Black Friday Deals That Make Great Christmas Gifts: Buy Them Now at Great Discounts

Here are some Christmas gift ideas you may be interested in, as well as some products you may have forgotten to get before Christmas but can get for cheap in January, for instance.

Update: Prices current as of November 22, 2021. Please note that while I earn commissions as an Amazon affiliate, this comes at no additional cost to you.

Speaking of which, digital cameras are also a great Christmas gift. They’re more costly, so maybe a gift to yourself or your significant other, then. Or your parents. Or your children, in order to see more of your grandchildren. Either way, it’s a good idea to get a camera as a Christmas present for family photos or family vacations.

For a while I happily used an older model of the Canon PowerShot SX740 camera. Mine (the S110 model) has a 24mm wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom, 12.1 MP, and ISO of up to 12800, and shoots Full HD video wonderfully (see some examples of video taken with the S110 here; see more photos here as well). It also has lots of effects (sepia, vivid colors, old photo burned at the edges), so it was fun to play with it. Then I bought a better smartphone. But now the 2018 model (the SX740) must be a marvel with its 40x optical zoom and 4K video, and it's a bargain for what it offers. Smartphone cannot compete with that, and I can't wait to travel with a camera like this. On my list!

While I also love my old DSLR camera, these Canon PowerShot models are great if you want to travel light. I wish I had my Canon PowerShot S110 on a wonderful trip to Barcelona I took a few years ago.

If you’re looking for a nice gift for a woman that’s not your partner, I recommend, among other things, a shoulder bag. Here’s one I like, with three zippers, in faux leather. It comes in 40 colors!

For a higher price you can choose to get an anti-theft shoulder bag, such as this one from Travelon. Among other things, it has an RFID-protected compartment for your cards. It's now $89 compared to $25.95 for the other one, but its price is listed at a discount from 98.

I'm also showing a larger, crossbody bucket bag from Travelon, also anti-theft, and an anti-theft backpack. Both come in several colors.

For your partner, jewelry might be a great idea. Amazon knows this and tries to tempt you with lots of discounts. Guess what, they’re worth it. You can even get a gift now for her birthday. There are lots of designs. The ones I'm showing below, though, work more like proposal or engagement rings. They're white gold with aquamarine and diamonds.

If this kind of ring is not your thing or hers, or the moment doesn't call for a marriage proposal, be sure to browse around. The offers are pretty amazing.

If you're looking for a good-looking yet very affordable necklace, here’s one with faux pearls, rhinestones and acrylic beads. It comes in 14 colors. It would make a nice gift for a teenager learning to make a fashion statement without also learning to spend a lot of money.

Laptops are also a great idea, because sometimes they crash when you need them the most, and you really need a second one that’s ready to go. But you may not have the money then. Why not buy one now at a discount?

It also works as a gift.

Amazon is offering $100 off the $559 price of the Lenovo IdeaPad 14" Laptop if you apply and are approved for the Amazon Rewards Visa Card. The combination of specs and price on this laptop makes this a great buy!

I’ve read great things about the IdeaPad, and Lenovo is a brand I’m happy with. I have one Lenovo laptop from the days before touchscreens, and it’s been working without any hiccups at all. That’s pretty good.

This one has a good processor, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM (compared to 4 GB of RAM for the vast majority medium-range computers) and a 256 GB SSD hard drive. It runs Windows 10.

The 256 GB hard drive is not enough these days, with HD videos and large files from digital cameras, but you can get an external hard drive. And, unless you want to be doing high-powered video editing, the 8 GB are pretty good including for video. 

There may be other laptops around the $500 mark, but this one for just a little more is by far the better deal!

Happy books are also a great idea. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find happy books nowadays. Too many deal with illness and all sorts of failed relationships (not that I don't appreciate a well-written heavy book; I do). I find British chick lit to be a respite from all that, and Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl a wonderful, sparkling gem. I heartily recommend it as a holiday gift.

On that note, I wish you Happy Holidays, and I hope you find great gifts for everyone!