30 Gift-Giving Ideas for Tight Budgets

Inexpensive Christmas gifts and cheap Christmas gifts are not always the same thing. If you’re shopping for gifts on a budget this year, don’t worry — you have quality options.

From tools and gear to decor and keepsakes, you don’t have to spend more than $15 to make that special person in your life smile. Find out how your finances can survive this holiday season.

Last updated: Nov. 4, 2020

Hot-Air Popcorn Popper

• Price: $14.99
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Perfect for the next movie night, whoever is on the receiving end of this gift will get an old-fashioned popcorn popper that fits comfortably on virtually any countertop. In an age of empty movie theaters and lots of at-home streaming options, this gift provides throwback charm all while saving you money and pumping out a universally loved, healthy, oil-free snack.

Acrylic Block Picture Frame

• Price: $10.99
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

Clear and borderless, this sleek, minimalist frame makes your favorite picture appear as if it’s floating in thin air. Whether it’s a snapshot, a concert ticket, or a postcard, this acrylic picture box will showcase the photo, not the frame.

More Gift Ideas: 11 Gifts Moms Really Want That Won’t Break the Bank

Standing Tilt Bowl

• Price: $14.25
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

This clear, small display bowl is crafted from glass that’s been cut at an angle and is an ideal gift for anyone with elegant, but simple taste. Use it to display floating blossoms, candy, candles, and more.

Santa Milk Bottle

• Price: $2.98
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

For both practical use and decorative display, this throwback, old-school milk bottle designed just for Santa is sure to please any fan of classic, retro holiday cheer. Made from 100% ceramic earthenware, it’s built to last.

Wine Bottle Hat and Scarf

• Price: $13.34
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Few things go better with the holidays than wine and winter decorations — and this adorable gift kills both birds with one stone. Whoever receives this unique gift will delight guests with bottles of wine that look like they’re ready to head out for a day of ice skating.

House Salt and Pepper Shaker

• Price: $11.64
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

If you need a housewarming gift, look no further. These hand-painted Dutch-inspired ceramic houses double as table salt and pepper shakers.

Christmas Light Wine Charms

• Price: $9.99
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

When the wine begins to flow in identical glasses this holiday season, mix-ups are going to happen — unless, that is, you have charms to mark your glasses. That’s exactly what you’ll give when you hand over these festive wineglass charms made to look like Christmas lights.

Pumpkin Spice Candle

• Price: $10
• Where you can buy it: Target

Give the gift of a great-smelling home with this three-wick candle, which will give hour after hour of holiday-scented goodness.

Wide-Mouth Mason Jar Set

• Price: $8.49
• Where you can buy it: Target

You can never have too many mason jars. Charming, rustic and practical, this 12-pack of wide-mouth jars is perfect for arts and crafts, decor and display, or in-cabinet storage.

Copper Mixing Bowl

• Price: $12.95
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Perfect for people with a taste for modern decor, this 1.5-quart metallic mixing bowl can double as a display piece. Stainless steel with a copper finish, it’s a sleek piece for the high-end kitchen or dining room.

Personalized Ornament

• Price: $9.81
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

An ideal gift for couples trimming their first tree as an item, this charming tree ornament was meant to be personalized. Its two custom jigsaw puzzle pieces fit perfectly together–just like the people you’re gifting it to.

2-Quart Crock Pot

• Price: $9.99
• Where you can buy it: Target

This holiday season, give the chef in your life the original slow cooker, which comes with a secure-fit locking lid with oversized handles to prevent spills.

Personalized Stemless Wine Glass

• Price: $13.99
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Elegant and classy, these stemless wine glasses can double as rocks glasses and even snifters. They’ll be yours and yours alone once you personalize them with your choice of script.

Lava Lamp

• Price: $11.99
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Hypnotic and transfixing, the throwback lava lamp is a timeless tribute to the 1960s — and dorm rooms from all decades. Give the gift of liquid moving art this holiday season.

Funko Pop ‘Star Wars’ Figure

• Price: $8.99
• Where you can buy it: Target

Have a “Star Wars” buff in your life? Satisfy their inner Stormtrooper with this mini “Star Wars” bobblehead figure, one of the most unique of its kind ever to come out of either side of the Force.

