This device is the one thing I’m making sure I pack for Christmas

Christmas is a time of joy, of wonder, a time for celebration, festive spirit, and seeing family members you haven’t seen all year.

It’s also a time of stress, hard work, and remembering exactly why you avoid seeing those family members for most of the year.

If you’re staying in your house, you might be entertaining people and looking after them. Or if you’re visiting someone else, well, that’s time spent away from your usual place of comfort, and can be just as bad.

In short, while Christmas can be a lot of fun, it’s a tough time for everyone. Which is why I always make sure I have one gadget on me at all times to provide a good distraction and reduce my stress level.

That gadget is my e-reader, the Kobo Clara Colour​​​​​​. If Christmas is a stressful time for you, too, I recommend keeping an e-reader with you. Here’s why.

Distractions, but gentler

The first question on your mind may be “why an e-reader?” Why not my phone? After all, my phone has an awful lot more on it to distract me.

Or, what about a portable gaming console like a Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch 2, or even a retro gaming handheld?

In short, it’s about picking a distraction that works best for the situation I’m in.

Settling onto the sofa and visiting The Lands Between isn’t a good distraction while you’re surrounded by people. You could be a sliver away from beating That Boss when your grandma suddenly asks you a question.

You can’t just ignore her, but, well, she doesn’t know how important this is! Your focus is shattered, and you die. Again. You’re annoyed now, and everyone knows it.

You don’t need those negative waves. It’s far easier to look up from a paragraph of text than it is to dredge yourself out of a video game.

While books have epic moments you don’t want to miss, it’s not a (virtual) life or death situation in the same way.

Be kinder to yourself; Christmas is stressful enough already. Choose a gentler distraction.

If my aunt suddenly asks me a question, or a panicked shout from the kitchen needs my help, I can put down my e-reader and walk away.

I don’t even need to worry about shutting off the screen, because …

It has a battery life you don’t need to worry about

An e-reader’s battery isn’t measured in hours or even days. It’s measured in weeks.

While this will depend on how much you use your device, it’s rare for an e-reader to run out of charge in much less than a week.

This is important because the whole point here is to reduce your stress through distraction. And a distraction device is no good if it’s out of battery, or low enough that you need to charge it back up.

An e-reader will likely need one charge before you go away, and then it’s good for the whole holiday. You really can’t say that about other devices.

Your phone, unless you’re packing a OnePlus 15, likely lasts around a day on a single charge. More than a day if it’s on its best behavior.

If you’re doomscrolling the day away to avoid the latest family argument, then you’re going to be doing the Shameful Socket Shuffle far earlier in the day.

A gaming console like the Steam Deck would be even worse. Depending on what you’re playing, you could get as little as a few hours of play per charge — at which point it needs to be charged.

And even worse, it’ll need to be charged somewhere out of the sight of your Fortnite and Minecraft-starved little cousin.

He’s had nothing but chocolate for breakfast, and only carnage can sate his sugar-boosted bloodlust. Would he care if you put your e-reader down near him? Not a chance.

You avoid the usual comments about kids and their phones

“Kids these days, never off their phones.”

There’s always one who says it. Never mind that you’re in the twilight years of your 30s. Never mind that you’ve been helping out all day. Never mind that old people have been complaining about “kids these days” since the ancient Greek philosophers.

If you’re on your phone or console, expect one of these comments. Usually from an uncle who thinks they’re funny.

It’s hard to get out of that situation well — but if you can just turn around your e-reader and say “actually, I’m reading a book,” then you’ve just turned the tables.

Sure, they can try and deflect with a comment about how books used to be made of paper, but everyone knows you’ve won. You’re a closet intellectual, and they know it now.

Just don’t show them what you’re actually reading. Or quickly switch to a much more cerebral book, because, well, you can.

So why not just a normal book?

That final point in the last section underlines why an e-reader is better than just packing a few books with you: it’s more than just a few books.

At the present count, I have almost 400 books on my Clara Colour, which is a few more paperbacks than I can fit in a suitcase. And yet, it takes up less space than most books I own.

Obviously, I’m not going to touch most of those books during the festive period, but I have the chance to do so if I want to.

I want to read different books depending on how I’m feeling, and the Kobo Clara Colour allows me to do just that.

I always kid myself that I’ll do more reading than I actually do, but if I always have my e-reader on me, the chances of that happening go up a lot.

An e-reader is always a great purchase, but doubly so for Christmas

I would always recommend an e-reader to anyone who reads, but that recommendation is twice as strong coming into Christmas or the summer vacation period.

While I’m never going to ditch my physical books, there’s no question that an e-reader is a vital part of my reading life.

It lets me read in the dark, and in places I wouldn’t take physical books. It also allows me to avoid taking a bunch of books on holiday, which is useful on some vacations and a lifesaver on others.

Any one of our favorite e-readers would be my perfect Christmas survival gadget. It’s a great distraction when I need it to be, is always available thanks to its massive battery life, and it’s far easier to pause than most games and social media.

It’s what I will make sure I have with me at Christmas, and I think you’d benefit from it, too.