How To Spend Your Christmas Cash

The Little Things

Then, finally, there are all the little bits and bobs which you can’t really classify anywhere else; the things that are worthy purchases, but which we can list as miscellaneous. Technically, yes, it is a little bit late to call these stocking fillers, but we couldn't really think of another word for them, so that will just have to do for now.

That said, sometime these are the best things to buy – little bits and whatchamacallits which you’ll use for years to come, appreciating them just a tiny bit every day. Things which, like a new cardigan or leather jacket, have lasting appeal and a sense of character which kind of oozes out over time.

OK, so maybe a new mouse doesn’t exactly reek of personality – but it’s still a good buy, so stop being so pedantic. Instead, let’s just look at our list of recommended purchases.

Crumpler Boomer XL

UK Price: £40 (inc. Delivery)
US Price: TBC

Pretty much the king of all laptop carriers, the Boomer comes with a lifetime warranty and the type of style that marketing types would insist on describing as ‘clean’, ‘streamlined’ and ‘unassuming’.

Face it, it’s plain. There’s nothing wrong with that though because, if we’re honest, we don’t want to walk through London with every Tom, Dick and Harry eyeing up our swanky laptops. The Boomer comes in a number of sizes, of which we’ve chosen the extra large, and it can hold up to 17” laptops. Personally, I don’t think something that big really qualifies as being portable because it’s bound to be unwieldy and heavy – but at least the Boomer makes it all a bit easier.

With plenty of pockets, a strong good-quality shoulder strap and a good deal of padding in there, the Boomer XL is pretty much the only laptop bag you’ll need. Plus, because it’s so plain, it’ll go really nice with that new Mac you’ve just bought.

Sennheiser PC161 Headset

UK Price: £62 (inc. Delivery)
US Price: $62 (excl. Tax)

As far as gaming headsets go, you really can’t beat a good pair of Sennheisers, as we found out when we reviewed the Sennheiser PC 161 headset.

The PC 161 headset is comfortable and reasonably stylish – so this is as good as you’re going to look when you tell your team to “Protect the briefcase while I’m AFK, n00bs!” in Team Fortress 2. Speaking of which, the microphone on the PC 161s is absolutely fantastic, pivoting out of the way when you want it gone and picking up sound responsively. It isn't malleable, which may have been an issue for some lesser microphones, but with the PC 161s it doesn't really matter. It slides down and locks into the correct position easily and naturally - you don't need to twist and bend it.

If you wear glasses all the time then there are better headsets out there admittedly - the Sennheiser HD251s, for example, but for the vast majority of people the PC 161s are an excellent set of headphones for both music and gaming.

Razer DeathAdder

UK Price: £34.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price: $44.99 (excl. Delivery)

Pretty much the king of all wired mice, there’s a reason why the DeathAdder bagged the best peripheral accolade in our Hardware Awards 2007 article.

The DeathAdder is unlike any Razer mouse before it. It has a high, sloping back with a gentle and comfortable curve that falls away to finned buttons which feel like they’re floating on a cushion of awesome. The extra-large thumb buttons on the side are fantastically placed and are in an accessible horizontal alignment.

Best of all about the DeathAdder though is the wheel, which foregoes a lot of the new sideways-scrolling gimmicks and is just a well put together spinner with just the right amount of notches and resistance on it. If you’re going to treat yourself to a new mouse, whether it be for precision artwork, gaming or just general office tasks, then the DeathAdder is the one to get because their frankly isn’t a front it doesn’t excel on.

Closing Time

With that, I’m afraid we have to bring it all to a close. The sun is dipping below the horizon, the calendar is full of crossed off days and, to put it simply, we need a rest! Christmas may be over, but there’s still a whole new year of exciting technology and cool games just around the corner.

So, in the interim it only remains for us to wish you well, those of you who haven’t burst with turkey and gravy. It’s been a long year and we’ve seen some rather spectacular changes both in the industry at large and in bit-tech itself. We couldn’t have got through it all without you though, so thank you to all our readers for all you’ve done.

Hopefully very soon you’ll all be having a Happy New Year!