15 Helpful Gadgets For Every Entertaining Style

Whether taking “me time” or spending it with friends and family, it gets easier with these helpful gadgets for every entertaining style.

Tea time
Based on the tenets of holistic healing, Tetley’s new Ayurvedic Balance teas—Poise, Vigour and Cool—can bring just the right amount of “ah” for you and your guests.

Open sesame
Cheers to the ergonomic Trudeau Wing Corkscrew. Long arms reduce the pull-up/push-down effort and hug the bottleneck to make releasing the cork easier. À votre santé! $28; www.trudeaucorp.com

Under the big top
Tins from Alessi’s new Circus collection are an irreverent take on the cookie tin and make for a fun and eco-friendly alternative to gift wrap. From $115 (set of three as shown); www.alessi.com

Plugged in
Whether they’re surfing, streaming or old-fashioned reading, your guests will stay snug under the Sunbeam Faux Fur Heated Throw. From $80; Walmart, Canadian Tire, Sears, www.costco.com, www.sunbeam.ca 

Clear the air
Amp up the feel-good with an essential oil diffuser from Saje Health and Wellness. It humidifies the air, and a drop of Peppermint Halo headache remedy may be welcome aromatherapy after the party. AromaGem in chrome; $70; saje.ca

Keep an eye out
Think of the Netatmo Welcome as part greeter, part security guard. The small tower takes a picture or video every time someone passes and sends a text to your smartphone. The software will recognize regulars to whom you can assign a name. When you get an “unidentified” alert, simply log in to your account to see whether the passerby is a friend or foe. Plus, add sensors to windows and doors for notification each time they’re opened. $219 (door and window tags, $99 for three); The Home Depot, Best Buy

Next in line, please
Download the Saeco Avanti app and send your guests’ orders via smartphone or tablet directly to your kitchen counter and the GranBaristo Avanti. Someone will need to fetch the frothy—or not—coffee concoctions (there are 18 options to choose from), but surely robot servers can’t be far off. $3,000; Hudson’s Bay, Personal Edge, Williams Sonoma

Blow out
The new Dyson Supersonic hair dryer has three times the air flow of its competitors and measures its own temperature 20 times a second to avoid heat damage—Sir James discovered just how hot is too hot as part of the dryer’s four-year development. Faster and frizz-free, your guests may never leave! $500, Hudson’s Bay

TV dinner
Samsung’s new Family Hub Refrigerator features an HD LCD screen to watch whatever’s playing on your Samsung Smart TV. It also acts as a bluetooth speaker and digital message board for sharing calendars and posting notes or photos. Even cooler, every time the door closes, the fridge uploads a shot of its contents to the Smart Home app—perfect for those, “Do we have …?” grocery store moments. $7,000; www.samsung.ca

Water world
Filtered water tastes even better with the limited edition ME to WE Brita Space Saver Pitcher. For every purchase, a person in Kenya gets clean drinking water for a year. $20; Walmart, Loblaws

Carrara cool
This marble-look model from Crock-Pot comes in two sizes and looks just as good on the sideboard as it does on the counter. $25 (2.5 qt shown); Walmart

Double up
Cooking for a crowd? With the new LG Double Oven Range, not only can you bake in one oven and roast in the other, the lower oven features convection cooking for a speedier finish. $2,600 (gas top, $2,900); www.lg.com