Christmas Gift Guide: Buying Mom or Dad a Smartwatch This Christmas? Avoid These 5 Mistakes
You want a gift they will still be wearing in February, not one that ends up in a drawer. These are the five mistakes that send most smartwatches there, and the one watch we found that avoids all of them.
Skip ahead: the watch that avoids all five →
My dad's first smartwatch was a $400 Christmas present. He wore it for eleven days, then it went into the kitchen drawer. It is still there.
Buying a watch that needs charging every night
Many popular smartwatches last about a day on a charge. For someone who has never charged a watch, that is one more cable and one more thing to remember at bedtime. Miss a night and it is dead by lunch. Miss a few and it stops coming out of the drawer.
It also means the watch spends the night on the charger, so it cannot track sleep, which is often the thing parents end up liking most.
Look for instead: over 10 days on one charge. Charge it on Sunday, forget about it until next weekend.
We love our watches and we bought one for my Mom. The charge on the watches lasts even longer than a week and they are so easy to use.
Not checking for a monthly fee
Many watches sell you the hardware, then put their best health features behind a plan of around $10 a month. That is $240 over two years, on top of the watch.
Parents on a fixed income often cancel it, and the watch loses half of what made it worth giving. Or they never notice, and pay for years.
Look for instead: no subscription, ever. Every feature should work the day it arrives.
Choosing a screen they cannot read
Thin fonts and tiny numbers look elegant in a store. On the wrist of someone who reads with glasses, they are useless. If checking their heart rate or steps means hunting for reading glasses, they will stop checking.
Look for instead: large, clear numbers on a bright screen you can read at a glance.
…tired of not being able to see the watch face without readers… It's been great so this one was a gift.
Spade & Co
Health Smartwatch 5
- Over 10 days of battery
- No monthly fee, ever
- Works with iPhone and Android
$89.99 (50% off) with a free charging dock
Forgetting to check their phone
Some of the most popular watches only work with one brand of phone. If Mom has an Android, or Dad's phone is a few years old, the watch may not even pair. Nobody wants to find that out on Christmas morning.
Look for instead: a watch that works with both iPhone (iOS 13 or later) and Android (Android 8 or later).
Buying a gadget instead of a watch
Apps, payments, a voice assistant: the features that sound impressive in an ad are often the ones that confuse. What parents actually look at every day is simple: the time, their steps, their heart rate and how they slept.
Look for instead: the basics at a glance on the watch, and the details in a free app on their phone.
My husband HATES to mess with anything technical … set-up, change, fix, adjust … anything technical. This was a snap!
Spade & Co Health Smartwatch 5
We looked for a watch that gets all five right, and kept coming back to this one. Spade & Co is an American company now on its fifth generation, and this watch is built for exactly the person you are buying for.
What it tracks: heart rate around the clock, measuring to within 5 percent of a chest strap monitor, with alerts if it runs high or low. Blood oxygen. Sleep. 100 activity modes, swimming included, with built-in GPS for their walks. It is water resistant to 5ATM, so it handles the shower, the pool and the rain.
Where it falls short: it does not run an app store or pay from the wrist. If your parent wants a phone on their wrist, this is not it.
| Health Smartwatch 5 (43mm or 47mm) | $179.98 |
|---|---|
| Christmas price, 50% off | −$89.99 |
| Charging dock | Included |
| 30-day money-back guarantee | Included |
| Your price today | $89.99 |
30-day money-back guarantee · Ships from the USA
Bought as Gifts: What Spade & Co Customers Say
I bought this watch for my husband for Christmas. He loves it and wears it every day.
The watch was at a great price. It is light weight and the battery does last a long time… I was so happy and pleased with this purchase that I bought a second one for my mother.
The 30-Second Version
When you buy for a parent, the best gift is not the watch with the most features. It is the one they are still wearing in March. The Health Smartwatch 5 gets all five right:
- Over 10 days on a charge, so it stays on their wrist and tracks their sleep.
- No monthly fee. $89.99 is the whole bill.
- Large, clear numbers they can read at a glance.
- Works with iPhone and Android.
- The basics on the watch, the details in a free app.
Questions People Ask Before Giving One
Will it really last over 10 days on a charge?
Yes, over 10 days on a single charge. Like any watch, it runs down faster if they use GPS workouts every day.
Is there a monthly fee?
No subscription, ever. Everything works the day it arrives.
Will it work with their phone?
Yes, with iPhone (iOS 13 or later) and Android (Android 8 or later).
Which one should I get for Mom, and which for Dad?
Most men prefer the 47mm in Black, with the bigger screen. For a smaller wrist, the 43mm is light and comfortable, in Black or Rose Gold.
Can they shower or swim with it?
Yes. It is rated 5ATM, which covers showering, swimming and rain, and it counts their laps in the pool.
Does it measure blood pressure?
No. It tracks heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep and stress.
What if they don't like it?
Send it back within 30 days for your money back.
30-day money-back guarantee · Ships from the USA