It’s that time of year again where we overindulge on mince pies and turkey, maybe a craft beer or two, and many of us take time off from our busy lives to spend it with loved ones. There will be two types of people at the moment; those who will have already finished their Christmas Shopping, with all the food and snacks ready for festivities to begin, and presents wrapped up nicely under the tree. Then there are those who are rushing around panic buying anything they can get their hands on.
If you’re part of the latter group, or you just maybe want to pick up a few extra pieces, well, we’ve put together a little guide to help you out. Some helpful tips to bag yourself some of the top presents this Christmas, as well as some top deals we’ve found on the latest games and tech.
Consoles
It seems a long time ago since the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X was released, in fact, it is now over a year ago. But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t still struggling to find them this Christmas. But please, do everyone a favour and don’t go and overpay scalpers online (that includes places like CeX) who are taking advantage of people who struggled to get one. We’ve some tips this Christmas to help you out instead.
One of the best things to do especially around Christmas is always go and check stock in local stores, these aren’t updated like online systems, so even when a large chain hasn’t got them in stock online, there is a chance your local shop will. If not, they may be at least able to tell you when they’re next due to have some in. I know many people are reporting that GAME now has the Xbox Series S/X available to purchase with them through the All Access program. This is where you pay monthly for 24 months, but it includes membership to Xbox Games Pass Ultimate and actually works out as a decent saving.
The next tip for getting a console in time for Christmas is to sign up to any stock alert websites that you can find or join stock alert Discord groups, or even Twitter accounts. The more you join, the better chance you have of getting what you’re looking for. These work by alerting you when certain retailers update their systems to show they have stock back in ready for order. You still have to be quick, but it at least gives you a fighting chance against the scalpers who are out to make money off other people’s misery.
The final tip we have is to try your luck with RaffledUp. They’re a site that hosts a number of raffles that are drawn live every week. Tickets can range from as little as 49p to £19.99, it all depends on what the prize is, and how many tickets are available. But they always have the latest consoles, and it only takes one ticket to win. Meaning you could bag yourself some big prizes this Christmas for a fraction of the cost. You can even use our friend NinjaRefinery’s code “ninjarefinery” for 10% off to save even more.
They currently have a massive giveaway for Christmas too, giving away 12 Gaming PCs, four instant win prizes of £500, and if the giveaway sells out before Christmas Eve, they’ll be giving away an additional five PS5s. And to make things fair, if someone who has won a PC is drawn out again, they’ll not win a second PC, instead, they’ll get £50, and someone else will win the PC. Meaning at the very minimum, there will be 16 winners in time for Christmas.
Furniture/Accessories
Want to kit out your gaming room, or buy some gamer accessories for your little one this Christmas? There is plenty out there available. You’ll find plenty of nice collectables at places such as Just Geek, that have clothing (including snazzy Christmas Jumpers) plus the ever so popular TUBBZ Collectible Ducks, other figures and statues and even a whole host of games. There is pretty much something for everyone to either kit any gamer you know out or their gaming room, and if you know movie buffs too, they even have you covered there.
It may be you’re looking for something more substantial as a gift, or you just want to completely overhaul your gaming room. In that case, a new gaming desk and chair may be worthwhile investing in for Christmas. Now, you will find a lot of these available with so many places now offering them. But be warned, buy cheap, buy twice! Not so much with gaming desks, but the gaming chairs you pick up for next to nothing have very little cushioning, will lead to back pain and soon enough, they’ll fall apart. So whilst Christmas may be great, your life after it will not.
Especially avoid unknown brands with nothing but positive reviews on Amazon. It may well be they’re all fake reviews, but you can read more about that in our Amazon Review Scandal article. It’s not the case for everything on Amazon, but they are just some tips to help you avoid investing in poor quality stuff.
If you’re looking for a good quality desk or chair, FlexiSpot has some terrific quality gaming furniture available, and there are always offers on with a special Flash Sale for Christmas. On top of that, if you hang around long enough, you’ll normally see a pop-up saying get a 10% off code for signing up to their newsletter. You can always unsubscribe afterwards so you don’t get spam, but it’s worthwhile doing so for the added discount. You can check out how pleased we were with the FlexiSpot Pro Series Desk that we had for review on the site.
