The holidays are a time for us to take some time off, relax, and spend time with our loved ones. However, there’s another reason we all look forward to this time of the year: the gifts! After all, it feels good to give gifts, and it certainly feels good receiving them, too. Every holiday season, it seems that there are always those big-ticket items that make it to the top of everyone’s lists, and this year’s no different. Here are some of the most popular gifts that will appeal to just about anyone this holiday season.

Amazon Echo/Google Home

The future of having a robot assistant is just about here. Amazon’s smart speaker, Amazon Echo, does everything from play music to order you pizza, all at the command of your voice. While it isn’t exactly a new invention–it came out about a year ago–it’s gotten cheaper and it’s learned how to do more stuff. And, with the Echo’s growing popularity, Google has released its own competitor, named Google Home, which has similar features but is tied to your Google services. Bottom line: get one of these devices for your tech-loving loved one.

Snapchat Spectacles

The Amazon Echo and Google Home are neat, albeit fairly practical, tech devices. The Snapchat Spectacles, on the other hand, are just plain fun. Much like Google’s ill-fated Google Glasses, the Snapchat Spectacles are a pair of glasses with a camera embedded in them, though these pairs look a lot cooler. Of course, the glasses are tied to the Snapchat platform – all you do is press your finger to the side of the glasses to start recording a 10-second video clip that’s uploaded to Snapchat. It’s way too early to say if these glasses will be a success, but they might just be the foundations of a new popular type of technology. Necessary? Not at all. Fun? Absolutely.

Monthly Subscription Box

We all have to eat, so for the holiday season, why not give the gift of culinary experimentation, or at least convenience? Monthly subscription boxes, such as Blue Apron and Home Chef, which mail their subscribers recipes and all the ingredients needed to prepare their meals, are all the rage these days. So, if you have someone in your life who’s too lazy or busy to make their own meals at home, a subscription might be exactly what they need. Of course, you need not limit your gift choice to a food-centered subscription, as there are subscription box services for pretty much everything out there, from golf to clothes to gourmet coffee.

Tickets to an Event

One of the best gifts you can give this holiday season isn’t an item at all. Rather, sometimes the best present is one that’s more ephemeral, more in the moment. If you know someone who’s particularly hard to shop for (or just doesn’t want more stuff), consider purchasing them a ticket to something that’ll take up less closet space and leave them with lifelong memories. Tickets to a concert, an architectural tour, an art film – what you get your giftee will depend entirely on their tastes. Regardless, it could be a lot more meaningful than a physical gift.

These aren’t nearly all the gifts that will be a hit this season, but they’re a good start. If you want a better idea of what will be flying off shelves, take a look at what’s trending on the popular online retailers. Or, if you’re having a particularly hard time shopping for someone, you know you could always just ask them for a little help!

As the year draws to a close, there are a lot of holidays to look forward to. One day that isn’t to be overlooked, however, is Black Friday. The day, which is boon for folks who want to do a little holiday shopping or just find a good deal, can be tough to suss out because of its vastness and popularity. So, if you’re planning on going on the hunt for a good deal this Black Friday, make sure you keep these tips in mind.

Go In With a Gameplan

Preparation, preparation, preparation. If you head out on Black Friday without much of a clear idea of what you’re looking for, you’re bound to be overwhelmed. Do yourself a favor and browse through newspaper inserts and stores’ websites to prepare for what’s going to be up for grabs. That said, there’s nothing wrong with browsing – just don’t be too upset if you miss out on a great deal because you didn’t know to look for it.

Make the Rounds

If you’re looking for deals on multiple items, you won’t necessarily find them all in one store. By doing your prep work, you should have an understanding of what’s on sale where, but you never know what could happen. For example, a store might sell out of that one product you had your mind set on, or conversely, it could offer up a deal it hadn’t previously advertised. That’s why you’ll probably want to visit one or two stores before you actually pull out your wallet.

