The 40 best gift ideas for mom this holiday season
Your mom deserves the best, and we're going to help you get them something special. The right gift can make family or friend time more valuable, after all, or it can greatly enrich time spent alone. If your mom says that she has all that she needs, don't take her word for it and show up empty-handed. Instead, peruse this handy guide, sorted by price, to find a gift that she'll remember for years to come.
There are plenty of ideas below that can show the maternal figure in your life that you know them well - such as the practical yet elegant Oura Ring 4, which can help her track her vitals and stay on track with her fitness goals. Apple's ne …
Hisense’s CanvasTV is a great Samsung Frame TV alternative at nearly half off
Samsung’s Frame TV is one of the coolest-looking TVs you can buy, doubling as wall art when you’re not watching — but it’s pricey. If you like the idea of a TV that displays art when not in use but is far more affordable, Hisense’s S7N CanvasTV delivers a similar vibe for a lot less, especially now that the 65-inch model has dropped to an all-time low of $699.99 ($598 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.
The 4K QLED TV features an anti-glare matte display that shows off artwork surprisingly well for the price, even if The Frame still looks a bit more realistic. You also get access to more than 1,000 free art pieces, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet — and unlike Samsung, Hisense includes the bezel in the box, so you don’t have to pay extra.
Aside from doubling as home decor, it’s also a solid TV. It runs Google TV and supports a variable refresh rate of up to 144Hz with AMD FreeSync Premium, along with two HDMI 2.1 ports and a pair of USB ports. As a nice bonus, it also comes with a backlit remote that includes a customizable shortcut button and a built-in remote finder, so it’s easier to track down when it goes missing.
Read our comparison of Samsung’s Frame TV and Hisense S7N CanvasTV.
Three more Verge approved deals
- If you’re looking for a case to protect your Nintendo Switch 2, the Tomtoc FancyCase-G05 Slim Case is on sale starting at $25 ($10 off) at Amazon, which matches its all-time low price. It’s an excellent zip-up case with a slim, durable design and a screen cover that can store up to 12 cartridges. It also provides extra space above the Joy-Con 2 sticks, so the case won’t accidentally press them down when it’s closed.
- You can pick up the Goal Zero Venture 75 Power Bank for $89.99 ($30 off) from REI as a part of its recently launched Last Minute Gifts sale, which will run through December 22nd. The 19,200mAh power bank is great for keeping your devices charged outdoors, with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance and a built-in 50-lumen LED light that lets it double as a flashlight. Its USB-C port can deliver up to 60 watts of power and can also be used to recharge the bank itself if you’re not topping it up with a solar panel. It also offers two USB-A ports that output up to 15 watts, so you can charge up to three devices on the go.
- Speaking of holiday promos, Grid Studio has kicked off its Christmas sale, offering up to 50 percent off various framed retro gadgets. There’s a lot on sale, but our favorite deal is the Grid Game Boy Pocket, which you can buy for $129 ($100 off). It makes for a unique gift: a disassembled Game Boy Pocket inside a shadowbox-style frame, with the casing and all the internals arranged like a collage.
Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller wanted his first film to be horror for everyone
When Bryan Fuller set out to make his first feature film, his goal was to make the kind of family-friendly scares that he loved as a kid. Think Gremlins or Ghostbusters. The creator of Hannibal and Pushing Daisies ended up crafting a story called Dust Bunny, about a young girl named Aurora who hires a hitman to kill the monster under her bed. It has all of the hallmarks of those films that inspired him- a sense of humor, playful action, and a creature that's both lovable and creepy - but the final product also hit a slight snag.
"I was setting out to make a movie that people could take their kids to, and then - and this is probably why you …
HBO Max’s new channels keep Friends and Game of Thrones playing 24/7
HBO Max is launching curated channels, a new feature that will allow you to quickly jump into a continuous feed of a popular series or tune into a specific genre. When you select a channel on HBO Max, the streaming service will start you at the beginning of whatever's playing, while giving you the ability to rewind, fast-forward, or skip to the next episode in the queue.
You'll find 12 of these themed channels on HBO Max at launch, with some dedicated to certain themes, like adult animation, true crime, and holiday specials, along with feeds related to franchises, including the DC Universe, The Big Bang Theory, Friends, Harry Potter, The Lo …
The TCL QM9K is an excellent flagship TV, but I’m not sure who it’s for
TCL has been a solid competitor in the midrange TV market for years, going head-to-head with Hisense. Not only are TVs from both manufacturers competitive on features, they even use similar nomenclature to categorize their TV lines - the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8, QM7 and U7, and QM6 and U6. But with TCL's new flagship QM9K, its sights are set higher, toward Sony and its flagship Bravia 9.
This year, TCL launched its Ultimate Series, which includes the QM8K (dubbed "The Ultimate Choice") and the QM9K ("The Ultimate Performance"), billed as the best TCL TV ever released. The QM9K is available in four different sizes: 65 inches ($2,999.99), 75 i …
Many games from The Game Awards are now on sale
Amazon is continuing to celebrate The Game Awards, which took place on December 11th, with a big sale on titles that were nominated in their respective categories. The deals include a discount that brings the PC version of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which ended up taking home nine awards (including game of the year), back down to its all-time low of $39.99 ($10 off). If you’ve somehow made it through your gaming backlog, don’t mind adding to it, or need a last-minute gift for your favorite gamer, it’s a good time to pick up some of the top titles of 2025.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a turn-based RPG with an engaging battle system with plenty of tactical diversity, an atmospheric soundtrack that sets the right mood, and a story that our reviewer found heart-wrenching, stirring, and humorous. Battles feel dynamic thanks to a dodge and parry system that rewards you for launching a countermove. Getting a perfectly timed parry can turn the tide of your battle, but it may take you some time to learn how certain enemies move before you can learn the right timing. Read our review.
Silent Hill f is the latest entry in the long-running survival horror series set in 1960s Japan, and the PS5 version is on sale for $44.99 ($25 off) exclusively for Prime members. Its strengths lie in its beautiful visuals, intriguing location, deep story, and tense, melancholic atmosphere. There aren’t many jump scares, but you may feel a general sense of unease. The game’s protagonist, a high schooler named Hinako, grows more assertive as the game progresses, and she wrestles with both the enemies in front of her and an internal struggle between tradition and modernity. The game has five possible endings, which adds to its replayability. Read our review.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is the latest title from Kojima Productions, and you can snag the PS5 game for $49.97 (around $20 off). The game is a direct sequel to the original Death Stranding, and it follows protagonist Sam and his adopted child Lou as the former continues his quest to connect the world to an internet-like network.
The game’s landscape is bleak and empty, and you’ll have to contend with ghostlike creatures as you trek through the game’s world with weapons, traversal gear, healing items, and cargo. The missions, which range from rescuing a hostage to keeping your cargo above a certain temperature in harsh terrain, keep the game feeling interesting. The game’s story is easier to follow than its predecessor, though knowing the backstory can help a lot. Read our review.
Split Fiction is a co-op adventure game that takes place in two different worlds simultaneously, and both the Nintendo Switch 2 and PS5 versions are on sale for $30 ($20 off). Protagonists Zoe and Mio are both trapped in a machine, but one is transported to a land of futuristic cities, while the other finds themselves in a fantasy land full of magical kingdoms. The characters get new powers in each section, but two players need to work in tandem to navigate through their respective connected worlds. Coordination is key, whether you’re outwitting a boss in a section reminiscent of two-player pinball or playing little minigames that take place in the middle of its narrative. Read our review.
We’re still talking about the Trump phone
Every week at The Verge, we’re tracking what’s happening with Trump Mobile’s promised and yet undelivered Android phone. Why? Because we cover phones. We also cover vaporware, which the T1 Phone 8002 (gold version) very well may be. The smartphone has now been delayed for months. Trump Mobile no longer claims that it will be made in USA, but “designed with American values in mind” instead. Well, we’re still waiting. Stay tuned as we collect all the little red flags along the way.
- A presidential refresher on wireless terminology, courtesy of Trump Mobile
- Trump Mobile’s refurbished iPhones are an unsurprisingly bad deal
- All the places I used my Trump Mobile wireless service this week
- I signed up for Trump Mobile two weeks ago and I still don’t have my SIM
- Why we’re going to keep talking about the Trump phone
- Does the Trump phone exist yet?
- Where is the Trump phone?
- The Trump phone is late
I quit all my AI fitness plans, and I feel free
This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest phones, smartwatches, apps, and other gizmos that swear they're going to change your life. Optimizer arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 10AM ET. Opt in for Optimizer here.
This time last year, I'd cut 16 minutes off my four-mile run time, was lifting three to four times a week, and had lost 10 pounds after a consistent six months of training. I felt amazing. Then life happened.
A year later, I haven't run more than a 5K in three months, I gained back those 10 pounds from stress, and have been beset b …
How to vibe-write a country hit
You may not even know it, but you've almost certainly encountered songs made mostly or even entirely with AI. If you've scrolled on TikTok the last few weeks, you've probably heard "I Run" a few times, but there are countless others making their way around social and music platforms. AI tools in general, and Suno in particular, are becoming a big part of the music-making process. And nowhere is that more true than in the home of country music, Nashville.
On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David are joined by Charlie Harding, a music journalist and professor who also cohosts the excellent Switched on Pop podcast. Charlie takes us th …
A presidential refresher on wireless terminology, courtesy of Trump Mobile
Where's the Trump Phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump Phone's whereabouts. As usual, we're still waiting for a response. In the meantime, we're publishing a little reminder of some wireless tech terms. You know, in case you forgot.
6G? 4K? 3D? Whether you're a layperson or the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world, it can be hard keeping a lot of numbers and letters in your head. Not that I'm pointing a finger; surely anyone can forget what a silly little combination of numbers and letters means! Especially if you have things like nuclear codes takin …