Entertainment / Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Goodies For The Entertainment Lover!

Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Goodies For The Entertainment Lover!

Entertainment Dec 01, 2017

by Matthew Currie

From TV box sets to hot new tech gadgets to adorable pop culture trinkets, we’ve got a slew of great buys for the entertainment junkie on your list. Check out our Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Goodies For The Entertainment Lover!

Apple Watch Series 3 ($399)

**Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Goodies For The Entertainment-Lover: Apple Watch Series 3.** Photo Credit: Apple/iphonea2.com

With any emerging technology, it takes a couple of generations to really iron out those kinks. And while the third iteration of Apple’s wrist-tech isn’t an unmitigated charm, it’s a notable refinement of what came before. This series offers more polished overall performance and the ability to leave your phone behind, thanks to built-in cellular LTE tech. Supporting calls, texts, GPS, step counting, heart rate monitoring and music streaming, it’s doubtless a handy little gadget — especially for fitness buffs. The Apple Watch may still be a novelty item, but it’s a lot of fun to play with.

Google Daydream Virtual Reality Headset — 2^nd Generation ($99)

Another nifty piece of wearable tech, this one is exclusive to Android smartphone users. Pop your phone into the headset, pop the headset onto your head and then lose yourself in a world of 360-degree video splendour. Most people have their head against a phone all day, anyway — so why not take it one step further? The headset is handsomely upholstered in Charcoal, Fog or Coral fabric and comes with a remote control to interface with its virtual reality wonderland.

Funko Pop! Figurines (From $12.99)

Everyone has a piece of pop culture that they’re utterly obsessed with — a fact that Funko has managed to translate into big bucks with its series of Pop! figurines. The vinyl collectors’ items resemble all your beloved characters but with oversized heads and blank facial expressions that exude an artistry all their own. Funko’s extensive catalogue includes figures from comic books, TV shows, video games and music.

The extensive collection means you can pick up anything from It’s Pennywise the Clown to Thor: Ragnarok to pop legend Elton John. Personally, we’re going for Stranger Things and our new favourite character, Steve Harrington, complete with his signature nail-spiked baseball bat and Demogorgon swatter. (Eleven, Mike and friends are available, too!)

Amazon Echo — 2^nd Generation ($99-$199)

This voice-activated smart speaker offers 360-degree omnidirectional sound while a trusty A.I. assistant, Alexa, allows you to search for songs and artists via streaming services like Spotify, check the weather and news, set alarms, make phone calls, send text messages, and order an Uber or Chinese food. The device can also serve as a hub to control any other smart appliances your house may have, from the TV to the thermostat to the sprinklers.

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani ($27.01)

A genuinely striking debut from artist Nidhi Chanani, this 2017 graphic novel centres on Priyanka, an Indian-American teen who’s gotten to an age where she’s starting to wonder about the homeland her single mother left behind. Mom doesn’t like to talk about India, why she left or, for that matter, who Priyanka’s father is. One day, Priyanka finds a pashmina in an old suitcase. Wrapping herself up in it, she’s suddenly spirited away to (what seems to be) India, where wonders, darkness and answers await.

The Fall: Complete Collection ($63.09)

Among the most ambitious, impeccably acted crime dramas of the 21st century, all three seasons of this UK buried treasure are now available via box set. Cold, gritty and utterly enthralling, the series follows Paul Spector (Fifty Shades of Grey’s Jamie Dornan), an average Belfast family man who spends his nights stalking and murdering women.

Enter DSI Stella Gibson (The X-Files’ Gillian Anderson), the cop tasked with putting an end to the bloodshed. Delving deep into the tormented psyches of both cop and killer, creator Allan Cubitt manages to put an invigoratingly fresh spin on the well-worn serial killer genre, dredging up new insights and perspectives on the way to a finale that’s as shocking and painful as any you’ve seen.

Happy Christmas, Beatle People! ($101.11)

A rare treat for hardcore fans of the Fab Four, on December 15, Universal is releasing this seven-LP vinyl box set, featuring a collection of holiday records originally only available to the Beatles Fan Club from 1963 to 1969. The set includes The Beatles Christmas Record (1963), Another Beatles Christmas Record (1964), The Beatles Third Christmas Record (1965), Pantomime — Everywhere It’s Christmas (1966), Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (1967), The Beatles Sixth Christmas Record (1968) and The Beatles Seventh Christmas Record (1969). They’ll sell out fast, so pre-order now!

American Gods: Season 1 ($34.97)

Created by Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, this bloody, blackly whimsical modern-day fantasy centres on convicted thief Shadow Moon (The 100’s Ricky Whittle), who is released early after his wife (Sucker Punch’s Emily Browning) is killed in a car accident. Aimless and grief-stricken, he finds himself on an airplane next to a mysterious old man named Mr. Wednesday (Deadwood’s Ian McShane), who recruits him for an unexpected mission.

It turns out Wednesday is actually the ancient Norse god Odin, and he’s in the process of rallying his fellow old gods to wage war on the new gods of Internet (Bruce Langley), Media (Gillian Anderson — again!) and Globalization (Crispin Glover). Visually arresting, thematically rich and altogether unlike anything else on TV, the show aired on Starz in the United States and on streaming service Amazon Prime in Canada. Given the relatively few people who have access to those channels, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to surprise someone on your list with this gem.

Main Image Photo Credit: Funko/ebay.com

Matthew Currie

Author

A long-standing entertainment journalist, Currie is a graduate of the Professional Writing program at Toronto’s York University. He has spent the past number of years working as a freelancer for ANOKHI and for diverse publications such as Sharp, TV Week, CAA’s Westworld and BC Business. Currie ...

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Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Goodies For The Entertainment Lover!

by Matthew Currie

Matthew Currie

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