Mind Your Budget

You’ll face a lot of temptations on Black Friday. Even though you might head into the store with a single bargain in mind, retailers will be trying their best to encourage you to buy other products they’ve marked down. In this case, a little willpower will go a long way, but you still may want to set a dollar limit for yourself. Before making any large purchases, remember to ask yourself, “Do I really need this?”

Read the Fine Print

In some cases, there’ll be more to a bargain than its sticker price. Be aware of any extra discounts you can gain from coupons you have lying around or price matching policies the store offers. And, especially if you’re planning on making a large purchase, have a good understanding of the warranty and refund policies. Some stores may not offer these on pricey stock they’re looking to offload. The last thing you want to do is drop cash on a product that breaks shortly after you buy it – good deal or not!

Wait for Cyber Monday

Over the past few years, another “holiday” of sorts has been gaining in popularity. Cyber Monday, which takes place the Monday after Black Friday, is the Internet equivalent of the super-savings day that more and more retailers are taking part in. It’s ideal if you don’t really feel like going out on Friday, since you can do all your shopping from the comfort of your couch at home. You might not find the same markdowns on the same products that you would on Black Friday, but you may find a surprise or two.

Cleaning the apartment: it’s a chore that seldom few actually enjoy doing, yet it’s a necessary evil of having a home. It’s even worse if you’re the type of person who lets things pile up for a while before suddenly realizing it’s time for a decluttering session. While nothing is going to make cleaning out-and-out fun, there are definitely a few creative tricks to make the process a little more bearable.

Race Against the Clock

Even if you don’t have a competitive streak, working on a time limit might help you work more quickly to get things done. Pick a time limit–whether it’s five minutes or an hour–and see how much you can get done in that time. Take a short breather, and then try and beat your progress in your next go-around. Hopefully, you’ll be too busy trying to top your high score to realize you’re actually getting some work done.

Get Philosophical

Decluttering your home and thinking deeply about life don’t seem to go hand-in-hand, but in this case they do. The Marie Kondo philosophy of keeping an organized home has been picking up steam for the past few years, and for many, it’s a way of keeping the home from ever getting messy again. It’s simple, too: all you have to do is ask yourself, “Does this object really make me happy?” If not, get rid of it! Remember, the less things you have around your apartment, the less likely it is that you’ll have a mess on your hands.

Enlist Some Help

Everything’s better with friends, especially the dull tedium of housework. If you’ve got a serious fiasco on your hands, consider reaching out to family or friends for a little help with the work. If Tom Sawyer was able to get his friends to paint a fence, you can get your friends to help you pick up a bit around the home. Better yet, some outsiders may be able to lend a second pair of eyes to give you some fresh perspective on your how you organize your home. Don’t forget to repay your helpers, though – pizza is the standard unit of currency for tasks like these.

Put Everything In Its Right Place

One major cause of messiness is lack of an organizational structure. Simply, if you can’t figure out a good place to put your things, they’ll just end up lost among the rest of the clutter in your apartment. So, give each object you own a home of its own, and every time you’re done with it, put it back where it belongs. It’s a no-brainer concept, but it’s easy to ignore, so use a little creativity to make sure you stick to it. For instance, you can use labels to indicate which drawer is for what, or you can even type up a list of where things should go.

Using some of these techniques, your decluttering work should go by a little easier. Hopefully, you’ll learn something new about how your apartment is organized so you can prevent future messes from occurring, too.

These days, you no longer need to jump in the car and head to the supermarket–or multiple shops–to find the product you want. The Internet has made the whole shopping process, from browsing to purchasing, that much easier. However, these benefits come with a cost. When you shop online, you face a greater risk of being taken advantage of. Whether you’re shopping online or in-person, you certainly don’t want that. Before making that big purchase, heed these online shopping tips to keep your personal information safe.

