Best Holiday Deals Under $50

The Chefman RJ38-2T is not only earns our recommendation, but it also carries CR’s Green Choice designation, meaning it has less of an environmental impact than other air fryers, based on its design, energy usage, and other factors. This air fryer receives top scores for its ease of cleaning and noise, and a very good score for ease of use, which reflects how easy it is to set your desired time and temperature.

The 1.7-quart Cosori Lite CAF-LI211 may be a good choice for small households and anyone with limited counter space. It has a 9x10-inch footprint, plus it includes a dishwasher-safe basket, programmed settings, and a digital display. What’s more, this model was a standout in our tests, receiving high marks for being easy to use and clean, and it cooks quietly. This air fryer comes with a two-year warranty.

The 600-watt NutriBullet Original NBR-0801 Personal is a great value that nailed the functional aspects of our lab testing, earning top-notch ratings for ice crushing, making icy drinks, pureéing raw vegetable ingredients into a soup, and durability. That elevates it to one of the highest-rated, most budget-friendly, and lightest personal blenders (4 pounds). Where it falls short is its mediocre ratings for predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, noise, and convenience (it’s push-down operated). So while it can make excellent smoothies, soups, and salsas, it can also develop problems within the first four years of ownership. It has one speed and comes with 18-ounce and 16-ounce cups.

The unassuming, inexpensive Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Programmable 49465R, which typically costs $40, might be easy to miss, but it can brew a mean cup of joe at a fantastic price. It has all the essentials in a basic black-plastic finish. It’s programmable and has auto-shutoff. What’s more, it does a superb job in our brewing test and can make a fresh pot in just 10 minutes. This model also performs strongly for convenience and carafe handling in CR’s lab tests. But it’s worth mentioning that this model is more prone to overflow, unlike some other models we’ve tested.

The Cuisinart CPT-122 Compact Plastic two-slice toaster delivers an overall solid performance and comes with cord storage, as well as defrost and reheat settings—features you don’t always see on budget-friendly models. It turns out perfectly browned toast in both our full batch and one-slice tests, and does so rather quickly. You can also expect cleaning to be fairly easy.

ThermoPro’s SmartBT Meat Thermometer TP920 is one of the lower-priced leave-in two-probe wireless thermometers. It sends instant temperature readings to your smartphone via Bluetooth, offering excellent response time and accuracy. The easy-to-use app estimates the remaining cooking time for nearly all cuts and varieties of meat based on guidelines from the Department of Agriculture. The price is $4 higher than it was on Cyber Monday and Black Friday.

Of all the pie dishes we evaluated, this Staub pie dish turned out the best crust and overall texture. It is more expensive than the other pie dishes we tested, which were all under $30 but made of different materials. So if you prefer ceramic, this is the one. The large handles make it easy to grab out of the oven, and it’s deep, so it’s great for making hearty pies of all types.

The Kaqinu 12.6-inch carbon steel wok, $4 more than it was over the weekend and closer to its typical sale price, is flat-bottomed, has a hammered texture and comes pre-seasoned. In our tests it aced the cooking evenness test; its speed of heating was very good, and we found it easy to use. Cleaning, however, was a bit of a challenge. The metal section of its handle is short, and so is less likely to be grabbed by unwary cooks. It lacks an extra handle, making it harder to move when full. This wok comes with a wooden lid and a variety of stainless steel utensils.

This low-priced wireless earbud from JBL delivers acceptable sound quality and top-notch active noise reduction. These have silicone ear tips that isolate outside sounds and an ambient sound monitoring feature. They’re not high performers, but at this price, they’re great to give to kids who tend to lose things or to just toss into your gym bag or backpack for a spare pair.

This wireless Bluetooth iPod/iPad/cellphone-centric headphone from JBL is a solid pick. The JBL Tune 660NC delivers very good sound quality and excellent active noise reduction. These headphones have a closed design, so they will provide some muffling of external noises and also reduce the amount of sound that escapes from the headphones.

If you want a reliable pair of noise-canceling headphones under $50, this Soundcore model could be right for you. Soundcore Q20i Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling headphones performed admirably in our tests for noise reduction and sound quality, and they come with a detachable audio cable and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable.

For simply listening to your favorite playlist, the JBL Tune 510 hits the value button. These on-ear headphones don’t have active noise cancellation and offer only modest physical isolation. But they sound a lot better than they should for under $30, comparing favorably to headphones that cost hundreds of dollars more.

This massager, made famous on TikTok, falls in the middle of the pack in terms of pricing, compared with the other models we evaluated. The reviewer found that the nodes pressed into their neck in an uncomfortable way, but two others who tried it loved it, so you might find the massager is just right or not right at all (but don’t worry—there’s a 30-day return window on Amazon). However, when it came to heat, this massager really shone. It reaches temperatures of 109° F. You can use this massager on various body parts, and it even comes with a car adapter, making it a boon for road trips.

