Best Gifts Under $500 for 2024

$328 at Amazon

$400 at JBL

$249 at Amazon

Battery Life Rated up to 32 hoursNoise Canceling Yes (ANC)Multipoint YesHeadphone Type Over-ear wireless headphonesWater-Resistant No IP rating

Released in 2021, the PartyBox 110 packs some serious punch and delivers bigger sound than many portable boombox speakers, including JBL's own Boombox 3. There's an integrated handle for toting the speaker, but the PartyBox 110 is pretty hefty, weighing in at 23 pounds and measuring slightly more than 22 inches tall. You can stand this Bluetooth boom box up vertically as shown in the picture above or place it horizontally, as it has rubber feet on both sides of the speaker.

It's rated for up to 12 hours of playback time at moderate volume levels and has a redesigned light show that syncs to the beat of your music (you can customize the light show from the speaker itself or use the JBL PartyBox companion app). 

The speaker has Bluetooth or a wired USB connection and there are guitar and mic inputs. It's also worth noting that the speaker is IPX4 splash-proof and you can wirelessly link two PartyBox 110 speakers together for stereo sound. 

Eagle Creek's Cargo Hauler XT wheeled duffle comes in a few different sizes, starting with a 21.5-inch model that qualifies as a carry-on bag (even internationally) and costs $369. The model shown here is the 32-inch "large-checked," which is a fairly large bag but not huge. Like the other Cargo Hauler XT models in the Eagle Creek line, this one is water resistant and also has hideaway backpack straps built in it so you can carry it on your back up stairs or on dirt paths and everything in between. (The travel lock in the photo is not included.)

Available in four color options (charcoal, earth red, glacier blue and safari brown), the bag is made out of recycled materials and looks and feels quite durable and has a few grab straps and extra pockets. I also thought its wheels operate quite smoothly. It's an ideal bag for a three- to seven-day trip, while the carry-on version is more suitable for weekend or overnight trips. 

Read CNET hands-on first take of the Meta Quest 3.

Read our Sonos Ray review.

Read our Amazon Kindle Scribe review.

The Epicboom's oval design is a bit of a departure for UE, which is owned by Logitech and has primarily designed Bluetooth speakers with more of a cylindrical shape except for its boxy Hyperboom. UE says the oval design "creates an impressive internal acoustic volume, and is coupled with a 4.6-inch woofer for bass clarity." It doesn't sound quite as good as Sonos' similarly shaped and more expensive Move 2 portable speaker that features both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity (this speaker is Bluetooth only). But the Epicboom packs a good punch and sounds very good for its size, with the ability to fill a small- to medium-sized room with sound. Fully waterproof and dust-proof (IP67 rating), it also seems durable. 

Apple's latest iPad is the iPad 10 or iPad 10th Generation. It's the new entry-level iPad and often sells for less than its list price. The A14 Bionic-powered tablet is enough for most people who want to browse the internet or watch content online. The base variant offers just 64GB of storage. If you have a lot of media to store offline, we suggest you go for the 256GB model.

Vitamix makes some great blenders that are not only powerful but a pleasure to operate and built to last (they come with a free five-year warranty). That said, they tend to be quite expensive, which is why we like to recommend the entry-level Explorian, which is plenty of blender for people and lists for $350 but often sells for closer to $300. It's easy to use and a good value at that price.

Battery life Rated up to 8 hoursNoise Canceling YesMultipoint YesHeadphone Type Wireless earbudsWater-Resistant Yes (IPX4 -- splash-proof)

Therabody says the Theragun Sense is "designed to relax both mind and body," combining percussive massage therapy with calming breath work via a companion app that you link to via Bluetooth. When doing the breathing exercises, you hold the Sense up to your chest in both hands and close your eyes. There's a built-in heart-rate sensor that you grip with your finger, as well as haptic feedback that helps guide you through the exercises.

The Theragun Sense isn't as powerful as the step-up Theragun Pro Plus ($599), nor does it have all its bells and whistles, but it's certainly powerful enough for most people. It comes with four attachments: the dampener, standard ball, thumb and micro-point.

If your gift recipient doesn't already have a Nintendo Switch or needs an upgrade, you can't go wrong with this gaming system. This fourth iteration of Nintendo's Switch hybrid handheld adds a bigger, better built-in display (now an OLED screen), plus a redesigned kickstand and TV dock. It's a splurge, but it provides hours and hours of fun with games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Skylight sells a standard 10-inch photo frame that costs $150. But the pricier Skylight Calendar is more than just just a photo frame. It's a 15-inch Wi-Fi-connected digital calendar and planner touchscreen display that allows you to create and show a daily schedule for each member of your family, assign chores and even map out meals (each family member gets their own highlight color). You can prop up the Calendar on a table using the included stand or hang it on a wall with the wall mount that comes in the box as well. 

You can choose to auto sync your Google, Apple, Outlook, Cozi or Yahoo calendars to the frame or just use the Skylight mobile app to update the schedule and make assignments. I had no trouble setting it up for my family, which includes four kids. It was also easy to send photos to it and the photos looked good on the 1,920x1,080 HD display (you can set them to appear as a screensaver), though you shouldn't expect the sharpness and color saturation that you'd get with an iPad screen. While Skylight does charge $39 a year for the photo service, that's a pretty reasonable price. 

As far as budget TVs go, we've always liked TCL's 4-Series TVs partially because they came with Roku built-in. But TCL appears to be gradually phasing out Roku in favor of Google TV (as its smart TV interface). The TCL 4-Series and 5-Series remain very good budget TV values (the 6-Series is a little more premium), but Vizio's V-Series has slightly better picture quality and is the best overall entry-level TV that we tested.

As CNET's video guru David Katzmaier says, "The Vizio offered the most balanced and accurate picture during our comparisons, and it comes with some useful extras such as Dolby Vision support, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth compatibility and variable refresh rate for potentially smoother gaming." He adds that the biggest downside of the Vizio is its smart TV platform, Vizio SmartCast, which is a bit sluggish and cluttered with ads for platforms such as Tubi and Kidoodle TV. But you can always buy a Roku 4K Express Plus streaming device for around $40 if you don't like it.

The price shown is for the 50-inch model, but the TV also comes in a variety of other sizes up to 75 inches.