Shop With Reputable Retailers

There are a lot of shops out there, and they’re not just limited to the ones you know off the top of your head, like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. In fact, anyone with just a little website-making skill can come up with a good-looking online shop, promising those wishlist items for a low, low cost. Well, as they say, don’t trust everything you see online. If you come across a deal that’s too good to pass up, but you aren’t familiar with the website, do some research to find out if it’s as legit as its making out to be. Even if the retailer does indeed turn out to be reputable, some lesser-known sites can have awful refund policies or a poor shipping history. Buyer beware, indeed.

Keep Your Financials and Other Personal Data Safe

Just as you should think twice before doing business with a no-name online retailer, you should also take caution when giving out your financial information. Many online shops will allow you to pay through a third-party payment system, such as PayPal, but you still run the risk of not having your payment reversed if you aren’t happy with how the deal goes. Being stringent in your financial information will keep that data from getting into the wrong hands, but it isn’t just your credit card that thieves can take advantage of. Even giving your email address to an unreputable dealer can put you on a spam list that will blast you with phishing emails that might trick you into giving out the really sensitive data.

Stay Secure in Every Step of the Process

Even if you shop with only the big names, you could still be at risk of having your information stolen. Unfortunately, vulnerabilities can occur at the fault of both you and the retailer. That’s why you should take notice of every step you take to purchase a product online. When you log into your shopping account, check to see if you’ve made every effort to secure your information – that includes changing the password regularly. When logging into your account, be sure that you’re surfing the Internet on a trusted network. Your device, whether it’s a computer or smartphone, should also be as up-to-date as possible, as devices running on outdated software are more open to attacks. A little attention paid every time you boot up your computer can save you a lot of headache in the future.

More likely than not, you’re not going to fall victim to identity theft or bogus charges when shopping online. That said, these are real issues that affect many people each year, and even though it might not happen to you, there’s a small chance it could. With just a little preparation and some online smarts, you’ll continue to shop safely and happily.

You and your friends are trapped in a room, and you have an hour to find out how to escape using only the clues you can find surrounding you. No, this isn’t a strange dream, and it isn’t quite real life, either – it’s an escape room! Escape rooms are a somewhat new form of entertainment that are picking up in popularity. If you’re sick of the same old dinner and a movie routine with your friends and loved ones, here’s something that’s definitely different from what you might be used to.

How Does It Work?

At its core, an escape room is usually a single room that you and your group are locked in for an hour. Hidden away within the room are clues–pictures, letters, objects–that point to how you can get out of the room. Usually, the escape room mixes in some kind of mystery that you have to solve before you can leave, making the experience something like a mix between a murder mystery, a haunted house, and a point-and-click video game. Escape rooms have an interactive, puzzle-solving nature that relies on group teamwork and skill to work under the pressure of a ticking clock. You can probably see how that promises a much more memorable time than watching a movie or even playing a traditional game.

Themes Spice Up the Experience

The real beauty of escape rooms lie in their open-ended potential. Oftentimes, you aren’t just simply locked away in a basic room. Rather, there’s usually a theme that goes along with the central mystery. For instance, the room could take place in a remote mansion where there’s been a murder, and you and your group have to deduce the culprit. Or, you could be in the cabin of a sinking ship, tasked with finding the way out before you sink with it. The only limit is the game designer’s imagination, meaning that you and your group could be faced with some really interesting situations.

Local Opportunities

Interested? You don’t need to travel far to check out an escape room – there’s one in Toms River! Solve the Room, located off Route 37, offers up the escape room experience for all ages. Solve the Room has four different puzzles for you to figure out that range in difficulty to complete. There are some interesting themes, too. In one game, you’re tasked with performing a casino heist, while another has you finding a pirate’s missing treasure. Four puzzles is enough for a few nights of fun, but if you and your group are sharp, you might be looking for another escape room. Solve the Room is the only business in Toms River open at the moment, but East Coast Escape Room is scheduled to open sometime in the fall.

While tickets to an escape room usually cost a bit more than any other regular activity, their novelty makes the experience more than worth it. Visiting an escape room is never going to replace dinner and a movie, but even if escape rooms don’t “take off,” it’s definitely something you’ll want to try at least once.

