This digital photo frame is my favorite holiday gift — and you can still get it before Christmas

This digital photo frame is my favorite holiday gift — and you can still get it before Christmas

I have a complicated relationship with gift shopping during the holiday season. I am not ashamed to admit that gift giving is my love language. Nothing gives me more personal joy this time of year than finding the perfect gift for those closest to me.

The key word is perfect. This is a double-edged sword. It can cause one to spend hours planning the gift to release serotonin and sometimes even lose one's sanity. And that's before you have ribbons and wrapping paper.

It's not often that I review a product that relieves me of the self-inflicted pressure to impress friends and family. I'm sure I'm not the only one who makes a list, throws it away, makes a new list, and checks it twice, so the Meural WiFi Photo Frame is well worth the price.

Admittedly, the Meural WiFi Photo Frame, which retails for $299, is not the most affordable option among the best digital photo frames, but it is worth wasting a penny; thanks to its 15.6-inch full HD display, this gadget does more than remember memories I've found that it shows them well.

Meural's WiFi photo frame is a more compact, photo-focused version of the museum-worthy Netgear Meural Canvas II. While the Canvas II's build is optimized to bring the art of the Louvre into the living room, the charcoal gray WiFi photo frame drops the matte framing for a more homey look.

The Meural app is a suite for creating collaborative photo albums for the frames. Any paired user can upload and decorate photos, no matter where the family is located. Meural can also access a smartphone's Photos app to automatically sync images as they are added.

Travel is limited due to health reasons, making it difficult to see loved ones near and far. Instead of shipping a one-time gift to let them know I am thinking of them during the holidays, the Meural WiFi Photo Frame is the gift that keeps on giving. Whether it's a silly selfie or a daily snapshot of my dog Steve (Steve has many fans), any photo I want the owner of the display to see can be sent with a few clicks of my phone.

The Nix and Pix-Star options are quite popular because any digital photo frame can provide this experience. However, the Meural WiFi photo frame is the one I would put under the tree because of a feature I appreciated during my testing: it is larger than the others, and the frame's anti-glare coating keeps the image crisp and clear from any angle. I also like the ability to navigate through photo albums and settings with gesture controls.

In addition to their own photos, frame users also have access to Meural's digital art collection, which includes over 30,000 works by artists old and new. Once they find a playlist or artwork they like, they can click "Send to Canvas" and it will be downloaded to their frame in seconds. I wish the art membership wasn't $70 a year, but it's a pittance compared to what it costs to actually visit art galleries around the world. In any case, though, it can't be done right now.

By purchasing a Meural WiFi photo frame from a family member of your choosing, you feel like you're investing in a unique connected experience. The zoom call stopped feeling personal a few months ago, so I'm hoping that sharing photos and opening the door to the museum will do the trick.

Now, I have to get back to gift wrapping, but I thought I'd let you know that Amazon has the Meural WiFi Photo Frame on sale for $249, $50 off. The best part? With Prime shipping, it will be where you need it to be by Christmas.

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