Most news outlets that gather, review or otherwise cover items for gift guides around the holidays — for either online or print publication — have to juggle multiple types of gear and try to schedule all the possible entrants to the right guide at the right time. There’s a tiny army writing these guides around here as fast as all the review fodder flows into the door.
What doesn’t end up in these guides is a collection of very cool gifts that either came in too early or too late to find a spot in a guide, or, alternatively, they just didn’t really fit one of the preset category. All of it is still E-ticket material. We’re not talking a Charlie in the Box, a squirt gun that shoots grape jelly or a “Don’t Let Your Meat Loaf” puffy trucker hat.
Also: 2016 Audio Gadgets Gift Guide | Do You Hear What I Hear?
Right here, all of those unjustly orphaned items are getting their own dedicated gifts guide — a last minute holiday potpourri that smells like money instead of stale pine trees. It all makes for a sort of a gift-buying special forces unit, and no gifts will be left behind on our watch.
Our first wild car is the Double Agent Magnetic Cufflinks set from Exuvius (seen above). These guys like to put a cool secret agent slant on men’s fashion accessories. They make cufflinks that hide an extra shirt button in case you lose one. These Double Agent Cufflinks apply to the french cuffs before the shirt goes on your back. They then use magnets to bring their halves together more easily. Finally, you can swap fashionable magnetic caps to fit your wardrobe.
For a longer stroll through our Island of Misfit Gifts, dust the snow off the gallery below.
11 Last Minute Gifts:
2016 Island of Misfit Gifts Guide
The mix of scheduling, categorizing and other facts can leave some perfectly excellent gifts off a holiday guide. This last minute list makes sure no gifts are left behind.
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Red Wings Motorcycle Boots
Made in Minnesota where the wether teaches folks to understand the importance of a good pair of boots, Red Wings Motorcycle Boots are dedicated to the free spirited rider. Made of top quality material in a small plant in the city that inspired the company's name, these biker boots are tougher than a midwestern winter.
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Paracable Cords
Made of tough, yet flexible materials that defy the knotting, cracking and wearing that plagues plastic cables, these Paracable Cords offer a quality charging option.
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Sam's Curious Cars
An excellent gift idea for a young gearhead and the dad or uncle sharing their wisdom, Sam's Curious Cars allows kids to build tiny race cars or pickup trucks with simple motors to keep them moving.
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Mophie Undefeated X Powerstation Plus Mini
Mophie makes its reputation keeping your smartphone or tablet working once the onboard battery should've died. The Mophie Undefeated X Powerstation Plus Mini external battery promises a full 12 hours of additional charge time — and pulls it off nicely.
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Van Der Hagen Shave Soap
Focusing on combining modern quality with trusted, old fashioned men's grooming principles, Van Der Hagen offers classic products like its Shave Soap and related items. The focus is on putting luxury quality into a man's grooming.
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Bloxels
A cool gift for kids if you're more of a video game nut, Bloxels combine a game board, colored pieces and a free app to allow the player to design personalized video game levels. Imagine if you could've built your own levels of Super Mario before you played the game, and you've got the idea.
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Dock and Bay Towels
There's an Otis Redding joke tucked away in here, somewhere. But, for now these Dock and Bay Towels will come in handy once the miseries of a cold, wintery holiday season pass. Putting modern material technology to work, these towels are thinner and lightweight than standard cotton options, during faster and traveling easier.
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Scosche FreqOUT Pro
Today's new cars are thoroughly wireless in the infotainment system department. But the Scosche FreqOUT Pro helps make older or less equipped cars wireless, allowing wireless communication between any car and your smartphone.
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Country Archer Jerky
Made of pure, quality ingredients, Country Archer Jerky offers chewy choice made of beef, pork, turkey and elf. Country Archer specializes in spicy jerky, not sparing the Sriracha and Habaneros.
Note: Scratch the elf. That's only in the experimental phase.
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AirJamz
Admittedly, AirJamz are intended for kids — but an adult can goof around with it for hours without shame. Essentially an oversized, wireless guitar pick that links to a smartphone app, the AirJamz take air guitar into the 21st century.
