

The Aukey 20000 man power bank has enough juice to charge a smartphone from 0-100% 7 times. In theory you could go on holiday for one week without needing to use a wall plug.

It is one of those gifts they will use over and over again. Plus, at £19.99 this offers great value for money. The close to 1000 5 star Amazon reviews agree.

Blitzwolf dual driver earphones - £17.99

I wrote about these last year for the ‘old’ giffgaff blog and continue to recommend them to friends looking for budget friendly earphones. It uses dual driver earphones. Therefore, there is a separate drier for the bass and another one for every other part of the sound. The clarity is also incredible. It feels like you are being sung to live while being surrounded by the instrumentation.

This also has one of the best packaging I have seen from any consumer device. It looks more like an expensive piece of jewellery than earphones.

Smartphone case - £12 - £20

Caseology make cases for every major smartphone brand. They are more expensive than other brands, after all you can buy a case for £2. However, they make slim cases which look good while remaining durable. My current smartphone would look a mess without one of their cases.

Saying all this, there are other very good case makers. Just look for the following features:

• Slim fit
• Hard body
• Bump protection

This is a useful gift for that clumsy person in your life. Alternatively, you could buy it alongside a smartphone.

Drocon Scout Foldable Mini Drone - £19.99

Drones are all the rage these days. However, they can be insanely. This foldable mini drone comes packed with features. For instance, you can easily set an altitude and it will maintain it until further instructions. With one push of a button it can be made to take off or land.

You can also fly this drone in the dark due to the built in search light. It is a beginner drone for those who want to master tricks before upgrading to something bigger. This mini drone is small enough to fit in the pocket, so it is ready to fly anywhere, anytime.

This toy has broad appeal but would make a child very happy on Christmas day.

Smart Notebook - £20

Despite the onslaught of note taking apps, some still prefer the feel of writing on a notebook. However, it becomes a problem when you need to share it with colleagues or fellow students. You could use a smartphone scanner app, but the results aren’t always satisfactory.

Smart notebooks have special paper designed to upload your notes in rich detail. There are several good ones on the market. I use the Everlast Rocketbook because I can upload to multiple cloud services at once. This makes it easy to share my work on the move. Plus, I can wipe my notes away with a water and cloth then start again.

A smart notebook would be a good gift for a student or entrepreneur.

Anker Soundcore Mini - £21

Anker have built their brand around making exceptional products at budget prices.

Anker managed to pack a subwoofer and a 5W driver into a bluetooth speaker which can fit in your pocket. Despite the small size, it is loud enough to fill a room. Many people in the Amazon reviews section commented on how it sounded better than their expensive sound systems.

With 15 hours of playback, this can go on and on. Plus you can take calls using this bluetooth speaker. The built in noise cancelling makes your voice sound clear while cancelling out background noise. FM radio is also built in.

It is astonishing how many features Anker has managed to pack into such a small device. Plus with more than 2,000 5 star Amazon reviews, this is a hit product and sure to impress.

This is incredibly easy to use, and appeals to a wide range of people. If you are stuck on what to buy for the special someone, this would be a safe bet.

Ebit Smart security camera - £29.99

In an ideal world, everyone follows the law and keeps their hands away from other people’s stuff. If a home gets robbed, or there is an attack, video is the best form of evidence. However, smart cameras can be expensive and difficult to set up.

The Ebit Smart Security camera can be setup in a few minutes and comes with features such as motion detection, cloud saving, night monitoring and HD video capture. Moreover, you can see a live feed from wherever you are using the smartphone app. I also like that there is a built in microphone because this isn’t offered on some more expensive smart security cameras.

If you have a security conscious person in your life, this might be the perfect present for them.

Fire tv stick - £24.99

Smart televisions are incredibly popular; however, the number of apps and services available can be limiting. The Fire tv stick enables you to access over 10,000 apps optimised for your tv. Moreover, with voice control built in, you can control the experience with ease.

The Fire tv stick can also be used as a games console by using a compatible bluetooth controller. This makes it the most affordable home gaming console on the market.

If you know someone without a smart tv, this could be the ideal gift.

Shawe mobile phone holder - £8.99

The Shawe mobile phone holder can attach to beds, desks, doors and more. It can also be used to capture steady images and video for social media. It fits most smartphones and GPS devices.

There are multiple uses for this device. Do you have a loved one who uses their phone a lot for work? This could offer the flexibility they need to get more done.

Final thoughts

Getting the perfect present can be difficult, but it doesn’t need to be expensive. I hope this post makes it easier for you to choose. Chances are your friends are also struggling to find a gift so share this post on social media.

If you would like to get a phone for that special someone, check out the giffgaff store.