How to Buy a Power Garden Tool as a Gift

Power tools have a strong lure for many gardeners. The promise of ripping through a garden job in minutes rather than hours makes a power garden tool the perfect gift. Chain saws, leaf blowers, leaf vacuums, hedge trimmers, chipper-shredders, tillers, string trimmers and other tools all make great gifts for the ambitious gardener.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hedge Trimmers
• Leaf Blowers
• Leaf Vacuum-shredder
• Rototillers
• Weed Trimmers
• Chain Saws

1. Be an early bird. Many garden centers and hardware stores have clearance sales on seasonal items in late fall. If you're an early shopper, snatch 'em up.

2. Go for quality. Well-made power tools really do make the job easier, while the cheapest ones often make it more frustrating with breakdowns, not enough power, and poor design. Go for at least the middle price range.

3. Keep it simple. You don't always need a lot of features, which can jack up the price. Make sure you know exactly what each option on a power tool does before you pay top dollar for it.

4. Consider cordless versus traditional plug-in power tools. It's wonderful not to have awkward (and sometimes dangerous) cords to deal with, but cordless tools can be notoriously underpowered, rendering them all but useless. Buy the most powerful cordless tool you can afford.

5. Pick up the tool. It should feel solid and well-built in your hand. It should be designed for comfort. And while the most powerful tools are usually the heaviest, take the weight into consideration. A lighter tool may be easier for your recipient to use.

6. Present the tool with a little humor. Large power tools are difficult to wrap, so take out the operational information and wrap just that. Leave the power tool in the garage or basement until the recipient has opened the package and is ready to see the prize.

Tips & Warnings

• Save the receipt and let the recipient know you have it, just in case there's a problem and the tool needs to be returned. So you don't have to reveal how much you spent, you can usually black out the amount of the total purchase. As long as it has the item number, the company can still retrieve the information and the recipient won't find out the price unless it's necessary.