2017 has been loaded with excellent gadgets ranging from exciting new smartphones to smart speakers and home security products.

Fortunately, as CNBC’s in-house technology product editor — and someone who has spent his entire career testing gadgets — I was able to call in and test dozens of new products that launched this year. That meant taking some home, installing them and seeing which ones worked better than others.

In some cases, I picked new versions of what was already the best product on the market, and tested to see if it succeeded beyond the original. Other times, I tested products that were so bad they didn’t even make it to the site.

The following are, I think, the best gadgets for gifts this holiday season, and one is easily the best I tested all year. I’ve even purchased many of them for myself — enough times that my wife shudders every time a new package arrives at the house, which should say something.

Here’s what deserves to get wrapped this year: