Gift ideas for everyone with a phone: accessories that actually get used

Everyone has a phone, so everyone can use a good accessory. Still, it’s an easy gift to get wrong: a case in the wrong size, a charger they already have, a gadget that ends up in a drawer after a week. That’s why I went through my colleagues’ tips in the shop and looked at which accessories we see most often at the counter.

I’m Job from ThePhoneLab. Below you’ll find our gift ideas for Sinterklaas and Christmas, and just as well for a birthday, sorted by person instead of by product. Because the best gift is the accessory someone uses every day. And because all accessories are 3 for 2, online and in our stores, you buy three gifts for the price of two.

In this blog, we discuss:

1. For the one whose battery is always empty
2. For the one who keeps dropping or losing their phone
3. For the traveller, the commuter and the cyclist
4. For music, calls and working from home
5. For the Apple Watch wearer and the photographer
6. Smart gifting: 3 for 2, the Protection Kit and pick-up in store

For the one whose battery is always empty

The most welcome gift is a solution to the most common complaint: a phone that’s already empty by the afternoon. A power bank or a good charger gets used every day and rarely raises the question of whether it fits, as long as you choose the right type.

• MagSafe power bank: clicks onto the back of an iPhone with MagSafe (iPhone 12 or newer, except the 16e) and charges without a cable. The 5,000 mAh fits in a coat pocket, the 10,000 mAh lasts a long day. For a Samsung or an iPhone without MagSafe, choose the 10,000 mAh with USB-C and USB-A. Which one to choose, you can read in my blog about the right power bank.
• 3-in-1 MagSafe charger: charge iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time on the bedside table, and foldable for the travel bag. This is the gift I give most often myself: after a week, you won’t want to be without it at home.
• 20W fast charger with a good cable: boring, but anyone still charging with the old white block notices the difference straight away. Choose a USB-C cable for an iPhone 15 or newer, and a Lightning cable for older iPhones.

See everything for charging in the shop.

3-in-1 MagSafe charger

The gift I give most often myself: iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time, and foldable for travelling.

Shop the 3-in-1 charger

3 for 2 tip: a MagSafe power bank for your sister, a 20W fast charger for your dad and a USB-C cable for yourself. Three gifts, you pay for two.

For the one who keeps dropping or losing their phone

For the clumsy one or the scatterbrain in the family, protection is the best gift, and it doesn’t have to be boring. My colleague Boris, the founder of ThePhoneLab, puts it like this in his tip in the shop: “ThePhoneLab started with my own broken screen. Since then I’ve seen thousands of them, and for most a case or a screen protector would have made the difference.”

• Case plus screen protector: the gift that can prevent a repair. If you know the model, choose it at the top of the page in the shop and you’ll only see what fits. Which case really protects, you can read in my blog about cases, and which screen protector in the one about glass, film and privacy.
• Phone strap: cross-body for festivals and cycling, or around the wrist so it never drops. In braided fabric, leather, chain or pearls. Fits almost any case with the included strip; long or wrist, you choose in my blog about phone straps.
• Finger grip or MagSafe ring holder: one-handed grip and a stand for videos. The MagSafe version clicks on and off without leaving marks.
• MagSafe card holder: three cards on the back of the iPhone, in black, blue and light blue, for the one who keeps losing their wallet.
• MiniTag: a small tracker for keys, bag or bike that you find again via Find My on the iPhone. iOS only, so not for Android users.

Swanky Swirl phone strap

Cross-body, adjustable and with a carabiner clip. Fits almost any case with the included strip. In lots of colours.

Shop the phone straps

3 for 2 tip: a phone strap, a MagSafe card holder and a finger grip for three different people. The cheapest one is free, so you’re actually giving the smallest gift away.

For the traveller, the commuter and the cyclist

Anyone who’s on the move a lot wants different things: lasting a long time, hands free and no tangle of cables in the bag. A big power bank keeps phone and tablet going for a whole trip, a holder keeps the phone in view in the car or on the handlebars and out of your hand, and a sleeve protects the laptop in the backpack. These are the four I recommend most often:

1. 20,000 mAh power bank: four ports, a display and enough capacity to also top up a tablet or a light laptop. Allowed in hand luggage (not in the hold).
2. MagSafe car mount: click it in place with one hand and navigate; the air vent version also charges wirelessly on the road. Which holder fits which car, you can read in my blog about phone holders.
3. Bike holder: universal handlebar clamp with rubber against scratches, for anyone who navigates on a bike or e-bike.
4. Laptop sleeve: a sturdy case for a MacBook or laptop in 13/14 or 15/16 inch, for the commuter with a backpack. See the workplace accessories.