It’s not the only place that does quality gaming furniture though, there are plenty of big-name brands out there, and as we say, they may seem expensive, but they’re incredibly worth it. The difference you feel sitting in a high-end chair compared to a budget one, it’s miraculous. And your back will thank you for it when you’re not sat developing problems from not having a properly cushioned piece of furniture with the correct support. If you can get hold of one, we definitely recommend checking out some of Genesis Gaming’s chairs, because we’ve not been let down by them yet.
Games
There are sooooo many games out there this Christmas, it can be hard to know what to get. Then you have the decision of whether to get physical or digital. Whilst it’s nice saving space physically with digital games, it soon fills up your storage, and you don’t get that enjoyment of opening it up either. But if you do prefer digital, CDKeys have some excellent offers on titles old and new, and they have discounted top-up cards for the likes of the PlayStation Store, so you can bag yourself some savings using that. And as long as the items say they are in stock, and it isn’t a pre-order, delivery of your codes are instant.
But what games are people looking for this Christmas? Well, one big title out now is Halo Infinite, the latest title released as part of the Halo series. Now you don’t have to buy it outright, you can actually get it on Day One with Xbox Games Pass, which is an absolute bargain. But if you’re not too bothered about the story, then even better, the multiplayer is free-to-play, following the model of having a battle pass for those who want it to buy and earn better loot.
There are plenty of other top titles available over the festive period too such as;
- Jurassic World Evolution 2
- Lemnis Gate
- Planet Zoo
- Planet Coaster
- Elite Dangerous: Odyssey
- Struggling
- Chernobylite
- The Sims 4
- Samurai Warriors 5
- Lumberhill
- Fort Triumph
- Tools Up! Garden party
- Paradise Lost
- Of Bird and Cage
- Arboria
- and many, many more…
Peripherals
Much like the world of gaming chairs, peripherals are another minefield. But it’s not as bad in terms of quality if you shop around the budget range this Christmas, especially if you’re shopping around for beginner gamers who are looking to stream. The best setup for a professional would be to have a standalone microphone, a decent camera and a pair of audiophile headphones. However, a headset works just as well. Wireless ones such as the SteelSeries Arctis 9 are more expensive than wired headsets, but in our opinion, they are worth every penny.
There are so many budget headsets on the likes of Amazon that cost next to nothing. Some will be powered by USB, some will have an audio jack or a connector to fit onto a controller. Depending on what system you’re planning on using it for, it is important to check if your headset is compatible. But otherwise, no matter how cheap you go, you’ll be able to hear audio and speak with fellow gamers. Higher priced headsets do offer better quality though, especially in terms of in-game audio, but the budget stuff does the job just as well.
You can also use a headset even if you want a standalone mic, you don’t have to go out and buy a fancy set of audiophile headphones. The main benefits of having a standalone mic are better audio quality for recording content or streaming. Besides that, if you’re just going to chat to friends, it’s no real benefit investing in one, unless you’ve got more money than sense.
As for keyboards, it’s best to possibly visit somewhere to find out which you/or your gamer you’re buying for has a preference for. If you like loud clicky ones, mechanical is what you’re after, although you can get quieter mechanical switches. The benefits of these are that mechanical switches tend to have better response times. If a quick response time isn’t too important because you don’t play competitive games, then a membrane keyboard is usually cheaper and quieter. But don’t worry if you mess up, we’re sure whatever one you get the gamer in your life this Christmas they’ll love it.
Coming onto mice? Mouses? Mouse? Mice? Whatever you want to call them, there are so many once again available at your fingertips. Depending on the games you play, some may be better than others. A great example that shows the variety in mice is the Xenon 770 from Genesis Gaming, which is an interchangeable mouse that allows you to switch the side panels out. It has some to allow you to change the grip, making it more comfortable, but then on the other side, it has two special panels.
