Tech Stocking Fillers on a Budget

Christmas can be a stressful time of year for most, especially when it comes to money, making buying thoughtful gifts even more difficult. This is doubly so when buying tech items, with big ticket items costing well into the multiple hundreds. 

Traditionally, this is why we have stocking filler gifts, gifts intended to be both smaller and less costly. However, balancing that criteria with tech items can be quite difficult, which is why we’ve made this blog. 

Here you’ll find some ideal gifts for the tech lovers in your life, whether they’re phone lovers, audiophiles, or gamers. You’re sure to find some inspiration with our gift ideas ranging from as low as £15 to £150. 

Stocking Fillers: Phone Lovers

Buying a mobile phone accessory is a safe bet as a mobile phone is something everybody owns. While we all have them, phones continue to be some of the most expensive tech we own, which is why keeping them safe is so important, making phone cases an ideal stocking filler. 

Phone Cases

However not all cases are made equally, a Casetify custom case (£66) can protect your phone from an 8.2ft drop, plus they also can be customised, meaning you can add a bit of personal touch. 

Alternatively, you can get a MagSafe case via Mobiles.co.uk for £39.00. MagSafe cases are ideal for iPhone users as they allow you to charge wirelessly or add further accessories like card holders. Not only that, this case comes with a scratch-resistant coating and a slim profile.

Power Banks

With how often we use our phones, a power bank is a great gift that will give your loved ones a bit more juice when they’re on the go. If you picked up the MagSafe case we mentioned earlier, then this Anker magnetic power core from Amazon (£29.99) will pair beautifully as it's designed to connect to the case, giving your giftee a more seamless charging experience. 

Don't worry if you didn't though; plenty of compatible power banks are still available, like this Anker 325 power bank for £39.99. The 325 comes with a 20,000 mAh battery meaning you can charge most modern mobile phones up to 4 times before needing a recharge. The 325 also comes with two USB outlets meaning you can charge up to two devices simultaneously, making it perfect for those who routinely carry multiple devices, such as a mobile phone and tablet. 

If you want something a bit less costly then the INIU charging power bank from Amazon may be for you, coming in at only £21.99. You are compromising a bit on battery capacity with the INIU’s 10,500mAh. However, this is more than enough for at least 1 full charge and a bit extra juice if you need it. 

Charging Stations

Similar to power banks, charging stations are an easy win for any tech lover, especially if they have multiple devices. Charging stations are great for reducing cable clutter and can look super stylish in your home.  

Belkin has a great dual charging station that's sleek and compact, meaning it wouldn't look out of place on a desk or bedside table. You can currently grab one for £29.99 at Currys.

If you’re looking for a charging station with a bit more utility then this GEEKERA charging station from Amazon could be the gift you’re looking for. At just £39.99, it comes with the ability to charge a mobile phone, wireless headphones, and smart-watch simultaneously while maintaining a compact design.

Stocking Fillers: Smart Home

 While many of us have dreamed of having a personal home assistant like Iron Man’s ‘Jarvis’, we’re not quite there yet, so for now, we’ll have to make do with the plethora of smart home devices available. 

Smart Plugs

The easiest way to upgrade existing tech into smart tech is with a smart plug, making them great gifts for the tech lover in your life. Smart Plugs allow existing devices access to a home network, meaning they can interface with home assistants such as Google, Amazon’s Alexa, and Siri. 

Another advantage of smart plugs is that they are relatively inexpensive gifts. You can get this Wiz smart plug from Currys for just £17.99, which allows existing tech to be controlled via a home assistant or mobile app. 

If the tech enthusiast you have in mind this Christmas already has Philips HUE devices, then a Philips smart plug, like this one from Currys, may be the ideal gift. This smart plug allows you to add any lamp to your existing hue network, making it easy to control all of your lighting in one place. 

TV Sticks

While most TVs come with integrated smart functionality these days, for those who have an older TV, a smart stick is an easy way to bring their home entertainment into the 21st century.

Choosing a TV stick can be quite overwhelming. With Amazon’s Firestick, Google’s Chromecast, and Apple TV, you would be forgiven for thinking that each one could only be used to access a specific streaming service. 

However, this isn't the case, all of these TV sticks allow you to access popular streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, and more. The differences between each one comes down to the finer details, such as UI (User Interface) and how they interface with your existing TV. 

Therefore, it's probably easier to pick a stick based on your gift budget, the cheapest is Google’s Chromecast which is currently £34.99 at John Lewis, and for £10 more you can get an Amazon Firestick from Amazon for £44.99. Apple is by far the most expensive offering, coming in at an eye-watering £149.00 at Currys.

Home Assistants

We’ve mentioned them already but home assistants are an easy win if you're looking for that perfect tech stocking filler. Home assistants are very cost-effective and don't require existing tech other than a wifi connection to function, not only that most are fairly simple to set up. 

The most popular home assistant is Amazon’s Alexa which you can grab from their website for £54.99. Alexa comes with a bunch of handy features, such as weather forecasting, playing music, or being able to purchase items from Amazon directly. 

Google Nest has much of the same functionality and is a little bit cheaper, currently £29.96 from QVC UK. Both Alexa and Google Nest will be able to interact with most of the Smart Home items above, but it's always best to check the compatibility on the product page.

Stocking Fillers: Gamers

The Likelihood that you know a gamer is pretty high, but finding the ideal tech stocking filler can be pretty difficult. Outside of pricey consoles, and the games themselves, it can be difficult to find the right gift. Luckily for you, we’ve got some great suggestions below to help you get inspired. 

Desk Vaccums

This may sound like a weird one but desk vacuums are a really handy gift. Gamers will spend hours and hours sitting at their desk engrossed in their favourite game, so during that time they’ll probably consume a snack or two. 

However, this inevitably results in crumbs, and there's nothing worse than getting crumbs in your keyboard or smooshed into your desk mat, which makes these little vacuums key in avoiding any build-up of snack-induced crumbs, dust, or other dirt. 

They’re also fairly cheap. You can pick this Henry Hoover-inspired one from Robert Dyas for £12.99 or one with a rechargeable battery from Amazon for £16.99.

RGB

RGB has become synonymous with gaming culture at this point. Mice, computers, keyboards, controllers, and headphones all come with some sort of RGB lighting. Gamers have taken this further by kitting out their gaming rooms with RGB LED strips. 

RGB lighting can vary in pricing, starting as low as £15 and costing up to £150 or more depending on the brand and lighting structure you choose. These Govee ones from Amazon cost £15.99, making them a great budget stocking filler. They’re easy to install using the adhesive on the back of the strip and can be powered via any USB outlet. 

If you want to get something a bit more flashy (no pun intended), then Nanoleafs ‘Lines’ series might be worth considering, they’re currently available on Amazon, just make sure you’re prepared to fork out £150.

Emulators

If you know an older gamer, then picking up an emulator might be the way to go. Emulators allow you to play retro games from one device without the need for physical cartridges or disks, instead, the games are loaded onto a micro-SD.

You can pick emulators up at a fairly cheap price with this Anbernic emulator from Amazon costing £62.99 or this MIYOO mini for £42.42 from Ali Express. These little devices will let you play retro titles from as far back as the SNES up to the PS1 in some cases, making them ideal for retro fans.