Related: Geeky Collectibles That Could Make You Millions

Philips In-Ear Headphones

• Price: $6.99
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

The ultra-small, in-ear design makes these lightweight earbuds perfect for the music lover in your life. While blocking out external noise, the buds crank out clear sound and dynamic bass.

Traveling Tumbler Mug

• Price: $11.99
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

Looking for a gift for a commuter on the go? This 20-ounce tumbler keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold — all in a spill-proof container that’s easy to sip.

LED Camping Lanterns

• Price: $8.89
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

If you know an outdoor enthusiast, camper, hunter, or someone who just likes to go on a thrilling adventure once and awhile, they’ll be sure to think about you every time the sun goes down when you give them this pair of LED lanterns.

‘Yoga Stretch for Beginners and Beyond’ DVD

• Price: $14.98
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

Give the gift of inner peace, mental focus, and a healthy body this holiday season with “Yoga Stretch for Beginners and Beyond.” It features two 30-minute flow sessions — one for the morning, and one for the evening.

Master Lock Combination Bike Lock

• Price: $6.19
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

When you give this 4-foot, vinyl-coated, braided steel cable with built-in combination lock you’ll be giving the bike rider in your life the gift of peace of mind and security. Warning: bike thieves won’t love you nearly as much.

Trailworthy Sports Binoculars

• Price: $12.99
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Rough, rugged, and simple, these binoculars are easy enough for a child to use but powerful enough to give you a close-up view during bird watching, sporting events, or outdoor games.

Multi-Device USB Wall Charger

• Price: $7.99
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

This wall charger from Ailkin allows you to charge up to three different devices at a time. Perfect for the always-connected multi-tasker in your life.

Hallmark Connections Pendant

• Price: $15
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

If you feel a genuine connection with whoever’s receiving your gift, let that person know with this sentimental Hallmark pendant and necklace, which is inscribed with the phrase, “I love you more.”

Smartphone Screen Repair Kit

• Price: $14.99
• Where you can buy it: Amazon

If you have a mobile phone, chances are you’ll eventually break the screen. Give the DIYer in your life the gift of self-reliance in case of an emergency with this 16-piece phone opening and repair kit.

Travel Journal

• Price: $10.44
• Where you can buy it: Target

Even in the age of connected everything, an old-school travel journal is still the single greatest way to record the irreplaceable memories and experiences you gather on the road. This postmark-laden hardcover gives your favorite jet-setter 144 pages to record all of their favorite memories the next time they visit that fairy tale destination.

Corn Popper Push Toy

• Price: $7.89
• Where you can buy it: Target

Cheap Christmas gifts for kids aren’t always easy to come by, but now you can keep your favorite toddler occupied for hours — or at least a few minutes — with this classic corn popper push toy from Fisher-Price.

Toy Pet Care Set

• Price: $13.89
• Where you can buy it: Target

Do you have a budding veterinarian on your holiday shopping list? The Our Generation Pet Care set comes with everything your little animal lover needs to take care of the stuffed cats and dogs that litter your house.

‘Frozen 2’ Sleeping Bag

• Price: $9.88
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Every kid loves a sleepover, but are your little ones truly prepared to party through the night? This sleeping bag gives your little Elsas and Annas a “Frozen 2”-themed sleeping bag in which to snuggle up and doze off when the party dies down.

Musical Stacker Toy

• Price: $11.98
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

Give your babies the gift of learning and improved motor skills with this Fisher-Price stacker toy, which uses colors, shapes and sounds to help them learn and play.

Fisher-Price Click 'N Learn Remote

• Price: $7.88
• Where you can buy it: Walmart

When your little ones play with this toy remote control, they won’t just be mimicking you during a Netflix binge — they’ll actually be learning. Songs, colors, sounds, and first words are all part of the fun.

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All prices were accurate as of Nov. 3, 2020. Prices are subject to change at the retailers’ discretion.

About the Author

Andrew Lisa

Andrew Lisa has been writing professionally since 2001. An award-winning writer, Andrew was formerly one of the youngest nationally distributed columnists for the largest newspaper syndicate in the country, the Gannett News Service. He worked as the business section editor for amNewYork, the most widely distributed newspaper in Manhattan, and worked as a copy editor for TheStreet.com, a financial publication in the heart of Wall Street’s investment community in New York City.

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