Ever wish you could just have a toy or two to play with at work to take a mental break? Just a little something that spruces up the desk, or helps entertain and distract you, if even for a minute or two. Or, an office item that is just plain useful and makes the job just a bit easier?  Wonder no more. In this article, we will look at ten office items that are meant to bring some fun or ease to your work space.

PowerTRC Newton’s Cradle Balance Balls

Uses

This office gadget makes a great desk decoration, but also offers some educational benefits too. With its visual demonstration of momentum, it shows a love for science and physics. It’s also fun and hypnotic to watch.

Features

The momentum balls are made of durable stainless steel, with a reflective mirror finish. The remainder of the Newton’s Cradle is made of sturdy plastic.

Pros:

• Fun
• Attractive
• Easy to assemble

Cons:

• Does not stay moving very long
• Cheaper quality than advertised

Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

Summary: A fun desk toy, but may not stay in motion long enough to be entertaining.

Fun Tape Dispenser

Uses

A whimsical tape dispenser for the home office, kids craft or study area, computer desk, or any other place you want to add some fun.

Features

This tape dispenser is not just cute, but it is also detailed and realistically designed. The otter holds the tape in his belly and paws. This is not your average, boring, or stale tape dispenser.

Pros:

• Cute
• Detailed
• Fun
• Practical

Cons:

• Needs a bit more weight to be user friendly
• Feet are in the way of grabbing the tape

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

Summary: A fun, yet functional, addition to a home office.

Seated Under-Desk Elliptical

Uses

Great for the office, or while at home watching television or reading, this elliptical provides exercises while you are sitting.

Features

With its durable and ergonomic design, it provides low impact exercise with eight resistance levels so you can adjust your activity. It is quiet, glides smoothly, and is quick and easy to assemble. It also includes a built-in monitor that keeps track of real time, calories burned, RPM, strides, and distance. 

Pros:

• Relieves stress
• Sturdy
• Quiet
• Easy on the joints
• Excellent customer service

Cons:

• Heavy
• Expensive

Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Summary: A great addition to an office or home setting to get in some extra movement while seated.

Stress Reliever – Desktop Punching Bag

Uses

Perfect for home or office, this table size punching bag helps to relieve stress and tension, and bring calmness and tranquility with just a few whacks at it. 

Features

With it durable spring, and very sturdy material punching ball, this gadget is made to take a beating multiple times over. The punching bag comes with an air pump to ensure the bag is always inflated and ready for a solid punch.

Pros:

• Relieves tension of high stress job
• Fun
• Easy to set up
• Strong suction cup base

Cons:

• Plastic base might start breaking with heavy use

Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Summary: A fun and effective way to relieve stress, especially at the office.

Mini Desktop Vacuum Cleaner

Uses

This hand held vacuum, with its ability to reach between larger hard to move items, is perfect for cleaning dirt and dust off home items such as appliances, laptops, computers, keyboards, and desks. It also works well to clean cushions and car interiors because the brush can help remove stubborn stains.

Features

Along with being practical, this pocket size gem is lightweight, battery operated, and easy to use.

Pros:

• Works well
• Convenient
• Cute
• Great for cleaning up crafting items such as glitter

Cons:

• Might run the battery down
• Can be a fire hazard if left on too long

Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Summary: A fun and useful office tool to keep the desk clean.

Magnetic Levitation Floating Globe

Uses

This educational tool, made for all ages, can be used to teach geography, the earth, and location of countries to make learning more fun. It is also a great gift or office décor.

Features

The countries on the globe are depicted accurately and clearly. And with the ability to hover, levitate, float, and give the illusion of anti-gravity, it is simply a neat addition to any home office.

Pros:

-Easy to balance

-Cool

-Conversation starter

Cons:

-Might spin the wrong way

Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

Summary: An attractive and interesting conversation starter for any office setting.

Fun Mini Bowling

Uses

This gizmo, fun for all ages, teaches accuracy, observation, and hand-eye coordination. It is a great addition to the home office or parties.

Features

Small, compact, and ready to go anywhere, the bowling set is made of durable high quality wood and non-toxic paint, and includes a bowling ball made from high grade metal. A movable positioning ramp, to get that perfect strike, completes the fun.

Pros:

• Good quality
• Reasonably priced
• Fun
• Good for mental breaks

Cons:

• Small parts so supervision needed with small children
• Pins are lightweight

Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Summary: A fun desk toy that provides a nice mental break from office stress.

Cross-Cut Paper and Credit Card Shredder

Uses

Made to destroy sensitive material and credit cards, this shredder helps protect your identity because it meets security level standards, making it ideal for a small business or the home office.

Features

This one-year limited warranty shredder, with a cross cut pattern, showcases a three minute continuous run time, a thirty minute cooling cycle, and an LED overheat indicator. The 4.1 gallon bin, with an easy lifting handle, has a see through window so it is easy to see when it is full. 

Pros:

• Good value
• Quiet
• Budget friendly

Cons:

• Not recommended to use with certain plastics or items with glue on them

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

Summary: A good value paper shredder for home office use.

LED Desk Lamp

Uses

This desk lamp, designed for reading, working, and studying, is suitable for many areas such as a home office, home study, kids rooms, college dorm rooms, just to name a few.

Features

With its flicker-free and LED energy saving light, the lamp has five color modes and seven brightness settings all controlled with a touchpad. The head and base of the lamp both tilt and swivel for customizable adjustability. And as an added bonus, the lamp has a built-in USB charging port for phones or other devices.

Pros:

• Versatile
• Attractive
• Budget friendly
• High quality

Cons:

• Bulb can’t be replaced

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Summary: An attractive and versatile desk lamp at a good price.

Magnetic Whiteboard/Dry Erase Board

Uses

This whiteboard is perfect for use in the home, classroom, office, home office, or any place you can think of to write down memos, displays, communications, discussions, ideas, presentations, writings, drawings, and any other number of things. 

Features

With its smooth, durable, and magnetic surface, this whiteboard is anti-scrape and wipes down easily with a dry cloth. It can be mounted either vertically or horizontally, and includes the mounting kit, and the detachable pen tray.

Pros:

• High quality
• Cleans easily
• Writes smoothly
• Magnetic

Cons:

• May arrive damaged
• Not exact size as advertised

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Summary: A nice quality whiteboard that can serve may purposes with reasonable pricing.

This article, of course, does not cover all the office gadgets and gizmos out there, but it’s a pretty good start. There are just times in our working lives where we can all use some functional or fun items to make the job less stressful, or a bit more entertaining!