This year finds us in a much different place than last year. Instead of hunkering down for a chilly, lonely winter, we’re flinging aside our face masks and getting ready to return to the outside world. However, if you’re having friends over for the first time in almost two years, you might still need help vacuuming the living room carpet. Or maybe you’re styling your hair to appear in public for the first time in a loooong time and have forgotten how to do it! If that’s the case, we can help! We perused all of Amazon’s deals to find the best ones for you, your kids, and your dusty corners and kitchen counters.
Note: We strike through items that sell out or rise in price as of publishing. We also mark the discount based on recent product pricing or the average price, not MSRP. We will update this article, but discounts sometimes return quickly, so be sure to check for yourself. Our picks come from our team’s experiences reviewing products and research. You’ll need an Amazon Prime subscription to get most of these deals.
Table of Contents
Zojirushi’s rice cookers have a microcomputer (or “micom,” to use the Japanese portmanteau) that makes minute adjustments to avoid burned spots and soggy bits, whether you’re making white rice, brown rice, oatmeal, or steaming vegetables. This is probably the deal that I (Adrienne) will end up buying myself.
Is it even Prime Day without an Instant Pot deal? Lots of Instant gadgetry is on sale, including its first-ever air purifier, but this is the Instant Pot that I (Adrienne) use almost every week, years after purchase. You can also turn it into an air fryer with a lid attachment.
If you’re a sparkling water fan, you can also reduce the number of single-use bottles that you use with this slim countertop carbonator. Just add your own flavorings and push the button on top to add the appropriate amount of fizz.
This is perennially one of our favorite travel mugs. It’s attractive, durable, compact, comes in a variety of colors, and keeps coffee hot for hours (I have to let my coffee cool a little bit before sealing it).
If you’re trying to reduce your plastic waste, we’ve recommended these reusable bags for years. I particularly like that they don’t need an extra attachment to seal the bag, so you can throw them in the dishwasher and put them away without looking for another part.
Keurigs aren’t the most sophisticated coffee maker that we’ve tried, but they’re extremely convenient, compact, and reliable. You can also use refillable pods if the waste bothers you.
A gleaming array of All-Clad pans is a worthy wedding registry addition. But for most of us, sturdy non-stick cookware can be had for a much cheaper price. I (Adrienne) own several pots and pans from this set, and they’re sturdy, don’t stick, and heat evenly. What more can you ask of a pan?
A Le Creuset is also a worthy purchase but my cast-iron Lodge pans have lasted just as long and require equally little maintenance. 6 quarts is big enough to make stew for a family dinner and it also comes in a wide range of colors.
Since Amazon bought Eero, it has dropped the price on it during deals holidays, along with Kindles and other Amazon devices. However, that means this is still a good time to pick up a Wi-Fi extender if you recently moved to a bigger property, and Amazon promises they won’t spy on you.
We love the simplicity of the slim, simple Blueair 211 purifiers. They don’t take up a lot of floor space and are whisper-quiet, which makes them ideal for a bedroom.
If the floors of your house get serious wear and tear from multiple pets or small people, this all-in-one vacuum and steam cleaner is an affordable way to clean carpet, rug, and hardwood quickly and easily. I (Adrienne) own the larger version of this steam-vac and use it when my preschoolers have gotten the carpet mysteriously funky.
This is the lowest price ever for this robot vacuum. It’s in our Best Robot Vacuums guide, and you can read more about it in our review, but if you have a pet, it’s great. It has powerful suction and has cameras that can identify and avoid obstacles (even pet poop). Our top pick, the Roborock S4 Max, is also on sale for $120 off.
I (Adrienne) test a new robot vacuum every month and I am continually shocked at how iRobot Roombas remain one of the best-performing models for the money. I’ve tested several Roombas in the 690 series and this is the best price you’ll find for one outside of Black Friday or other holiday sales.
The August smart locks fluctuate in price a lot and drop to this price during big sales, but this is the lowest price that we usually see. These Yves Béhar-designed locks install in minutes, use your deadbolt, and work with Siri and HomeKit.
Ecobee’s smart thermostat is also still my favorite smart thermostat. Extra sensors pick up the temperature in different parts of your house and adjust your HVAC system accordingly so that you never lunge out of bed, sweating, in the middle of the night or find your fingers turning to icicles in your office.
The price on the Ecobee camera is about $10 less than previously-seen deals on the ‘net, though this camera has been on sale for $80 a few times this year. This is a useful camera to choose if you like Ecobee’s smart thermostat or whole-home system.
Many people, including us, find Wi-Fi-enabled security cameras to be immensely useful. On the other hand, it’s hard to find a brand that we trust that hasn’t had a security breach or doesn’t share info with law enforcement. In our testing, we’ve found Arlo cameras to be reliable and the picture crisp. An outdoor floodlight adds an extra layer of deterrent to would-be yard invaders.
