Good Gift, Bad Box. Very Bad.

David Pogue
·Tech Critic
Updated

You don’t have to spend a fortune to buy nice tech gifts. There are joy and glad tidings to be had in reasonably priced gadgets, too. Leave it to David Pogue to sniff out 12 delightful and useful ones.

The Eighth Day of Techness

Prank Packs are cardboard packaging boxes for fictional, screamingly funny products. (My favorites include the Crib Dribbler, an “infant feeding system” that’s like a hamster’s water bottle for a baby’s crib, and the ToeTunes slipper speakers.)

The idea is that you put your buddy’s actual present inside this hoax box, and experience the joy of watching him struggle to act appreciative when he sees the stupid gift you’ve apparently bought him.

This year, the Prank Pack folks have branched out—into bogus gift-card sleeves. If you’re going to get someone a gift card, why not built a juicy prank into it? Hand her what appears to be a gift card that she can redeem at Cheap Meat, the Remnant Meat Superstore. Or YesterTech, where she can find “the metro area’s best selection of 8-track players.” Or Barry Del Greco’s Mobile Rub service. “Call me for a private foot massage in my trailer!”

See more gift ideas! Go to Pogue’s 12 Days of Techness.

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