Budget Gifts gift guides
Gifts that cost little and don't look it: specific picks under $20 and $25, plus ideas that work for almost anyone when you don't know their taste.
New here? Start with our complete guide: 15 Cheap but Thoughtful Gifts (Most Under $25).
15 Cheap but Thoughtful Gifts (Most Under $25)
Thoughtful beats expensive when the gift is clearly about the person: a Chatbooks mini photo book of shared memories, 'open when' letters, a treat from a place they miss, a family recipe box, or a favourite book with your notes in the margins. What makes a cheap gift thoughtful is a memory, a solved problem or your time.
14 Gender-Neutral Gift Ideas Anyone Will Love
The best gender-neutral gifts are chosen by how someone lives, not by who they are: a Ravensburger jigsaw or Codenames Duet for the homebody, Salt Fat Acid Heat or Burlap & Barrel spices for the cook, a Manta sleep mask for the traveller, a Trade coffee subscription for the coffee drinker, or a Pendleton wool throw as a splurge anyone will keep.
14 Gifts for Best Friends Under $20
Great best-friend gifts under $20 lean fun rather than formal: matching Pura Vida bracelets, an inside-joke mug, Fly By Jing chili crisp for the foodie, a Sushi Go! game for coffee dates, a Sonny Angel blind box for the collector, or a Baggu bag in a print that screams them. The closer you are, the more an inside joke is worth.
Where a small budget goes furthest
A small budget works best on the best version of a small thing. Fifteen dollars buys a forgettable gadget, or it buys the good hot sauce, the good hand cream or the good pen, the one the person would never buy for themselves. Consumables from a brand people recognise feel generous because they are a treat rather than clutter.
Start with cheap but thoughtful gifts for ideas across every relationship. For friends, the gifts for best friends under $20 guide leans on shared jokes and small rituals. When you don't know the person well, gender-neutral gift ideas are safe without being boring.