When it comes to gift-giving, some prefer quantity over quality. And why not? The real point of giving someone a Christmas gift is to reach out to them and show them you care. That’s why they always say that it’s the thought that counts. Check out our picks for the best $5 gift ideas and start spreading the love. Or if you can stretch your budget a little further, you can browse other cheap Christmas gifts here.
The banana is nearly the perfect snack with only one fatal flaw: they bruise so easily. Stick one in your bag the wrong way and it comes out black at the end of the day. This three-pack of plastic banana cases will make that a problem of the past for berry-lovers. And yes, bananas are a berry because I read so on the internet.
A fruit infuser bottle is a great way to spice up your daily hydration habits by creating fruit-flavored water without making a mess. You can load cut fruit of any kind into the screw-on infuser lid and get to making delicious concoctions of all varieties.
Toblerone chocolate is universally-loved but expensive. This 3.52-ounce mini-bar is a great way to brighten the day of a Toblerone fan without breaking the bank. Just note that this Amazon Fresh deal requires an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of.
If you aren’t currently a Prime member, you can take advantage of the Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial and then simply unsubscribe once you are done with your shopping. It is a great way to save some money on shopping around the holiday times.
For the friend who consistently comes through when they just made cupcakes or cookies, the best cheap Christmas gift is one that reinforces their habit of thoughtlessly giving. Some reusable silicone baking cups are a great way to keep another item off their shopping list. And that means that there’s less downtime between the next batch of goods.
What can I say? I really love useful gifts. This 11-Function multi-tool can be easily stowed in your wallet as it is only the size of a credit card. Its compact size does not define it, though, as it has more unique uses than any other daily carry item you might currently pack. It’s one of the best gifts under $5 for handymen.
As a guitar player myself, I can tell you that more picks are always appreciated. They are easily lost and great to have more of, so this is one of my go-to gifts when I’m on a budget.
There is nothing more satisfying than an organized key ring, especially for someone who juggles a lot of different responsibilities. This Nite Ize S-Biner Key Ring is a great way to organize a grizzled key ring. The two mini S-clips hold up to three pounds and lock shut for added security.
While any proper fix-it guy or gal will want a full-size torpedo level for big jobs, this Irwin Tools Pocket Level is a great everyday carry tool for spot-checking that you’ve mounted a painting level or installed an appliance flat. At only five inches long, it fits easily in a pocket and therefore can always be at the ready.
Everyone loves Madlibs and everyone loves dogs. These twenty-one canine-themed fill-in-the-blank stories are the perfect way to merge both interests into an inexpensive gift. These ridiculous stories may even make you roll over in laughter.
Burt’s Bees is probably the best lip balm out there. Anyone can appreciate having an extra tube or two handy when the air gets dry and the weather gets cold. This chapstick comes in a variety of flavors but they are always made with 100% natural ingredients.
Smokers and fire enthusiasts always like to have a lighter handy. Paradoxically, it is almost impossible to do so as lighters are hands down the easiest thing to misplace. The lighter leash solves this problem by keeping your lighter in on a retractable line so it always makes its way back to you. This gift is also found on my list of cheap gifts for men.
If they are a fan of tabletop roleplaying games then they can never have enough dice. It’s always nice to have a few different colors of dice to cycle between when playing Dungeons & Dragons and you can get a pair of seven polyhedral dice for under $5. That makes them an easy gift option for most gamers.
A flask belongs in every progressive drinker’s toolkit. It frees you to drink wherever you want, even in places you probably shouldn’t. On second thought, you should think carefully about who you gift this to. You know, some might appreciate it too much.
Lemonade, frappucinos, soda, and even iced tea feel wrong if not enjoyed from a straw, so how does one enjoy these beverages the right way without contributing to wasteful consumer culture? The answer is reusable straws, which keeps you from having to add more plastic to a landfill.
Percussion enthusiasts and Latin music lovers will know just what to do with this cute decorative Guiro, which makes for a more than capable scraper instrument. This hand-carved instrument also looks great on display on a bookshelf or coffee table.
If you’re stuck on budget gift ideas, you can never go wrong with a cool pair of sunglasses. You can try a number of unique styles for cheap so you’ll be sure to end up with a winner with some careful shopping. Just don’t expect premium features like polarized lenses or adjustable temple tips.
The handyperson who keeps your fragmented life together deserves a lot more than 15 grams of Gorilla Glue to make up for the amount they metaphorically used to fix your life, but they’ll understand if this is all you can afford for them. In addition to its symbolic function, Gorilla Glue is also the best do-it-all adhesive around.
If you live with someone who always fumbles with their keys when they come home late, then you might need to breathe just a bit of light into their life. This keychain LED light is the perfect way to do that, offering a surprisingly bright beam of light at the push of a button.
Fish-lovers will absolutely adore these earrings which use real water to create a neat recreation of the classic carnival prize, a fish in a bag. This is a much better option than trying to win the actual fair games. You should probably know that the milk cartons are all weighted down.
This adhesive ring holder is an inexpensive and cute way to keep larger phones steady in smaller hands. It folds down to easily fit in your pocket, then pops back out to give you some extra grip on your permissibly massive phone.
Harry Potter fans will already know what’s coming when they see the signature yellow and purple box. Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans are a staple snack of the wizarding world but they can sometimes be less desirable in the muggle world.