The Papillon Shiatsu Neck and Back Massager Pillow is at the lowest price we’ve ever seen. It checks a lot of the boxes for being the perfect massager. It’s effective and lightweight. In fact, it’s the lightest of all the electric massagers we tried, according to our measurements. It’s also fairly inexpensive. You can use the massager on different body parts, such as your back, neck, shoulders, legs, and feet. It also offers a good amount of heat.

The Phomemo M110 is the bigger, bulkier version of the Phomemo D30, which we also evaluated and liked. The M110 offers a bit more flexibility with the size of the label you’re creating. It uses the same app, and has a wide variety of fonts, styles, and images, with quick creation and easy label cutting. Its size, compared with the smaller Phomemo, makes it a bit less portable, and its alignment isn’t as precise when it comes to cutting the label exactly on the cut line compared with other label printers. But it’s still a solid option.

This is a modest discount on an already low-cost floor fan, and it’s within a few bucks of the best price we’ve seen all year. It has three speed settings, and it comes with a remote control. The height is adjustable, and it’s even quieter than our top pick.

The O-Cedar mop comes with a bucket that wrings out excess liquid and works on all floor types. The mop head itself can be removed and tossed in the wash, giving your mop more longevity, and it also outperformed the other mops we tested for absorption, tackling honey, soda, and dirt with ease. The spinning feature is activated with a foot pedal, making it very easy to use as you move through your home. Bonus: the bucket uses two separate tanks for clean and dirty water.

The Cabeau Evolution S3 offers snug, cushy support with memory foam and an adjustable clasp that keeps your head from flopping mid-flight. Its built-in seat straps and earplug pocket add convenience, though the bulky design and warmth may not suit everyone. Still, for long-haul travelers who want structure and comfort, it’s a solid pick.

With a built-in anti-theft security system, this compact sling bag can be a saving grace for those traveling with valuables. “This bag has a slash-resistant mesh barrier in front, sides, and bottom body panels, plus a slash-resistant strap. And the RFID-blocking organizer on the front locking zippered pocket is perfectly sized for a phone,” says Anne McAlpin, author of “Pack It Up: The Essential Guide to Smart Travel.” RFID, or radio frequency identification, prevents skimming theft, which can occur when illegally installed devices capture personal data, such as PINs, for ATMs.

This is $6 more than it was over Black Friday weekend.

The TP-Link Tapo D210 is one of the most affordable doorbell cameras in our ratings, and it outperforms many of the more expensive models. The doorbell is battery-powered, meaning you don’t have to mess with doorbell wires, and it comes with a plug-in doorbell chime in the box. Features include activity zones, color night vision, local video storage on up to a 512GB microSD card (not included), person detection, pre-recorded responses to ask visitors to leave a message, and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Best of all, none of these features requires a subscription.

The Arlo Essential 2K (VMC3050-100NAS) is one of Arlo’s more budget-friendly security cameras, and we’ve never seen the price dip so low for this three-camera bundle. It performs well in our tests and features a built-in spotlight, a siren, and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Additional features, such as activity zones, person detection, and cloud video storage, require an Arlo Secure subscription.

One of the best (and least expensive!) doorbell cameras you can buy, the TP-Link Tapo D130 offers a bunch of features—even without a subscription. These include 24/7 recording with local video storage on a microSD card (up to 512 gigabytes, sold separately), AI object recognition (for people, vehicles, packages, and pets), activity zones, and color night vision. This model needs low-voltage doorbell wiring for power. Cloud video storage is available via subscription.

The Arlo Video Doorbell 2K is one of the best video doorbells you can buy. It provides the flexibility to install it wherever you need it. You can run it using the rechargeable battery or hardwire it to a home’s doorbell wiring for continuous power. Features include geofencing and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant. Cloud video storage and additional features (such as alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles) require an Arlo Secure subscription.

This is the best price we’ve ever seen for this model, so even though this deal is available often, you won’t find a better offer.

The Roku Streaming Stick 4K shares most of the same features as the more expensive Roku Streaming Stick 4K+, including improved WiFi, support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR, and compatibility with Amazon Alexa, Apple AirPlay, and Google Assistant. But it uses the older WiFi 5 standard to connect to home networks and comes with a standard Roku remote.

The PetSafe Creekside Ceramic Pet Fountain holds a modest 60 ounces of water, making it the smallest of all the pet water fountains I evaluated. It’s crafted from scratch-resistant ceramic and uses two filters—one carbon and one foam—to keep the water clean and debris-free. Assembly was surprisingly straightforward and intuitive. The fountain is quiet and dishwasher safe, and its larger size makes it a good choice for a multi-pet home.