Even with the advent of AirTags, Tile is still one of our favorite trackers to find all your stuff. This two-pack comes with both a Pro and a Slim tile. The Pro attaches to your keys and the Slim slides in your wallet, making it a perfect one-two combo for your three-point check before you walk out the door.
A lot of Legos are on sale, so it was hard to pick just one. We like the A-Wing because, as we all know, it’s extremely fast and maneuverable though difficult to pilot and too small to fit an astromech droid behind the cockpit (we watch a little too much Star Wars here). This set is currently $5 cheaper than the lowest price it’s ever been, and will appeal to kids and adults alike.
This is also a very exciting deal, as this enormous Magna-Tiles set has never been this cheap. I (Adrienne) never quite understood the appeal of Magna-Tiles until I had preschoolers myself and saw them making everything from multi-level castles to ice cream cones and drum sets.
The price is $78 until checkout, which is a good discount, but if you click the 5 percent off coupon button, it drops a bit further. Even our most cynical Gear Team parents love the Osmo sets for taking activities off the screen and into the physical world. There are a bunch of Osmo sets on sale, but this is a good one to try if you haven’t used them yet (you’ll also need an iPad that runs a minimum of iOS 10).
If you have long-distance, tech-phobic family, a digital picture frame is the best way to feel connected and stay in touch—much less complicated than telling your grandmother how to operate a tablet. We have several more picks in our roundup of the Best Digital Picture Frames.
If your kids are starting to venture into the wilds, this is a great price for a starter explorer kit. It comes with binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a butterfly net for catching any creepy-crawlies around your house. The $2 discount here is pretty sad, but the kit should still make kids very happy.
We generally prefer RF baby monitors over WiFi-enabled ones, but there’s no denying that being able to check in on your kid from anywhere, and being able to pan and tilt the camera, is immensely useful. This is a much cheaper Wi-Fi-enabled alternative to our top pan-and-tilt pick, the Eufy Spaceview.
This K’Nex set comes with battery-powered motors suitable for putting together Ferris wheels, cars, and maybe even a drone if you or your child has the nerve. It comes in a convenient suitcase box and is probably best suited for older kids.
The kid version of the Echo Dot includes a year of Amazon Kids+, which remains my favorite content platform for younger kids. It also sounds great and has a two-year worry-free guarantee, in addition to a variety of cute spherical faces. I use one to set alarms for my kids in the morning, to check the weather as we’re getting dressed, and to tell stories during quiet time.
Cubcoats makes some of our favorite face masks for kids. These are big on smaller kids, but my daughter is now 6 and they fit reasonably well.
FridaBaby has made waves for making cute, cheeky baby and postpartum recovery kits that are indispensable for new parents. This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen on this postpartum kit for new moms, which includes everything you need for the first critical few weeks after birth.
Because my children are now preschoolers, I (Adrienne) already own everything in this kit. However, I may order it again for replacements. The Snotsucker is a necessary tool for de-snotting toddlers with a cold and you can never have too many tiny nail clippers.
These sets usually only go on sale once or twice a year. My (Adrienne’s) children own a smaller version. If I never hear “Marble ruuuuun!” ever again, I would be happy, but they would be extremely sad. It’s endlessly entertaining and teaches them about gravity, in that marbles go down but also run all over the floor and under my feet.
My family has gone through so much Play-Doh during the Covid-19 pandemic. This set comes with 12 colors and 47 (47!) different types of modeling tools.
Bathroom and Personal Care Deals
The price on this smart scale drops frequently, but never quite this low. Of the smart scales that we’ve tried, this one can be a bit finicky since it doesn’t have exposed electrodes. But we like that you can recharge it via Mini USB and Withings’ app and suite of health care tools are very simple.
I (Adrienne) wouldn’t say that I liked the Halo, and you may not either, but it is also the only fitness tracker that I’ve ever used that purports to track emotions. As I discovered, it can be a useful tool if you’ve found yourself squabbling with your spouse after a stressful year.
The price on 23andMe’s genetic test kits drops numerous times each year, but at 50 percent off, we still think this is a great deal. Just do your best to make sure you have as few skeletons in the closet as possible before you send in your test.
The prices on Fitbit’s more affordable trackers also drops pretty regularly, but not predictably. If you’ve been looking for an affordable fitness tracker to jumpstart a new exercise habit, I (Adrienne) like the Inspire’s small size a lot and Fitbit still has the best user interface for beginners. The Sense is on sale as well.
$150 seems like a lot for a toothbrush, until you get used to using one and your teeth feel vaguely grotty without it. This brush is attractive and effective, even if the app and its smart features leave something to be desired. This is also the lowest price we’ve seen on the DiamondClean for years.
Most people have heard of the cult-favorite Revlon One-Step for drying and styling your hair, but Hot Tools makes a version with a detachable top that can work with a variety of attachments. I like the round brush here, but you can also buy the volumizer or paddle brush separately.
If you’d like to check more deals yourself, here are some links to sales going on this week.
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