Tech Savvy gifts for Valentine’s Day (2024)

Looking for some tech for the heart this month?

There are several options for tech that are designed to monitor health to using the Lovebox to send digital messages, photos and drawings to destressing by creating a Lego Icons Bouquet of Roses.

Lego Icons Bouquet of Roses was on TechRadar’s tech gifts for the heart holiday with a cost of about $59.99. Lego describes the roses as a way to relax for adults as the roses are constructed and bouquets can be rearranged. Roses can be designed as buds, blooming and in full bloom and feature long green stems and sprigs of baby’s breath. Online reviews were also strong for this bouquet.

Courtesy / Lego

"The building process has been designed to be enjoyable and easy: the set comes with separate instructions for the three flowering stages, making it perfect for a mindful solo project or great as a bonding group activity with friends and family," Lego reported.

There are 822 pieces and it is designed for those 18 and older. The product became available Jan. 1 of this year. For years, we've talked about adult coloring books and found a renewed appreciation for jigsaw puzzles as ways to relax and turn off stress. The Lego options allows adults to do that and create something that will stand out in their home and give them something to add on to as they explore the different collections.

Courtesy / Lego

"Perfect as a thoughtful gift for a plant lover or for adding the finishing interior design touches, the new sets are designed to provide an immersive building experience for adults that lets creativity bloom," the Lego Group reported when it added an orchid and succulents to its Botanical Collection. "With 73% adults saying they often research new ways to destress and over 72% saying play helps them relax, the new sets could provide a fabulous floral project for those looking to get creative while finding moments of mindfulness in their day."

Courtesy / Lego

There are other options as well like a wildflower bouquet, tiny plants for $49.99, a bonsai tree and a dried flower centerpiece. With this gift, the love of Legos and puzzles isn’t relegated to just times when children are present. In fact, the Lego website has buttons for home decor and one that says “Adults welcome” where there are pieces from art, entertainment, travel and history, science and tech, vehicles, sports and games and animals and nature with many, many options to find the perfect match for a builder regardless of age. They all looked fun, especially a cute PAC-MAN game and a sleek Concorde supersonic jet and a little red Corvette.

Courtesy / Lego

The health tech that can be a benefit to better understanding blood pressure is a home blood pressure measuring device, whether an arm cuff or a wrist cuff. For a number of people, just going to the doctor’s office elevates blood pressure. Prevention magazine noted the anxiety of the visit was coined the “white coat syndrome” and cardiologists note home monitoring can create a more accurate picture of what blood pressure really is, which may just be the motivation needed to make lifestyle changes for movement, exercise, and diet in terms of hypertension.

“Untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious health problems,” the Mayo Clinic reports.

Last year, Prevention rated blood pressure monitors from the best overall to the best wrist cuff. It listed the Omron Platinum Blood Pressure Monitor as the best overall. There are lots of options on the market. Look for reviews that provide insight into the ease of use, effectiveness, accuracy.

Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch

Omron has several variations for monitors. The Omron wrist cuff has a guide to help make sure the wrist is in the correct position at heart level for more precise readings. There is also an alert if the monitor is wrapped too loosely on the wrist. Best Buy recently had an Omron upper arm monitor for $55.49 with reviews of 4.7 out of 5 stars and a 96% recommendation rate. The brand also has a wrist monitor with 4.4 out of 5 stars and an 85% recommendation rate for $88.49. Both allow trend tracking to see changes over time.

Prevention noted a device with rave reviews was the Greater Goods Blood Pressure Monitor for the upper arm offered online recently for $16.97. Things to consider when choosing one for a gift or for personal use include — How many readings are saved? Does it include an irregular heartbeat detector? Can two people use the single device and store their readings? Is it easy to read? What is the cuff size? Does it come with a case?

Experts say the wrist monitors, which offer portability and perhaps ease of use, are less reliable.

Lovebox is a wooden box with an LCD screen, a USB power cable and plug, access to the mobile app for Android and iOS. A heart on the Lovebox spins when a message is waiting. A sender can send and personalize notes, photos, drawings or stickers using the app and get reminders to send messages. Messages can be scheduled and the notes can be saved via the app. The receiver of the messages can spin the heart to send a waterfall of hearts on the app back to the sender.

There are many options for Loveboxes — Valentine’s of course, but also for grandparents, for kids, for family, parents, and one for the person in your life who needs good vibes. In the Good Vibes edition, there is a happy sun on the box instead of a heart. On other boxes, the spinning heart can be picked as a color such as a red, blue, purple, gold or silver, or the spinner can be an American flag, Hello Kitty, a cat or dog, multi-color pixel, and more.

The company has a new option for Valentine’s Day with a music Lovebox that plays “La vie en rose” and provides a card that expresses love and affection. Other card collections provide 30 days of family challenges, 30 days of couple challenges. Other 30 days of cards are based on little memories, love coupons, positive inspiration, designed for couples, and there is a Happy Loop edition for children. There is also a Lovebox designed to ask the big question for a romantic proposal and a place to put the ring.

The idea for Lovebox came in 2015. The company said Jean went to MIT in Boston to research robotics while his fiancee stayed in France. He wanted a way to send messages over the distance. The Lovebox was built in a makerspace in France.

Prices range from $59.99 for the card message music boxes to $99 and $169.99 to $174.99 for most of the message boxes. There are also options to purchase additional spinner accessories for $9.99. PC magazine listed the Lovebox as one of its tech gifts for Valentine’s Day.

Renee Richardson, managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchBizBuzz .