Holiday tech gifts that don't break the bank: 2014

For something a little different but still smart, Ringly offers a variety of rings that connect to smartphones via Bluetooth in order to notify you of calls, texts, emails and notifications -- without the wearer needing to check their phone.

Price: $195 - $260

Purchase: Ringly

Cute and functional, this Mushroom LED lamp not only works as a standard light source, but also connects via Bluetooth to mobile devices or PCs so you can use the lamp's speakers to listen to music.

Price: $42.88

Purchase: HTTBuy

These flashy speakers won't break the bank, but can certainly make an impression in a lounge or bedroom. The water dancing droplet speakers have been put together with colored water jets and LED lighting. Ramp up the music, and the water will "dance" in time with the beat.

Price: £24.95 ($39)

Purchase: Red5

The Fitbit charge is one of the newest products developed with the wearable technology trend in mind. The band, an upgrade on the original Fitbit, tracks steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes, and can sync to your smartphone to display calls, notifications, and create statistics related to fitness goals.

Price: £99.99 ($129.95)

Purchase: Fitbit

Recently acquired by Apple, the Dr. Dre Beats headphones range is not the cheapest of the bunch, but is reasonably priced for the high sound quality.

Price: $249.95 - $399.95

Purchase: Apple

For gaming headphones with a punch but ones that will not burn a deep hole in your wallet, Turtle Beach's range, including the Xbox One gaming headset, won't set you back too much this Christmas. The headset's sound quality is high -- levels can be mixed to your liking -- and the device is also connectable to Xbox Live and Skype.

Price: £89.99 ($140)

Purchase: Turtle Beach

Cheap and cheerful but very useful, touchscreen gloves can take the chill out of your fingers when using a smartphone out in the elements.

Price: £5.95 ($9)

Purchase: Genie Gadgets

The Misfit Shine is another popular fitness tracker that can make a great gift. Available in multiple colors, the tiny device is stylish and looks more like jewelry than a wearable device. The Shine works with iOS to track your activity, and an accompanying app can be downloaded to check your stats.

Price: $79.99 - $99.99

Purchase: Misfit

The Converge charging station is an attractive and inexpensive system for charging multiple devices at the same time. You can stuff your cables away out of sight, park your devices on the charging station and use any of four USB ports to keep smartphones, tablets and cameras juiced up.

Price: £29.95 ($46)

Purchase: Gizoo

The Dr Who Tardis Projection alarm clock is a must-have for Dr. Who fans, and can make an inexpensive but memorable gift this Christmas.

Price: £24.95 ($39)

Purchase: Prezzybox

While not the most expensive or powerful Kindle reader online retailer Amazon offers, the Kindle Paperwhite is an excellent e-book reader with anti-glare technology and decent battery life far beyond that of the original Kindle.

Price: $139

Purchase: Amazon

A fun stocking filler, this USB-charged clock fan can be plugged in and set up not only to keep you cool, but display the time through LED lighting.

Price: £10.95 ($17)

Purchase: Genie Gadgets

More expensive than other gifts listed, but especially for drone enthusiasts, the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 can make an excellent gift. Controlled via Wi-Fi and a smartphone or tablet, the quadricopter packs in a high-definition camera, data-sharing, pressure sensors and flexible flight movements.

Price: $various

Purchase: Parrot

Looking for a project? The DIY gamer kit by Maplin can keep anyone with a programming bent quiet for a time. This do-it-yourself component kit allows the user to create their own handheld gaming console and then program their own games using Arduino.

Price: £34.99 ($55)

Purchase: Maplin

Roku, a media streaming dongle controllable by smartphone, works with HDTVs to access over 500 channels in up to 1080p HD. Supporting both iOS and Android operating systems, the streaming stick can tap into channels including Netflix, BBC iPlayer and subscription-based NowTV. It is more expensive than Google's Chromecast, but does have a wider variety of content.

Price: $39.99 - $49.99

Purchase: Roku