5 Coolest Christmas Gifts of 2016.....

I used to hate shopping for Christmas gifts. The shopping malls that time of year are usually ground zero for misery. Traffic is bad. You spend a helluva lot of time just trying to park. The stores are packed, and if you find something to buy, you get to stand in a long line. But much of that changed for me a few years ago.

I do most of my shopping online. You can find most anything online. Shop, do research, even read what other shoppers thought about the product. Amazon is my favorite store. I recently watched a video of the inside of a Amazon fulfillment center. There were robots whizzing around and lots of automation. They say your product is ready for shipping only a matter of minutes after you make the click on your computer.

But the biggest question remains of what gift to buy. Nice clothes are a OK gift, but boring. Gift cards are practical, but not much thought goes into it. Personally, I like gag gifts too. What's better than the gift of laughter.

In this day and age, some gifts are pretty cool. Usually, they are gifts that only have become available recently. Most are tech gifts. But at the very least they should be conversation starters when somebody sees them. So here is my list, (in no particular order), of the coolest Christmas gifts of 2016.

• The Motorola Moto Z - This is a smartphone. Smartphones have been around for a while now, but this may be the first truly new development in years. You can get 3 snap on modules for the

  

  Moto Z & modules

  base phone. One module has loud, bumpin, JBL speakers. It's a party in your pocket. Another module is a snap on high tech Hasselblad camera. You get a 10x zoom, Xenon flash and camera ergonomics instead of phone ergonomics.  Another module turns your phone into a picture or video projector. It turns any flat surface into a 70" flat screen. That's pretty cool. Will the Moto Z be a success? Who knows? I didn't say it was good. I only said it was cool.

• The Amazon Echo - The Echo looks like a can and sits on your table. But it is connected to the internet and you talk to it. It's sort of like Siri on your iPhone. In addition to the weather forecast, traffic, scores, and news; it can tell jokes, get to know you and your habits. It can even play almost any song ever recorded through it's high quality speaker. Only a few years ago something like this was only on sci-fi shows like Star Trek. Sometimes the future gets here quicker than we think.

• A Drone - I'm not exactly sure what I would do with one. I think it's one of those things that you find things to do once you have one. I know you can fly around and video your neighborhood. Maybe scare deer. It would be cool to have one on a trip or vacation. UPS is experimenting using them for delivery. I think it would be cool to have one in the store I work at. You could advertise products, discourage shoplifters, and even terrorize the old-timers.

Perfect with Petron.

• Himalayan Salt Tequila Glasses - these glasses have a translucent appearance of rose quartz. It's made of sea salt so it will give your tequilla a zing all drink long. Plus it's naturally antibacterial so no spreading germs.

• Virtual Pong - This is the old pong game, But you can play in your living room with a virtual ball of light that can bounce off your ceiling and walls. Admit it, you want to try this out. Available from Sharper Image. 

  

  Virtual Pong

Every year there is something amazing and new offered at Christmastime. If you don't get what you want this year, I hope you get what you need. That is to celebrate the season with your family and friends.