Review: PrankPack gag gift boxes by 30 Watt

We live in an age of such advancing technology, and such a taste for the absurd, that products like slippers with built in speakers and coffee mugs which double as walkie talkies sound like the might even be real products – just not a the kind of products you’d be hoping to receive as a holiday gift. That’s what makes the PrankPack gift boxes from 30 Watt so much fun. Take your real gift, stuff it inside one of these fake product boxes, and watch your loved ones struggle to find something nice to say when they think you’ve just given them something called the CribDribbler or the FamilyBlankeez, before opening it and finding you’ve placed something thoughtful inside instead.

Some of the many prank boxes available are more realistic sounding than others. For instance, some people might be excited to think they’ve been given a product which mounts their iPad to their steering wheel so they can watch video on it while sitting at red lights, even though I’m fairly certain that wouldn’t be legal in most states. Fewer people would be excited to receive a a contraption which makes coffee out of shower water. Then again, what pet owner wouldn’t want a product which automatically pets their cat or dog while they’re away? Or for that matter, a motorized rolling pin.

The catch here is that the boxes only come in one size, twelve inches by nine inches by four inches, so any real gift you place inside will need to fit those dimensions. And the recipients are likely only going to smile in the end if the real gift ends up being more appealing than the fake one you teased them with. If you know a hardcore gamer who would love the idea of a “Hydrating Game Controller” but all you’ve included inside the fake box is an ugly sweater, the prank might not have the effect intended. And in any case, you need to be giving the gift in person, and not through the mail, if you want to be there to see the look on the recipient’s face.

But these PrankPack boxes are fun. And there are enough of them that you can fine tune the prank to the sensibilities of each recipient, whether it be a golf fan, or a beer lover, or a kid who doesn’t like chores. Just make sure your recipient eventually figures out that there’s a less asinine gift inside the box, lest they unwittingly leave that shiny new iPad mini you bought them sitting on a closet shelf for a year because they mistakenly thought it was a fishing net that doubles as a hat and never bothered to open it.

Price: $8 each • prankpack.com