What's Hot for Holiday 2010? Tablets, iPhone Drones, GPS Ski Goggles

Hopefully Santa’s elves spent the summer months getting their engineering degrees.

The Consumer Electronics Association just released its annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study, and it seems that although overall spending this year on gifts will be down two percent, spending on technology-based gifts will be at a record high, up five percent from last year.

The report included a “Holiday Gift Wish List” for adults, and unsurprisingly, the CEA bypassed peace, joy and goodwill to all men, and honed in on laptops, tablet computers and e-Readers.

According to Steve Koenig, CEA’s director of industry analysis, “Not only are three in four adults planning to give CE as a gift this year, but more consumers want electronics as a gift for themselves, demonstrating that electronics will be the must-have gifts of the season.”

In fact, the report notes that 29% of shoppers will lose faith in their family members and simply buy a consumer electronic gift for themselves.

Consumer Reports has also just released a sneak peak (above) at the hot new electronic products for 2011.

While they too focus on tablets, their roundup draws attention to smart phones—noticeably, and oddly, absent from CEA’s rankings—Citibank credit cards which allow the holder to switch between accounts with the touch of a tiny button, an iPhone-controlled mini helicopter drone and Recon Instruments' speed-recording GPS ski goggles.

While tech brands and high-tech toys may top many wish lists this year, it's not a given that holiday shoppers will be willing to spend big.

Another new survey from the CEA shows that Americans are still feeling the pinch, and the recent election did little to restore Americans’ confidence in the economy: "Half of Americans believe the election did not affect their employment outlook at all, while the rest were generally split about whether it helped or hurt their job prospects."

Best Buy's CEO, Brian Dunn, says he anticipates a flurry of last-minute shopping this year, with strong sales for e-readers, smartphones, tablet computers such as the iPad, and gaming products like Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's Playstation Move, adding: "I think it's a great year to be a consumer because there are going to be great values in the marketplace."