Nothing shows how much you care more than a gift that makes play more fun and work less arduous.

From an advanced computer mouse to a robot vacuum that sucks up nails, there’s no shortage of gadgets to stuff into stockings or place under trees.

A sampling of gadget gifts for the home, office, car, train and anywhere:

Nintendo Wii

Watch where you swing. Nintendo Co.’s new gaming console with an unusual motion-sensing controller promises to get families off the couch, using the wand controller like a virtual tennis racket, baseball bat, football, steering wheel or weapon. Who would have thought video gaming could make you break into a sweat? The graphics are nowhere near as impressive as those on Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3, but it’s more affordable and somewhat easier to find. (Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $250. Games sold separately.)

IRobot Dirt Dog

Now you can clean the floors of your garage and not just your home with the push of a button. The maker of the Roomba and Scooba – the popular disk-shaped robots that vacuum carpets and scrub hard floors – has designed the Dirt Dog rover to fetch heavy-duty workshop messes, including wood chips, material scraps and small nails. (MSRP: $130)

Garmin nuvi 660

Quibbles over reading maps could be relegated to the past with a growing crop of car satellite-navigation systems. This latest pocket-sized GPS travel assistant with a 4.3-inch color widescreen display does more than give you turn-by-turn directions, traffic alerts and the location of the nearest gas station. It also lets you make handsfree cell phone calls via a Bluetooth microphone and speaker. A built-in FM transmitter also lets you listen to MP3s or audio books stored on the gadget through your car stereo. (MSRP: $900)

Philips VoIP 321 Cordless Phone

More people than ever are using the Internet to chat with family and friends but haven’t ditched their trusty land lines at home. This cordless phone straddles both worlds and can handle both kinds of calls with eBay Inc.’s Skype as the Internet telephone service provider. It features a speakerphone, caller ID and displays whether an incoming call is Skype-based or from your traditional phone company. The base station needs to be connected to both a phone socket and a computer’s USB port. (MSRP: $99)

Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse

This might be the quickest, slickest and smartest mouse around for computer-weary hands. It’s the only mouse with a tiny motor so users can flick the scroll wheel into a free-spin for hyperfast navigation through huge documents or Web sites. Imagine zipping through 10,000 Microsoft Excel rows with a single flick. You can even set up different mousing modes to kick in depending on the software program in use. It has a dedicated button, too, for quick Web searches. (MSRP: $100)

Pinnacle Systems PCTV HD Pro Stick

Watch high-definition television on a desktop or laptop PC with this portable TV tuner that plugs into a USB 2.0 port. About the size of a pack of gum, it retrieves over-the-air high-definition or standard-definition TV signals and can turn the computer into a digital video recorder, though you’ll need to be mindful of the hard drive space available for recordings. It’s a relatively cheap way to view HDTV – and from any place you can tote a laptop. Comes with a thumb-sized wireless remote control and a retractable antenna. (MSRP: $129)

Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera

Do you want your pictures to look professional but have no clue what ISO levels are? This entry-level, 6.1-megapixel, single lens reflex camera has built-in shortcuts and a cheat sheet of sorts that can guide SLR rookies to shooting better photos. It’s lightweight and one of the smallest SLRs on the market. The fast-handling speed – a key difference between any SLR and point-and-shoot digital camera – means better action shots and fewer missed images as your pet or toddler turns away from the lens. (MSRP: $600, includes a 3x zoom, 18mm-to-55mm lens)

Sony Reader

An electronic book reader doesn’t offer the tactile satisfaction of turning a page, but the Sony Reader is the first e-book to at least imitate the look of paper by using an innovative screen technology. The 6-inch display appears more like a grayish piece of paper than a monochrome LCD screen, making the text easy on the eyes. The Reader’s internal memory holds up to 100 books and can be expanded with memory cards. Load books or other documents from your PC, or buy e-books at Sony’s online store where prices are generally a dollar or so less than the printed book. (MSRP: $350)

Seagate Portable External Hard Drive

Consider it a vault for digital valuables. Using this compact external drive as a backup or additional storage for photos, videos, music, important e-mails and documents will save people from deep regret should their computer’s hard disk fail. It’s quiet, weighs less than a pound, has a footprint that’s smaller than a 4-by-5 inch photo, and is rugged enough for travelers on-the-go. Plugs into a computer’s USB port. A range of capacities are available; the largest, a 160-GB model, can hold 51,200 photos, 2,665 hours of music, or 160 hours of video. (MSRP: from $90 for 40GB to $230 for 160GB.)

Harmony 1000 Remote Control

A sleek universal remote control with a 3.5-inch color touch screen. Easy enough for self setup and less expensive than rival high-end touchscreen models that are typically custom-installed. After an initial setup that involves connecting it to a computer and entering the model numbers of your entertainment devices, a single button press is all that’s needed to watch TV or a movie, listen to music or play a game. It handles up to 15 audio or video devices. (MSRP: $500)