Six of the best: gadgets for adding cosiness

Bubble bath machine

Lap happy – Lifemax FAR Infrared Heated Blanket

If you feel the cold, but live with people who resent the central heating being on, this lap blanket could be the answer to those winter chills. Coming in a cosy fake fur material, you plug the blanket into the mains, or even into a car socket, and it heats your lap within minutes. There’s two temperature settings here, essentially warm and hot, and a recommended use of no more than an hour, by which point you should be nice and toasty. For added warmth, use the button and hook attachment and wear as a cape.
Lifemax Heated Blanket

Hot head – Pearl Grey Faux Fur Heated Cushion

Crisp, cold pillows and sheets might be refreshing in the summer, but come autumn, you’ll need something more inviting. Cleverly tucked away on the outer edge of this faux fur pillow is a slim-ish cable attachment that connects to a temperature gauge and an external remote control, so your comfort isn’t compromised. From the control you can select five different temperature settings, generally taking a few minutes to heat, to ensure your head stays nice and warm all night long.

Make a splash – Bubble bath machine

Bubble bath machine
When it comes to bath-time gadgets, this is about as cosy as they come. You’ll need to unscrew a battery lid and place three AA batteries in, before filling the removable compartment with your favourite bubble bath and some water. From there, stick the suckers on your bathroom wall above your bath and press the button to release a stream of bubbles. Perfect.

Slow-mo – Lakeland 3.5L Slow Cooker

Fresh bread regularly tops the list of our favourite scents, but what about the tempting aroma of slow-cooked chilli, stew or pulled pork on a cold day? Nice as they are, they require effort, which is where a slow cooker comes into its own.Milk Frother This no-frills offering from Lakeland is a solid performer which takes the hard work out of home cooking. Three different heat settings will look after your food while you get on with your business, although, if you can’t wait, you can easily take a peek at progress through the glass lid. Most dishes take between four to six hours and once finished and cooled off, you can lift the ceramic cooking pot out to the table to serve.

Hit the hot spot – Milk Frother

However you pronounce ‘hygge’, the feeling can be summed up with this image; warming your insides with a creamy hot chocolate in a favourite mug on a cold day. But if your home-spun efforts at cocoa are a bit ho hum, this frother could help you achieve the perfect drink. All you do is add milk to the electric jug and it’ll heat and froth it within two minutes. The froth lasts until the final sip and you can also use it to simply heat milk, make milkshakes in the warmer months, or add some frothy milk to your coffee. Milk moustache optional.
Silentnight Fleece Heated Underblanket

Got it covered – Silentnight Fleece Heated Underblanket

Unlike a heated blanket, this fleecy option from Silentnight goes underneath your sheets and is secured to your mattress with cords. To make sure the heat spreads to every inch – and to avoid cold toes – opt for one size up from your mattress. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to heat but once on, keeps the bed toasty all night. The only wrench is leaving it when you get out of bed on cold, dark mornings.

Written by Andrew Moore