Hot Gift Pick: Thinking Inside the Box

It’s sacrilege to do anything about Christmas, Chanukah or any other gift-giving holiday before Thanksgiving. Putting up Christmas lights or buying a tree, for example, before the last hunk of turkey is gone from the fridge is a crime against nature.

But planning for those holidays is fine—at least by my rules. Why? I hate shopping. That means I plan out what to buy for friends and family to minimize the miserable experience of slogging through stores to find gifts.

So in the spirit of keeping you out of the mall and preserving your sanity, I offer the following gift suggestion for the performance-boat owner in your life: a propeller box from Hering Propellers.

OK, I know a propeller box, even a fancy Hering one made of high-impact polyethylene isn’t sexy. But at $175, it’s reasonable by go-fast boat accessory standards. Plus, it’s whole a lot cheaper than replacing a $2,000 prop damaged because it wasn’t properly protected.

And you can order a Hering propeller box, which can handle a prop up to 18 inches in diameter, directly from the company. That means you don’t even have to get near a store.