Holiday dinner used to be a meal. Now it’s a full-stack deployment: procurement, last-mile logistics, kitchen hardware and (inevitably) one device that “just needs to reconnect.” The turkey is still traditional, sure — but in 2025 the supporting cast includes sensors, apps, subscriptions and at least one screen that wants your attention as badly as your relatives do.
The holidays are peak domestic commerce: bigger baskets, tighter delivery windows and a sudden urge to “upgrade the experience.” The traditional holiday meal is no exception and has gotten a digital upgrade. This year’s most outrageous options span autonomous delivery, app-guided cookware, viral Dubai-style chocolate and its imitators, and bar tech that treats hospitality like a workflow. Here’s what the ultra-high-end digital chef can buy to shop for, prep and consume the feast.
- A smart fridge that runs procurement (and occasionally runs ads)
A Family Hub-style fridge can act like your kitchen’s sourcing team: build a digital grocery list on the door, sync it with your phone, and even support grocery ordering through the panel. It’s also a reminder that “connected” often means “monetized”: Samsung even publishes steps for turning off cover-screen ads if you prefer your leftovers without a sponsored message.
- Autonomous delivery: drones above, robots below
When you discover — too late — that you’re out of sage, you can outsource the panic. Wing and Walmart launched a drone delivery service in Metro Atlanta from multiple stores, framed around the holiday rush. Prefer your futurism on wheels? Starship’s autonomous delivery robots are built for groceries and hot food using sensors and machine learning.
- Dubai chocolate, plus the copycat economy it spawned
Pistachio-filled “Dubai chocolate” went viral on TikTok in 2023, pushing real-world demand for pistachios, according to Reuters. And the hype now has corporate DLC: Delish reports Hershey’s made a limited Dubai-inspired bar with pistachio and crispy kadayif, sold via Gopuff in select U.S. cities, said Delish.
- The Bluetooth pan that cooks like your most intense friend
Hestan Cue’s pitch is “guided cooking,” which is a polite way of saying: your pan, burner and app coordinate temperature and timing for you via Bluetooth and sensors. The bundle pricing makes it feel less like cookware and more like an upgrade plan.
- The smart oven that livestreams dinner
June’s app can start a cook session, show the current temperature, and let you watch live video of your food cooking. And yes, June lists models up to $999, because good taste is apparently 4K.
- A predictive thermometer that turns roast timing into data
Holiday cooking isn’t hard; coordinating it is. Combustion’s Predictive Thermometer uses an array of eight sensors and processing designed to find the coldest spot and estimate when your food will be ready. Think of it as KPI tracking for poultry.
- Sous vide with a subscription subplot
Sous vide is already extra: vacuum bags, water baths, laboratory patience. Now add the modern twist: app features as recurring revenue. The Verge reported that Anova began charging new users for certain companion-app features like remote monitoring/control ($1.99/month or $9.99/year). Your rib roast is now a service.
- Champagne preservation tech, because bubbles are assets
Coravin’s Sparkling system is marketed to keep champagne and sparkling wine fresh for at least four weeks, according to Coravin US. It’s the rare luxury gadget that feels both ridiculous and strangely prudent.
- A cocktail machine that makes your bar cart feel like software
Barsys’ Barsys 360 leans into “precision” pours and a library of 2,000+ recipes, with pricing shown around $279.99 on its site, according to barsys.com. The trick is what you feed it: prestige champagne, trophy bourbon, or a “this is my bonus” cognac.
- The non-turkey flex: dinner as a luxury statement
Turkey is lovely, but nothing says “over the top” like swapping tradition for an A5 wagyu rib roast, an ibérico ham situation or a caviar-and-blinis appetizer that turns the pregame into the main event.
The goal, of course, is still the same: feed people well, at roughly the same time, without losing your mind. The difference is that the modern holiday dinner now comes with dashboards, delivery modes and the occasional paywall. Even so, one tradition remains undefeated: someone will ask when dinner is ready — minutes after the app already told them.
