12 Winter Splurges That Are Worth Every Penny

Home Advice You Can Trust

Tips, tricks & ideas for a better home and yard, delivered to your inbox daily.

Email address Sign Up Thank you!

Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

It’s hard to justify spending a little extra on ourselves this time of year: It’s the holiday season and we should be shopping for others (and really, aren’t we spending too much already?). Buying extra-nice winter things for the home, however, is an investment in the people who live in it: You’re bolstering the home’s warmth and safety, and making it the place everyone wants to stay on a snow day.

We love this space heater not just because it can be set to focus heat in one spot or diffuse it around the room, but also because it has a remote control and sleep timer. If you’re in bed and freezing, it’ll keep you toasty as you drift off to sleep—and then you can zap the remote and warm up the room in the morning before you face the day again.

The best remedy to a freezing cold morning is a hot shower, and one that doesn’t skimp on vigor and coverage. We’re big fans of Grohe’s Euphoria shower head, the best overall pick on our tested guide to the best rain shower heads, which has three different spray settings and a 10-inch-wide head.

The Bearaby Cotton Napper is different from other weighted blankets you may have tried. Whereas other blankets have covers into which glass beads or plastic pellets are sewn in, the Bearaby is hand-knit from 100 percent organic cotton. It feels less like being wrapped in a full-body hug; if you’re prone to anxiety, thread your fingers and toes through the chunky loops and take a few calming breaths.

Pop your bath towel into the Keenray towel warmer before hopping into the shower, and it’s toasty warm by the time you get out: What could be more indulgent on a cold winter morning? This large-capacity warmer holds two 40-inch by 70-inch oversized towels (or robes, pajamas, if you prefer), warming up in 1 minute, reaching maximum heat in 6 minutes, and stays on for a full hour before shutting off automatically.

Like a hot plate that keeps food warm, we think a heated mattress pad is a genius idea: There are any number of blankets to top us off once we get into bed, but not enough to solutions to solve the shock of climbing between cold sheets. Beautyrest’s model has Scotchguard to repel stains, preheat and auto-shutoff modes, and two remote controls and temperature zones (on queen and king size mattress pads). What’s more, it’s UL-certified, so you know it’s safe to operate.

The Huks Bult Kisa got the nod for best felling axe in our tested guide to the best axes, but it could also win a beauty contest too: It’s Swedish, hand-forged steel with a hickory handle and comes in a leather sheath. It’s lightweight, and has a 3.25-inch cutting edge that cuts deeply into trees and branches, and can split firewood easily.

Honeywell Home’s newest smart thermostat, the X8s, doesn’t just adjust the temperatures when you’re home and away to save energy. It is also an intercom, video doorbell, and displays humidity levels. It works with heat pumps, forced air, and hot water heat, and is compatible with Apple Home, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa. Not home? Use the First Alert app to control the X8S remotely, and crank up the heat before you get back.

If you’re going to splash out on a pricey smart mug, it may as well be one of Ember’s luxe metallic editions. This golden vessel keeps beverages warmed all day when the mug is docked on the coaster, or for 90 minutes in the mug without the coaster; use the Ember app to adjust the temperature warmer or cooler, per your preference.

Protect your floors from damage with Water Hog’s heavy-duty, 90-percent recycled doormat. It can be used indoors or out, and holds a gallon of water per square yard. This is what you need front and center during snowy season—and it looks nice, too! Made in the USA.

A winter upgrade over Nicetown’s super-popular blackout curtains, these drapes are sewn with a layer of black, triple-weave material on the inside to minimize temperature, light, and sound transfer. They have silver grommets and are available in dozens of colors, so there’s sure to be a pair to match your decor perfectly.

Additional heat, realistic flames, a cozy vibe, and no cleaning out ashes or chopping firewood? A fireplace insert sounds pretty luxurious to us. This model from Masarflame can be operated at two heat levels—or no heat at all, if you just want a little flickery firelight. It even has a built-in speaker so you can hear the crackling fire.

A top performer in our tested guide to the best snow shovels, Earthwise’s cordless snow shovel is on wheels, so it’s easier to maneuver. Product tester Zach Lazzari liked “how much the wheels helped push through several accumulated inches of heavy snow. They made it very easy to get the job done with minimal lifting.”

 

All of the Latest Deals

Check out our favorite products durning the end-of-year savings bonanza! We found markdowns on power tools, portable generators, gifts, and more—and this is the last call.

SEE THE DEALS