A vacation is supposed to be a time of rest and relaxation, and that’s a feeling that’s easily broken if something happens to your apartment while you’re gone. Thankfully, keeping your home safe when you live in an apartment community is a little bit easier than if you owned a house. However, you should still take some precautions to make sure everything is in proper order during your vacation. Here are a few things you can do to keep your apartment safe while you’re away.

Stop the Mail and Notify Your Community Management

The thing to remember when leaving for a vacation is that you want everything to appear as normal and as if you never left for vacation at all. The biggest tell-tale sign that you’re not home is a pile of mail in your mailbox and flyers posted to your door. That’s why it’s best that you get in touch with your local post office and suspend your mail delivery for the duration of your trip. While that will solve most of the issue, it’s still a good idea to get in touch with your community management to notify them of your leave. Your management may have additional advice for keeping your home safe while you’re away.

Enlist Your Friends and Neighbors

Even after suspending your mail and notifying the apartment community management, it might be best to get a friend or neighbor to check in on your home on a regular basis. This could deter any potential no-gooders who see that your home is still populated. Plus, if you have pets that need to be taken care of while you’re away, you can save big money by relying on a buddy rather than leaving your furry friend at a kennel during your trip.

Install a Smart Camera

Unless you’re having a house sitter stay at your home for the duration of your trip, your apartment isn’t going to be under constant watch. For many, that’s not a big issue – after all, many spend most of the day outside their home and at work. But if you want to be extra cautious about keeping your home safe, you should consider purchasing a smart camera system. Products like Nest and Canary are fairly cheap, easy to set up, and accessible from your phone, meaning you can always check in on your home from wherever you are. Just be sure not to spend your entire vacation checking the feeds!

Keep Valuables Secret and Safe

It’s unpleasant to think about, but despite your best preparation, your home might be broken into. So, if worse comes to worst, you’ll want your valuables kept safe… perhaps in a literal safe. Home safes come in a variety of shapes and sizes for whatever valuable possessions you want to keep secure, such as cash, jewelry, and family mementos. It’s important to remember, however, that a home safe isn’t the end-all-be-all protective measure. Your irreplaceable things would be better kept with a trusted friend or in a deposit box at your bank.

More likely than not, your apartment is going to be safe throughout your travels and just as you left it when you return. However, for those very slight chances in which something could wrong, the little effort required is more than worth it. Just a little work before you leave could be all the difference in keeping your home secure.

Another year, another batch of new phones. While Apple usually limits their releases to once or twice a year, their most recent phones, this year’s iPhone SE and last year’s iPhone 6S and Plus 6S, were minor updates of the phone released in 2014. Apple has yet to release any information about the upcoming phone, so it’s tough to say what exactly to expect. But if any of the rumors circulating around are true, you might want to wait another year until upgrading. In any case, here’s what we know (or think we know) about the upcoming Apple phone.

The Expected Design: Out With the Old, In With the Old

If you’re a fan of the iPhone 6 and 6S form factor, you’re in luck – Apple isn’t expected to change much of the phone’s outward appearance. Expect to see screen and bezel sizes stay the same, though with redesigned antenna lines, these lines rounding off the top and bottom of the back of the phone rather than taking up as much space as on the current iPhone. There’s also been talk of the camera bump on the back of the phone being a little smaller. Finally, there might be a new color, either blue or black, for you to choose for your phone.

A New Camera (or Cameras)

While the outward changes might seem a little lackluster, there’s one thing we’re almost certain will change: the camera. The iPhone 6’s camera is certainly nothing to balk at, but there’s still a chance that we could see it upgraded further with technologies that have come about in the past years. But despite higher resolution photos and videos with better framerates, there’s one major change that might be coming to the new phone: dual cameras. If the rumors are true and the new devices ship with two cameras on board, you can expect better overall picture and video performance, especially in the dark.

No More Headphone Jack?

