| Let’s, for a second, step away from the tech news cycle—away from the layoffs, the crypto mess, Twitter’s uncertain future and, relatedly, Elon Musk’s latest tweets. Instead, let’s just sit a while and enjoy some neat gadgets. I admit it did feel a bit funny, publishing our annual Best Tech Gifts holiday shopping guide when there’s so much else happening. But I think of it as a pleasant momentary getaway. We didn’t want this year’s list to be too focused on conspicuous consumption either, given the uneasiness people might feel toward spending money during uncertain financial times. So Nicole Nguyen, Dalvin Brown and Cordilia James set out to find things that are as practical as they are innovative. Highlights include: • A Samsung projector that can double as a smart lighting rig when not showing movies • A bicycle helmet from Giro with front lights and rear turn signals • Valve’s hand-held console, which makes PC gaming more portable than ever before • Netgear’s latest Orbi mesh router, to put an end to Wi-Fi dead spots once and for all • For the home gym, an affordable pair of connected boxing gloves from DribbleUp We included a selection of accessories to improve the tech you already have. And the $1,100 vacuum-and-mop Roomba Combo we recommended could conceivably save money, if it means cutting back on visits from a cleaning service. It’s a sensible list from a smart team—and it was beautifully visualized by Elena Scotti and F. Martin Ramin—so I encourage you to take a look. After that, by all means go back to the news firehose. Maybe you’ll be ready after you punch your way through a few rounds with those boxing gloves. —Wilson is the Personal Tech bureau chief, based in New York. | 