One panel has number keys on, like the number pad on a keyboard. This is very much for MOBA type games where you use the number keys to perform moves. The other panel just has a couple of switches, more suited to FPS games. There are plenty of different brands and types available, but having a hybrid mouse does cover more options for you. Otherwise, find out what type of games your gamer is looking to play over Christmas, and give them a mouse to suit them.
Monitors
Monitors are another present many will buy this Christmas, but what is it you need to be looking for? Well, again, it depends on what you’re using it for. Some monitors like the BenQ EW2780U are built for entertainment purposes, others are manufactured for gaming. The difference usually comes down to the response times and refresh rates.
Response times are basically to do with the reaction time for the screen to show when it has detected a command via its input, whether that be via DVI or HDMI or whatever connection you use. For gaming, a low response time is important, because you don’t want a delay as it could be the difference between you sniping an enemy on the battlefield, or them firing a bullet through your skull.
The refresh rate has to do with the number of times that the image on the screen can refresh so that it is always the most relevant image. Unlike the response time which gamers prefer low, they want a higher refresh rate. The higher the better, as if they have the hardware to cope with a game putting out high frames per second (fps), then they need a monitor to match that. If they’re getting 90fps a 90Hz or 144Hz monitor will suffice. If they’re getting 193fps, then you’re looking at something like a 240Hz monitor.
If you’re only using the monitor as a second one, or a display to watch movies and sports on, then you don’t need all that. So you’ll often find lower refresh rates and high response times. That’s because standard televisions are only 50Hz-60Hz, and the content being aired is often lower than that. It’s best to check what the monitor is for before buying so you can better assess what it is you need.
Tech/Gadgets
God, there is so much tech out there this Christmas we could be here a while in this section. Everything from smartwatches to wireless earbuds, from video doorbells to smart vacuum cleaners. There is so much out there, but what are the best bits to buy? Well, here’s some advice. Don’t necessarily always go for the biggest named brand, and do your research. A great example of this is the Ring video doorbell, a popular gadget that offers users a bit of peace of mind and security.
However, you can actually get a very similar, if not better product from a company called eufy, who are part of the Anker brand. A company is known for top quality tech. Their gadgets such as their chime and doorbell are a lot cheaper than that of Ring, and there is no monthly cost to pay either to use their services. Meaning you don’t just save money in the short term for Christmas, but the long term as well.
As for smartwatches, these are very similar to the gaming chairs, in that you get what you pay for. If you go really budget, yes it will have a whole host of features, usually, though they’re nowhere near as accurate as say a FitBit or an Apple Watch. Instead, it’s full of false readings, and it sometimes fails to work, as the apps designed for them are nowhere near as robust, because they’ve been knocked up cheaply and quickly. However, they aren’t all too bad, and if you’re getting them for the young ones this Christmas, they’ll save you spending a fortune to replace them if they break.
There are plenty of places to get these cool cheap gadgets though, and many like Gearbest offer them by well-known brands such as Xiaomi. They’re like one of those brands you see in a discount store like Poundstretcher when you used to be able to find VHS tapes (showing my age there), light bulbs, and hoovers all made by someone like Hyundai. Although instead, they make things like drones, smart light bulbs, electric scooters and more.
FULLSYNC Merch
Don’t forget, you can also kit yourself out with some snazzy FULLSYNC merchandise, and the esports range you can add your Gamertag to the back of the clothing for free. Whilst we don’t currently have a Christmas sale on or any discounts, we have all our items priced at the very minimum we can to keep them as low as possible. And purchasing some not only shows your support to us by repping FULLSYNC, but it also helps us earn a few pennies to keep the site going. So if you want to buy a present for us, do so by buying yourself a present from our merch store.
Hopefully, with help from our Christmas gift guide, you have a better idea of what you’re looking for, and an understanding of where you can find some top Christmas deals. The article does contain some affiliate links, these mean when you click on them, it tells the companies you came from our website and they give us a little commission on any sales they make. We then use this money to help keep the site running and to help bring you top giveaways. You do not have to go through to these sites with our links or purchase anything, but doing so helps us out massively.
And that’s it. All there is left to do is wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
1 comment
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