Among the larger changes rumored to happen might not exactly be a welcome one. The iPhone 7 might be waving goodbye to the headphone jack, instead requiring users to plug in via the Lightning Port at the bottom of the phone. The reasoning behind this is that it could accommodate a thinner overall phone size and make the device more waterproof. The new design could even incorporate some noise-cancelling technology. While removing the headphone jack, one of the most ubiquitous ports on all devices, might be inconvenient, don’t go throwing away your earbuds just yet. If Apple goes through with the change, it’s expected that they’ll provide adapters to allow you to hook your current headphones up to the phone.

And that’s about all we know right now. So, are these updates enough to convince you to make the switch, or will you be holding off for the next version? Whether or not the jump is really worth it is something we won’t know for sure until early September, when Apple is rumored to announce the new model.

Dolphins, with their intelligence and at times almost human-like behavior, are among the most enigmatic water-based animals. These amazing creatures, however, aren’t just found in remote, far-off places. In fact, they’re a lot closer than you may think. Each year, countless number of dolphins make the waters of New Jersey their home, both close to shore and in the deeper waters. This is why dolphins like the New Jersey waters so much – and how you can see them for yourself.

Where, When, and Why the Dolphins Call NJ Home

The New Jersey oceanfront is the habitat for a few species of bottlenose dolphin, particularly in the spring, where they find the water temperature to be perfect. It’s worth remembering that dolphins are warm-blooded mammals, meaning that they’re affected by the changes in environment, just like we are. While some groups of the dolphins stick around for the winter, many make their way south to the Carolinas, where the water is a bit warmer and friendlier. When migrating, the dolphins tend to travel together in large groups, meaning that if you’re lucky and you happen to be out on the water, you could see hundreds of dolphins travelling together. If you’re on shore, you’re more likely to see only a few who are hunting for dinner.

It’s Not Just Dolphins in the Water

Naturally, dolphins aren’t the only animals to be found close to the shores of New Jersey. In fact, if you see a fin floating around in the water, it could belong to a shark! There are quite a few species of shark that are native to New Jersey, including the brown shark and sand shark, which feed on the dolphins that have made their home offshore. Hey, a shark’s gotta eat, too. Don’t be too worried if you happen to catch sight of one of these predators, however. Unlike Jaws, they’re not known to attack humans. Along with sharks, you could also be fortunate enough to see humpback whales, which grow to be up to 40 tons.

Check Them Out Yourself

If you want to see some dolphins, you could spend some time reading first-hand accounts and watching YouTube videos. But what’s better than seeing them up close and personal yourself? You can easily see the oceanic wildlife of New Jersey with your own eyes, but while you may get a glimpse of them from the shore, you’ll be much better off with a boat. Thankfully, there are a few services that provide tours for dolphin spotting. Atlantic City Cruises, based out of the Atlantic City Aquarium, offers dolphin watching cruises during the spring, summer, and fall. And a bit farther way, groups like Cape May Whale Watcher and Silver Boat Tours offer similar services.

Of course, you don’t need to travel far or pay for a cruise to see some dolphins. If you’d rather see them for yourself, just make your way out to the coast. However, you’ll want to bring some binoculars and a little bit of patience. And if you can’t spot any, hey, you can always try the aquarium!

Living in an apartment community, it can be quite easy to shut yourself in and pay little attention to your surroundings. However, doing so keeps you from one of the best resources you gain when living in a community: your neighbors. From the social conveniences to the safety advantages, there are many benefits to making friends with your neighbors.

New Friends to Do Things With

No matter how much you might like your alone time, humans are social animals and it’s healthy for us to socialize. It’s nice to have friends–especially ones nearby–who you can just hang out with and have conversations with. And if you’ve got a problem at work or some great news to share, you have someone near you that you can trust to give you advice or share in your happiness.

Plus, having friends nearby can get you out and living more actively. Perhaps you could start a daily exercise group with you and a few neighbors going for a walk or hitting the fitness center. Or, during the summer, you can have some friends to have a cookout with or laze by the pool with.

