Great Gifts Between $250 and $500, From Fancy Wagons to Budget Laptops

Bloom Blanket | $250 The star-shaped protuberances of the Bloom Blanket are inspired by the paper art of origami. Its overlapping designs form pointy geometric prisms of soft wool and cashmere, and the blanket’s odd topography stays intact without any filling. It doesn’t fold easily, but that’s OK—it looks best spread out on the sofa. Stephanie Gonot

Bloom Blanket | $250 The star-shaped protuberances of the Bloom Blanket are inspired by the paper art of origami. Its overlapping designs form pointy geometric prisms of soft wool and cashmere, and the blanket’s odd topography stays intact without any filling. It doesn’t fold easily, but that’s OK—it looks best spread out on the sofa.

Stephanie Gonot

Saris The Hottie Bike Storage | $260 You usually choose a bike rack based on function, not form. But Saris’ Hottie wooden rack is beautiful. It holds two bikes (plus your helmets and backpacks) on a metal and wood frame that’s patterned with modern rectangular cutouts. It turns a simple storage rack into an attractive focal piece. Stephanie Gonot

Saris The Hottie Bike Storage | $260 You usually choose a bike rack based on function, not form. But Saris’ Hottie wooden rack is beautiful. It holds two bikes (plus your helmets and backpacks) on a metal and wood frame that’s patterned with modern rectangular cutouts. It turns a simple storage rack into an attractive focal piece.

Stephanie Gonot

Eclipse Clock | $250 Constance Guisset’s trippy wall clock is decorated with a mesmerizing array of tiny concentric white dots over a black background. At a distance, its similarly speckled hands give the pointillist pattern the illusion time is moving at warp speed … even if it’s crawling. Stephanie Gonot

Eclipse Clock | $250 Constance Guisset’s trippy wall clock is decorated with a mesmerizing array of tiny concentric white dots over a black background. At a distance, its similarly speckled hands give the pointillist pattern the illusion time is moving at warp speed … even if it’s crawling.

Stephanie Gonot

Tivoli Audio Music System Three | $300 Widely known for making traditional bedside clock radios, Tivoli Audio steps into the 21st century with its new wireless speaker. The Music System Three has an AM/FM tuner and an alarm clock, it can stream audio from your phone over Bluetooth, and its rechargeable internal battery makes it portable. Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

Tivoli Audio Music System Three | $300 Widely known for making traditional bedside clock radios, Tivoli Audio steps into the 21st century with its new wireless speaker. The Music System Three has an AM/FM tuner and an alarm clock, it can stream audio from your phone over Bluetooth, and its rechargeable internal battery makes it portable.

Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

Moog Theremini | $299 This new take on the theremin is not only retro--beautiful, it injects some welcome playability into a nearly 100-year-old electronic instrument. Pitch controls ensure you stay in tune with the orchestra while you solo, and the 32 preset voices let you get irreverently weird as you tackle Bach’s greatest hits. Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

Moog Theremini | $299 This new take on the theremin is not only retro--beautiful, it injects some welcome playability into a nearly 100-year-old electronic instrument. Pitch controls ensure you stay in tune with the orchestra while you solo, and the 32 preset voices let you get irreverently weird as you tackle Bach’s greatest hits.

Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

Wishbone Wagon 3in1 | $300 This isn’t just your kid’s dream play wagon, this is your dream play wagon. A combination soap-box racer, foot-to-floor car, and wagon, it’s made of sustainable birch. It supports only 110 pounds, so you’ll have to live vicariously through your toddler as you watch them wheel around in it. Stephanie Gonot

Wishbone Wagon 3in1 | $300 This isn’t just your kid’s dream play wagon, this is your dream play wagon. A combination soap-box racer, foot-to-floor car, and wagon, it’s made of sustainable birch. It supports only 110 pounds, so you’ll have to live vicariously through your toddler as you watch them wheel around in it.

Stephanie Gonot

Acer Chromebook 13 | $300 If you value portability and live in the cloud, Acer's 13-inch Chromebook is one of the best (and most affordable) computing options available. The first Chromebook with the new NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, it's the ideal choice for streaming HD video or playing 3-D games. And yes, it still works perfectly fine if you just want to surf the web while on your couch. Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

Acer Chromebook 13 | $300 If you value portability and live in the cloud, Acer's 13-inch Chromebook is one of the best (and most affordable) computing options available. The first Chromebook with the new NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, it's the ideal choice for streaming HD video or playing 3-D games. And yes, it still works perfectly fine if you just want to surf the web while on your couch.

Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

YETI Hopper Cooler | $300 With a zippered top and over-the-shoulder strap, the Hopper 30 is perfect when you need to keep things cold at the beach but also have to hoof it a mile to get there. This cooler is 100 percent leak-proof, so no matter how you toss it around, ice water won’t drip out and dampen your good time. Stephanie Gonot

YETI Hopper Cooler | $300 With a zippered top and over-the-shoulder strap, the Hopper 30 is perfect when you need to keep things cold at the beach but also have to hoof it a mile to get there. This cooler is 100 percent leak-proof, so no matter how you toss it around, ice water won’t drip out and dampen your good time.

Stephanie Gonot

Drobo Mini | $369 Drobo’s data storage boxes aren’t just quiet and fast, they’re simple to use. To increase capacity or replace a toasted drive, just pop a new drive in and Drobo arranges all your bits for you. The new Mini is the smallest Drobo yet; only 2 inches tall, it holds up to four 2.5-inch drives. Fill it with SSDs to make it screaming fast. Stephanie Gonot

Drobo Mini | $369 Drobo’s data storage boxes aren’t just quiet and fast, they’re simple to use. To increase capacity or replace a toasted drive, just pop a new drive in and Drobo arranges all your bits for you. The new Mini is the smallest Drobo yet; only 2 inches tall, it holds up to four 2.5-inch drives. Fill it with SSDs to make it screaming fast.

Stephanie Gonot

Persol 3075S | $380 Everyone loves those Persol 714 folding sunglasses that Steve McQueen used to wear—and so everyone has them. There are other, cooler options, like the 3075S. They still fold for easy stowage—down to the size of a cookie—and their blue polarized lenses look as good as they function. Stephanie Gonot

Persol 3075S | $380 Everyone loves those Persol 714 folding sunglasses that Steve McQueen used to wear—and so everyone has them. There are other, cooler options, like the 3075S. They still fold for easy stowage—down to the size of a cookie—and their blue polarized lenses look as good as they function.

Stephanie Gonot

Fortune Cookie Stool | $395 Like some sort of sittable mobius strip, Po Shun Leong’s whimsical Fortune Cookie Stool molds a single piece of plywood into a twisted fortune cookie--like shape. Available in red, walnut, maple, white and black, the chairs are stackable should you want a whole set for group gatherings. Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

Fortune Cookie Stool | $395 Like some sort of sittable mobius strip, Po Shun Leong’s whimsical Fortune Cookie Stool molds a single piece of plywood into a twisted fortune cookie--like shape. Available in red, walnut, maple, white and black, the chairs are stackable should you want a whole set for group gatherings.

Stephanie Gonot | Set By Adi Goodrich

Vitamix S30 | $409 With 10 speeds and a 790-watt motor, this compact Vitamix model can pulverize everything from ice cubes to whole fruits and veggies. It comes with a 40-ounce container, as well as a more portable 20-ounce container for taking your morning smoothie straight out the door. Stephanie Gonot

Vitamix S30 | $409 With 10 speeds and a 790-watt motor, this compact Vitamix model can pulverize everything from ice cubes to whole fruits and veggies. It comes with a 40-ounce container, as well as a more portable 20-ounce container for taking your morning smoothie straight out the door.

Stephanie Gonot

Polaroid SLR 690 Forgot your cat's name? Hang on to your fading memories with this Polaroid—Snap a picture, and it instantly spits out a photo you can write on with a marker. The single-lens reflex camera folds down flat. Carry it everywhere and document all the day's details. Stephanie Gonot

Polaroid SLR 690 Forgot your cat's name? Hang on to your fading memories with this Polaroid—Snap a picture, and it instantly spits out a photo you can write on with a marker. The single-lens reflex camera folds down flat. Carry it everywhere and document all the day's details.

Stephanie Gonot

XYZ da Vinci 1.0 3-D printer | $500 If you’re dipping your toes into the world of custom Lego bricks and DIY jewelry, the novice-friendly da Vinci is one of the best options for printing gadget improvements of your own design. Easier to use and less costly than most 3-D printers, it also looks sharp on your workbench. Stephanie Gonot

XYZ da Vinci 1.0 3-D printer | $500 If you’re dipping your toes into the world of custom Lego bricks and DIY jewelry, the novice-friendly da Vinci is one of the best options for printing gadget improvements of your own design. Easier to use and less costly than most 3-D printers, it also looks sharp on your workbench.

Stephanie Gonot

360fly Camera | $499 People might mistake this faceted orb for an objet d’art as it sits atop your helmet, unaware that it is recording a 360-degree video of everything around it. Rugged enough to replace your GoPro, it can record up to two hours of panoramic footage while you’re busy being part of the action. Available early 2015. Stephanie Gonot

360fly Camera | $499 People might mistake this faceted orb for an objet d’art as it sits atop your helmet, unaware that it is recording a 360-degree video of everything around it. Rugged enough to replace your GoPro, it can record up to two hours of panoramic footage while you’re busy being part of the action. Available early 2015.

Stephanie Gonot