In the same general price category as an iPod, there are a variety of digital cameras on the market, getting cheaper every day. $100 now gets you a bargain model. $150 gets you 5MP and a 3x zoom lens. $200 gets you 6MP and image stabilization or WiFi or other random features. $250 gets you smaller form factors, bigger screens, or more megapixels. Last Christmas, it looked like $250 was the sweet spot, but now you can get everything you could realistically need for under $200.

Also, prices on cordless phones have fallen through the floor. $100 now gets you a Panasonic 5.8GHz cordless phone system (base station w/ answering machine plus three handsets).

The best gifts, though, are gifts that somebody always knew they wanted but never got around to getting for themselves (or never realized they needed). We got my wife's parents a new digital camera for Christmas. Their old one was a Sony Mavica with the floppy disks, but it worked for them and they didn't want to spend the cash on an upgrade...