Help When You’re Not Home

One of the greatest benefits of becoming friends with your neighbors occurs when you’re not even home. When you live in a place with a strong sense of community, the people in that community are more likely to look out for one another. So, when you’re on vacation or just out of town for the weekend, perhaps you can rely on a neighbor to help water the plants, feed the pets, or watch the kids while you’re away.

In addition, while it might not be pleasant to think about, neighbors can also help keep your community, and your home specifically, safe. Even if your community doesn’t necessarily need a neighborhood watch, having just one neighbor in the right place at the right time can help prevent potential thieves or other emergencies. While something harmful isn’t likely to happen, it’s always best to be safe.

Help When You Are Home

There’s no shame in relying on others for help, and in most cases, your neighbors will be happy to help you in times of need. Even when those times of need are slight–maybe you need to borrow a tool or a crucial ingredient without heading to the store–having someone nearby who cares for you can take the burden off your shoulders.  

The help a neighbor can provide doesn’t necessarily need to be tangible. Good neighbors can also be a source of information, especially if you’re new to town and unfamiliar with local services. If you need a new dentist or just a tip for a new place to visit during the coming weekend, your neighbors can be a fantastic source of information. Maybe they can even provide you company when you check out that new restaurant!

There’s no question that, sometimes, your neighbors can be somewhat of a nuisance. But despite their playing music a little too loudly or taking the best parking spots, their potential benefits far outweigh the negatives. The next time you see your fellow community member passing by, be sure to say hello!

It’s nice to have a getaway every once in a while, but if your regular getaway spots are starting to get a little stale, it’s time to look for a new place to visit. You can only head to the beach so many times, right? Thankfully, there are plenty of places in the tri-state area that are worth packing up and visiting for the weekend, whether you need a quiet place to relax or some exciting activities to keep everyone occupied. If you’re not sure where to visit, check out these weekend getaways for some ideas.

Indulge Your Sweet Tooth in Hershey, PA

If you plan on bringing children on your trip, good luck trying to get them excited about a peaceful weekend in the woods. If you need a more activity-packed weekend, consider heading to Hershey, PA. The “Sweetest Place on Earth” is just about three hours from Toms River, and it’s sure to be a trip that the whole family can get behind. The good news: there’s a ton to do in Hershey. The bad news: there’s no way you’ll get to everything in just one weekend. From the city’s amusement park, Hersheypark, to the chocolate tours at Chocolate World (with a free sample!), there’s a lot to love here. Hershey loves chocolate so much, you can even sign up for a chocolate spa package!

Go on an Adventure in the Delaware Wilderness

If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, you understand that getting back to basics can be a great way to recharge the batteries. That said, simply walking a trail can sometimes feel a little aimless, and while there might be some great sights, there’s usually little more to it than putting one foot in front of the other. Make your nature getaway a little more interesting by hiking through the Delaware Geocaching Trail. Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which you’re given GPS coordinates, and using your phone or GPS system, you’re tasked with finding hidden treasures scattered throughout the state. While you probably won’t have time to find all of the sixty-plus geocache locations, it’ll be a great excuse to see all Delaware has to offer.

Take a Relaxing Float on Lake Hopatcong

New Jersey is well-known for its Jersey Shore and miles of oceanside beach, but what about the shore’s freshwater sibling, Lake Hopcatcong? The largest lake in New Jersey, Hopcatcong offers a watery getaway with some options you won’t find on the coast. You can easily book a cruise that takes you around the four miles of water, or, if you’re feeling more industrious, rent your own pontoon boat for the weekend. Besides spending some lazy hours on the lake, you can also pass the time by grabbing a bite to eat at one of the many lakeside bars and restaurants.

Of course, these aren’t the only places worth visiting in the tri-state area, and what works best for you and your family will depend on what you’re looking to get out of your weekend. Whatever it is that you’re aiming for, check out sites like Airbnb for good deals that you won’t find from the big hotels. If you choose to save a little money at the expense of pampering yourself, just don’t expect any chocolate massages!