Tech columnist Marc Saltzman gives tech ideas to keep you entertained during your "staycation" if you're home for the holidays. Don't be jealous if your snooty friends won't stop talking about their upcoming holiday vacation. Let them deal with crowded airports, sunburns, and watered-down booze at all-inclusive resorts. Instead, having a "staycation" has never been more fun – especially if you consider all the awesome home tech you can pick up for you and the family. From big-screen televisions and smart speakers that play millions of songs (simply by asking for it) to deals on video game consoles and curling up with a great e-book on a tablet, there's never been a better time to be home for the holidays.

Cord-cutters are no longer second-class citizens in TiVo's world with the new $250 TiVo Bolt OTA DVR, which is based on the same hardware platform that TiVo offers cable-TV subscribers--less the CableCARD slot. TiVo's previous antenna-only DVR, the Roamio OTA, launched more than four years ago and is based on a cable box from 2013. The new Bolt OTA includes such features 4K UHD video support, voice control, and built-in streaming to smartphones. And while you can technically use the regular Bolt with an antenna, the Bolt OTA's DVR service is less than half the price. Still, the Bolt platform remains outdated in several ways, especially compared to networked DVRs that send video to modern streaming boxes, including Nuvyyo's Tablo, SiliconDust's HDHomeRun, and Amazon's forthcoming Fire TV Recast.