Their flavor list knows no reasonable boundary, so you have to take the bad with the good. Flavors include: Banana, Black Pepper, Blueberry, Booger, Candyfloss, Cherry, Cinnamon, Dirt, Earthworm, Earwax, Grass, Green Apple, Lemon, Marshmallow, Rotten Egg, Sausage, Soap, Tutti-Fruitti, Vomit, and Watermelon.
Want to make this gift even more interesting? Gift it anonymously.
It’s always a pleasure to break in a fresh bar of soap, especially when it has an enjoyable scent like rosemary mint. This soap from Pre de Provence has a rich and luxurious feel with just the right amount of shea butter included to moisturize and soften the skin. Just make sure the recipient doesn’t take it the wrong way.
This empowering coin purse design is one of many adorable options from Blue Q, who makes compact coin purses from 95-percent post-consumer recycled material. That’s a longwinded way of saying it’s good for the environment. But it’s also good for your finances, as it gives you a dedicated place to hang on to your change. That stuff adds up.
Hacky sack is a timeless game for players of all ages. Once you get the hang of it, keeping the sack midair is almost like being in a meditative state. It’s called being in the zone and it’s a pretty awesome gift to give for under $5.
For some people, leaving a guitar pick in their wallet is good enough, but those who love to perform everywhere they go should have a more reliable source of portable plectrums. This keychain pick case attaches to your keyring to ensure you always have a pick at easy access.
Tactically efficient beer-drinkers will appreciate the camouflage theme of the Combat Coolers Insulator Koozies. This simple gift is a great way to keep your beer drinking hand warm when you’re out camping and when you’re at home on the couch.
The Robot Claw arm is a classic toy that serves a somewhat practical use for picking up things that are only kind of far away. More often than not it will just be something fun to play with.
Tacos are a mainstay of Southwestern cuisine but they have one fatal flaw: they are so annoying to serve. This Taco Proper 4-Pack seeks to remedy that with a helpful wedge design that supports soft and hard tacos alike. Each unit holds two tacos so you may want to buy multiple of you are shopping for someone with a large appetite.
Tea lovers will appreciate the different healing blends in this pack of organic tea bags from Traditional Medicinals. This set comes with four bags each of Echinacea Plus, Breathe Easy, Gypsy Cold Care, and my personal favorite, Throat Coat.
These tingly head massagers are a fun novelty gift whose response ranges from total relaxation to full-on tickle crisis. In either outcome, these unusual massage tools can provide hours of entertainment for a surprisingly low price.
Ah, fidget spinners. Were they just a fever dream, or do they still help people relieve anxiety in boring situations? Upon further investigation, they most certainly exist and remain a peaceful way to stimulate your mind when you need to be calm.
The Force is with this bottle opener, by which I mean you can use the force of your hands to easily open bottles with it. This keychain-sized tool is an easy way to increase anyone’s skill set by giving them the ability to remove bottle caps.
If you know someone who needs a boyfriend more than anything else, this is as close as you’re going to get for under $5. This gag gift grows to six times its size when you put it in water, then it shrinks back down when you dry it out. He may not be actual size but he’s better than nothing.
You don’t need to be a beauty wizard to appreciate these awesome metal makeup brushes but it sure helps. This set of five brushes looks like a set of ornate wands making them as stylish as they are useful.
Socks are always a safe buy for Christmas. Everyone wears them and it’s always nice to receive a fun pair. These socks are perfect for gamers who run the couch like it is their central command post. With these socks, they can let their feet do the talking while they focus on the objective.
Nerf battles are fun for all ages but no one likes to be caught off-guard. With a compact Nerf pistol up their sleeve, they’ll never be caught defenseless again. The Nerf Jolt Foam Pistol is a palm-sized, easily-concealable foam pistol that includes two elite nerf darts. This Nerf pistol is meant for close-range combat so don’t go taking it into a full skirmish as your primary weapon.
A new pocket knife might be out of reach for your favorite blade enthusiast but you can certainly help them care for their old favorites. This pocket-sized knife sharpener from Smith’s is a simple way to keep your blades sharper, be they carbide or ceramic.
Why do drinking games have to be so complicated? Your heavy-drinking friends will have just as much fun playing Spin-the-Shots they will with the east coast rules variant of beer pong. Simply fill up the shot glass and spin the wheel to find out who is a winner (or loser).
Whether they are into cryptozoology or all things nature, your next gift recipient will surely enjoy this novelty Bigfoot Air Freshener. It is piney and somewhat musky, just like the real Sasquatch.
This car mount fits almost any smartphone, making it an easy purchase for someone who never lets their phone leave their sight. This mount clips onto the air vents of a car, so you don’t have to worry about suction cups or adhesive mounts either.
A top is a fun toy and a great thinking tool but Christopher Nolan’s film Inception posits that they can serve a greater purpose. Only you will know the specific gravity of this spinning top, allowing you to ensure you aren’t in a prefabricated dream reality. If that’s not worth a couple bucks, I don’t know what is.
To the weird kid in class, this is a snack pack. To everyone else, it is a classic creative building toy. You can split this up among a number of children or give the whole pack to an adult who can make whatever hideous creation they desire.