20,000 mAh power bank

Four ports and a display, enough for a phone, a tablet or a light laptop. Allowed in hand luggage.

Shop the 20,000 mAh power bank

3 for 2 tip: a car mount for the commuter, a bike holder for the student and a 20,000 mAh power bank for the traveller: three gifts, you pay for two.

For music, calls and working from home

Earbuds, headphones or a speaker: the gift that gets unwrapped and switched on the same day. All three from our audio collection work with iPhone and Android; the difference is where you use them. Here they are:

• EarPods Pro with noise cancelling: wireless earbuds for the train, with a transparency mode for when you do want to hear what’s around you, in a charging case with USB-C and a display that shows the battery percentage.
• Bluetooth headphones with noise cancelling: over your ears, foldable, for the plane and long train journeys. In black, blue and starlight.
• Bluetooth speaker: for the kitchen, the balcony or the campsite.

For someone who works from home a lot, a wireless keyboard and mouse, or a laptop stand, is a gift their neck and back will thank you for.

EarPods Pro with noise cancelling

Wireless, with a transparency mode and a charging case with a display for the battery percentage. Works with iPhone and Android.

Shop the EarPods Pro

3 for 2 tip: EarPods Pro for the train commuter, headphones for the home worker and a speaker for the whole family. You pay for two of the three.

For the Apple Watch wearer and the photographer

For the Watch wearer and the photographer, you don’t need to spend big: a band or a magnetic mirror makes more of an impression than you’d think. An Apple Watch wearer never has enough bands, and for someone who’s always taking photos, the magnetic selfie accessories are a gift that clicks straight onto the phone.

• Silicone sport band or stainless steel band: for sport or a night out, in six colours. Check the size of the Watch and, for the sport band, the wrist size (S/M or M/L); how that works, you can read in my blog about Apple Watch bands and sizes.
• Tripod selfie stick: with a remote control, and it also works as a tripod.
• Ring light: magnetic, with three colour temperatures, for videos and video calls.
• MagMir: a small mirror that lets you take selfies with the sharp rear camera.
• Camera protector: the small piece of tempered glass that protects the lenses of a new iPhone against scratches.

Stainless steel band for Apple Watch

Finely woven steel with a magnetic clasp, no wrist size to choose. More jewellery than sports gear.

Shop the Apple Watch bands

3 for 2 tip: two Apple Watch bands, a sport band and a stainless steel band, plus a MagMir for the photographer in the family. The cheapest of the three is free.

Smart gifting: 3 for 2, the Protection Kit and pick-up in store

All accessories are 3 for 2, online and in our stores: buy three accessories together and you pay for two, the cheapest one is free. That goes for every combination, so a strap, a grip and a card holder count just as much as a case with two screen protectors, and the three gifts can be for three different people.

3 for 2 on all accessoriesOnline and in our stores. Mix & match: combine whatever you like, the cheapest one is free.

Want to give protection and know the model? Then take a look at The Protection Kit: case, screen protector and camera protector for that one device. There too, the cheapest of the three is free.

You always pick up the ThePhoneLab Skin in store, because we cut it to size there; if you want to give it as a gift, take the recipient along to the store and we’ll apply it on the spot.

Four tips to make sure you get it right:

1. Know which model the recipient has. Ask discreetly or look at the back of the box. How to look up the exact model, you’ll see per device on our page about which device you have. Then choose that device at the top of the page in the shop, and you’ll only see what fits.
2. Not sure about the model? Then choose something universal: a power bank with USB ports, a strap, earbuds or a speaker always fit; with a charger, all you need to pick is the right cable (USB-C or Lightning).
3. Order in time, or pick up in store. Order before 19:00 and the gift drops through the letterbox the next working day. Prefer to pick it up yourself? At checkout, choose the store near you.
4. Guessed wrong? Unused and in its packaging, it can be returned within 14 days; earbuds and screen protectors only unopened, so keep that packaging closed until you’re sure.

See all accessories in the shop or drop in at a store near you: our specialists will help you choose, and if the recipient is there, we’ll apply the screen protector straight away for free.

About ThePhoneLab

For more than ten years, ThePhoneLab has been repairing phones, tablets and laptops, every day, throughout the Netherlands. Every repair starts with an honest diagnosis, no cure no pay, and then you choose what suits you: original parts or a more affordable alternative from our own brand, for every budget. Because repairing is almost always smarter than replacing, for your wallet and for the planet. No wonder customers give us a 9.5, in tens of thousands of reviews.

View all repairs or find a store near you.