Sometimes cold snaps catch you by surprise, and to stay warm, you find yourself trudging around your house in two sweaters, your husband's bathrobe, and a peculiar 18th-century French-Canadian fur trapper hat you found on the floor of the closet. It is in moments like this that it might occur to you that there has to be a better way to stay warm.
Here are some smart products to help keep you and your loved ones toasty this winter.
(Editor's note: The Week has affiliate partnerships with certain retailers and may get a share of the revenue from your purchase.)
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Stepping out of your warm morning shower into the frigid reality of a winter morning is one of the worst feelings in the world, like being yanked daily from the womb. But now, with what might be the finest bathroom innovation since the s-bend, this harsh inevitability of your morning routine can be ended. The Tornado Body Dryer works on the same concept as a washroom hand dryer. It's installed inside your shower, and "contains over 200 air openings that gently and effectively create a blanket of swirling warm air to envelope and dry your entire body — front, sides, and back — no matter which way you stand or sit and face." You don't need to leave that bathroom until you're truly warm — and blow dried to perfection. Buy it at Amazon.
It's that little wad of blanket that you draw up under your arm, close to your neck, that makes you feel the most toasty and cozy. Around your neck, after all, is where most of your blanket's heat will escape once you fall asleep. BundleCore aims to keep that from happening. It's a pillowcase that comes with its own snuggle wads that will stay in place and protect your neck line even after you've fallen asleep. It comes in two weights, for cooler and lighter weather. Buy it at Amazon.
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It's so simple, and yet so beautiful. Just a tiny little 17-watt "hot plate," perfect to hold most coffee cups. It fits smoothly in your cubicle or at your desk, where you can take your time with that 24-ounce, two-pump vanilla skinny mocha latte you paid $9 for (as long as you pour it into glass or ceramic; paper and plastic containers are not recommended). Same with tea, cocoa, or any drink you have ever felt pressured to gulp down before it hits "tepid." Buy it at Amazon.
You can't get cozier than warm fireplace embers. And if you can get them without having to chop and haul lumber, and with a reasonable guarantee that they won't burn up anything they aren't supposed to, well that's a heck of a bonus! That's what you get with the Crane Fireplace Heater. It is adjustable, heats large spaces, runs quiet, stays cool to the touch, and floods any room with that fuzzy warm feeling. Buy it at Amazon.
It's not unusual for a modern-day adventurer to bed down for the night in chilly quarters. The Handy Heater Plug In has the look and feel of a night light, plugging directly into any outlet, but pulls 2.75 amps and has heat settings between 60 and 90 degrees. A safety feature automatically shuts the device off every 12 hours to be manually restarted, but that's long enough for a good night's sleep on even the coldest of borrowed couches. Buy it at Amazon.
The Sunbeam Heated Wrap is not a blanket, a scarf, or a robe. The dimensions and fit of the wrap (25" x 57") allows for more coverage than a scarf and far more movement and function than a blanket or robe. You can't run marathons in the Chill-Away, but most domestic and desk work is easy to tackle. This is the ideal gift for the office mate who is always a little colder than everyone else, or the senior whose back and shoulders could use a little extra protection. The wrap is electric, with an approximately 80-inch cord to allow reasonable mobility. Buy it at Amazon.
