The best gifts under $500 for 2023

Released in 2021, the PartyBox 110 packs a serious punch and delivers louder sound than many portable boombox speakers, including JBL’s own Boombox 3. There’s an integrated handle for carrying the speaker, but the PartyBox 110 is quite heavy, weighing in at 23 pounds and measuring just over 22 inches tall. You can place this Bluetooth box vertically as shown in the picture above or you can place it horizontally as there are rubber feet on both sides of the speaker.

It’s rated for up to 12 hours of playtime 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 companion JBL PartyBox app).

The speaker has Bluetooth or wired USB connectivity and has guitar and microphone inputs. It’s also worth noting that the speaker is IPX4 splash-resistant, and you can wirelessly connect two PartyBox 110 speakers together for stereo sound. It normally goes for $400, but you can grab one for $100 off right now on Amazon.

The price of Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 has risen over the past year – it used to start at $300 for the 128GB version, but now costs $400, with the 256GB version now costing $500 (although it’s ). While it’s not as affordable as it used to be, it’s still the best wireless VR headset available, and it’s a lot of fun to play with a large collection of impressive games.

Meta is expected to release a higher-end “pro” model that will certainly be better, but will also cost a lot more.

Apple’s ninth-generation entry-level iPad came out last fall with an updated A13 Bionic processor chip that gives it a nice performance boost (no keyboard or case included). While prices start at $329 for 64GB of storage, they jump to $479 for the 256GB version, so look for special deals as this iPad often gets the flash deal treatment.

Theragun Prime is part of the fourth generation of Theragun massage guns. Its previous equivalent was Theragun Liv, which is covered in detail here.

Like the high-end Theragun Pro ($599), the Theragun Prime’s main impressive feature is that it’s much quieter than its now-retired predecessor. In fact, the Prime rivals the notoriously quiet Hypervolt Plus in terms of volume—a huge improvement over the Liv.

The improvements don’t stop there, though: while the Theragun Liv only had two pre-programmed speeds and came with two closed-cell foam attachments, the Theragun Prime has five built-in speeds (from 1750 rpm to 2400 rpm) and comes with five foam attachments with closed cells.

The Hypervolt Hypervolt Pro 2 is the current flagship Hyperice impact massager and rivals the slightly better known Theragun in performance. This new model features a digital speed dial that lets you cycle through five levels of percussion, and features the same 90-watt, high-torque motor that’s remarkably quiet (for the amount of power it generates) as its predecessor. You get up to three hours of battery life and five interchangeable heads along with a nice carrying case.

The step-down Hypervolt Pro ($250) has a 60-watt motor, three speeds, and eliminates the digital speed dial.

If the person on your list doesn’t have a Nintendo Switch yet 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 stand and TV dock. It’s a luxury, but it provides hours and hours of fun with games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Metroid Dread, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Mario Odyssey. Check out more great game deals here.