Consumer Reports 2026 gift guide spotlights tech, food and home picks

Updated June 14, 2026, Consumer Reports’ holiday gift guide organizes picks by the person you are shopping for, then backs them with deal advice so you are not paying full price for a forgettable present. The mix runs from tech fans and foodies to homebodies, weekend warriors and the year’s best products, which is exactly the kind of structure that makes holiday shopping feel less like a scavenger hunt and more like a good decision.

Gift better, waste less

Consumer Reports is a nonprofit member organization with more than 7 million paying members and provides unbiased ratings and reviews for 10,000-plus products and services, so the gift guide is built on testing, not trend-chasing. The Black Friday guide tells shoppers to look for true bargains instead of getting fooled by flashy markdowns, and holiday-shopping advice recommends buying early because popular items may sell out and prices can swing. CR’s Price Tracker follows 16 popular products.

For tech fans

CR’s Best Tech Gifts lane is the easy place to shop for the person who always wants the newest gadget, but still needs something that works well next Tuesday. The guide points readers to 10 Best Tablets and the best phone cases for the Samsung Galaxy S26 line. Tablet prices run from $60 to $2,500, which is why a thoughtful pick matters more than a spec-sheet flex. Apple’s 11-inch iPad starts at $349, while the 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,299, a clean example of how fast a tablet gift can move from friendly to serious.

The Samsung Galaxy S26+ review folds lab results into member survey data on predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, and the phone itself earned strong marks for quickness, battery life, camera quality, ease of use and durability. If you are adding protection, Galaxy S26 cases at Target run from $11.99 to $64.99, and Samsung’s own rugged magnet case is $76, which is still cheaper than replacing a flagship phone.

For foodies and cooks

The Foodies & Cooks section is the best reminder that the most loved kitchen gifts are often the least glamorous. CR tested eight mortar and pestle sets made of granite, marble, wood and stainless steel to land on three worth recommending, which tells you the point here is performance, not countertop drama. A mortar and pestle is the sort of tool that gets used for pestos, spice rubs, salsa and guacamole, and it is a far better kitchen gift than another gadget that needs charging or app setup.

Gorilla Grip’s 2-cup granite mortar and pestle is listed at $32.99 at Walmart, while Le Creuset’s mortar and pestle is $45, so you can choose between a sturdy everyday tool and a prettier premium version without drifting into absurd territory.

For homebodies

The Home Bodies section is where CR gets delightfully unsentimental. Its guide highlights 11 best large-capacity washing machines, and you need at least 4.5 cubic feet to handle a king-size comforter, with tested machines ranging from a 1.9-cubic-foot compact to a 5.8-cubic-foot front-loader. That is the kind of detail that saves you from buying a machine that looks nice but cannot keep up with real laundry. Washers can cost from $400 to $1,900.

For weekend warriors

Weekend warriors get the most quietly useful gifts in the lineup. CR’s guide points to 5 best insect repellents, 7 best bike locks, 15 best walk-behind lawn mowers and 15 best riding lawn mowers, and the category mix makes sense: these are the things that keep outdoor plans from going sideways. The insect repellents are tested on real people using real mosquitoes, with prices starting around $4.47, while bike locks start at $14.98, which makes both easy to buy without feeling cheap.

If your person measures weekends in yard work, CR’s mower coverage is even more practical. Lawn mowers range from $250 gas push models to battery and riding machines that can cost upward of $5,000, and battery mowers start with push-button ease, skip oil changes and run more quietly than gas models.