The people on your gift list don’t have to be gourmet chefs to use the thoughtful appliances we’ve curated in our gift guide, though we certainly have plenty to offer for avid cooks and other food enthusiasts. Sure, you can shop by price if you have some idea of what you’re looking for. But if you just don’t know where to begin with someone on your list, you can also shop by personality and lifestyle.
High school grads
Even if elaborate cooking is unlikely to occur, your favorite grad will surely need some tools to get through that first semester. Consider a compact coffee maker to help them wake up for class (or stay awake and study), a garment steamer to remove wrinkles from slept-in clothes, or a breakfast sandwich maker to encourage the consumption of food before noon.
College grads
A young person finishing college is also ready to graduate to some grown-up kitchen appliances when they start their first “real” job and move into a first (or bigger) apartment. At this point in their lives, with late-night study sessions behind them, your favorite college grad may want to start doing some real cooking. To get them started, consider an air fryer, countertop oven, slow cooker or any of the many other easy-to-use appliances in our gift guide.
People who just don't cook
We all know them—the people who dread potlucks, the ones assigned to bring bread to every holiday gathering. Perhaps it’s someone working long hours and spending a big chunk of what they earn on restaurants and takeout. Or someone living alone who says “why bother cooking for one?” These easy-to-use, easy-to-clean appliances are perfect for that person in your life.
Young adults leaving the nest
Perhaps they’re driving away in your old car with your old couch, but they probably need some new appliances to get up and running in their new kitchen. Everyone needs a starter kit when leaving the nest, so we’ve put together a selection of appliances that are perfect for someone setting up a home for the first time. (Of course you could also just give them your old appliances and snag these for yourself.)
Time-crunched parents
Between work demands and the kids’ school and extracurricular schedules, it’s hard for any parent to get the whole family together for dinner or make sure everyone is eating well on their own timetable. These appliances make it easy to cook meals while you work, cook ahead in large batches, store food and reheat it. Many are also so easy to use that you can enlist teenagers in meal prep and cleanup.
People who have everything
You know them—the cooks whose homes you love to visit, the people who seem to have everything anyone might ever want in the kitchen. But times change and appliances evolve—even these folks might be ready to upgrade to a better blender, a more sophisticated food processor, or any of the many products we’ve selected for those who have (almost) everything.
People at odds with the morning
It’s not fair to blame them—night owls really are born that way. And science tells us that if you’re not a morning person, you may never be. But for night owls who need to live and work in a morning lark’s world, we have selected some eye-opening appliances that will make starting the day a little easier, including programmable coffee makers and electric kettles to get them going.
Homebodies
Starting in early 2020, most of us became homebodies whether we liked it or not, and since then many people have discovered the simple joy of just staying home more often. For the people in your life who love the comforts of home, consider the great gifts we’ve selected: air purifiers, a water filtration system, coffee makers, electric tea kettles, slow cookers and more.
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