Well, it’s that time of year again. What? You say you wait until the last minute to buy your Xmas gifts too? You procrastinator.

Ok, just in case you’re one of the 5 people who shop early - what about this sleek electric kettle from Proctor Silex? I used to have one of these in the dorms, and it’d probably make a great gift for a starving college student to boil up water for tea or ramen. The kettle clocks in at 1 quart capacity and 1000 watts for power. The heating element is actually the type that is not enclosed in the base, so that you need to make sure to immerse it in enough water - although the device does have a “boil-dry” safeguard to auto-shut off in case you forget about it.

It measures about 9 inches tall and sure looks more sleek and modern than the one I used to have at the dorms. I think one of the best things about this water boiler may be that the cord actually detaches from the body. The one I had didn’t detach and the cord was fused into the base of the device. I have seen some complaints about the reliableness of spout lid - apparently it can be a little difficult to close. But otherwise looks like a great no-mess, simple device to have handy at college or in an office.