25 Gift Ideas Under $10 I’d Be Happy to Receive


One, the gifts on it are often expensive. If there's someone out there I'm going to be spending $100 or more on for a gift, it's very likely that I know that person well enough that I don't have to be looking at a gift list for ideas. Gift lists are good for that last-minute person or for the person you don't know that well, not for your spouse.


This is a list that addresses both of those problems. It's a list of gifts that cost $10 or less that I would be happy to receive. That's the common theme here - if I opened these items on Christmas morning, I would be quite happy.

The purpose of sharing a list like this is simple: it's here to inspire you when you need a good last-minute gift idea that meets at least some standard of quality and doesn't cost too much. Use these ideas directly or get something that you were inspired to get based on this list.



Anyway, here are twenty-five inexpensive ideas that I'm a fan of.

1. Sturdy pocket notebooks, like Field Notes


Since I keep them in my pocket constantly, I prefer sturdy ones. Field Notes are sturdy, as are the similarly-priced pocket notebooks from Scout Books, Word., and Doane Paper. They're small and unobtrusive, too, which is important for pocket carrying.

2. The card game Hanabi

This is an excellent cooperative card game for two to five players. It requires teamwork, good communication, and smart decision-making to win and it's short enough that it can be played over and over again.


3. A memory stick full of interesting stuff

Memory sticks are useful tools and even multi-gigabyte ones are very inexpensive today. You can just plug them into the USB port on your computer and copy data on and off of the device, then hand it to a friend who can do the same, making data sharing easy. I've given and received USB memory sticks with all kinds of information on them to friends and coworkers over the years.

You can amp this kind of gift up another level by pre-loading the memory stick with personalized information - family photographs, collections of audio and video recordings, and so on. With just a bit of effort, you can turn something useful into something quite meaningful as well.



The two books listed above have both had a great impact on my own life. My copies of these books are littered with highlights and handwritten scribbles because I've read and re-read and worn these books out. Why? Because they're deeply meaningful to me.


A really good chocolate bar - like pretty much any of the Chocolove bars - makes for a very good gift idea for a lot of people. It's something that can be consumed and deeply enjoyed without taking up much space at all.


6. Merino wool socks


Given my propensity for wearing socks into oblivion, a good pair of well-made socks is always a good gift. I'll wear a good pair of socks for years and years.

7. A few packets of interesting seeds

As avid gardeners, Sarah and I always enjoy devoting a bit of our garden to unusual seeds each year, so a packet or two of interesting seeds is usually an inspiration to me. The timing of such a gift - during the holiday season - is about perfect so that we can start planning our garden out early in the new year, taking into account the new seeds.


8. Colorful earbuds, like these JBuds

I like to listen to podcasts and audiobooks while I go on walks around my neighborhood, but I have a bad tendency to misplace the earbuds I use. It's almost always good for me to have an extra pair around - I usually keep a pair in my daily bag and in my vehicle as well as a pair or two at my desk.

An extra pair in a nice color is never a bad idea. Even if I don't need a pair right this moment, they will see use.

9. A box of crayons and a blank drawing pad

This might seem like a great idea for a child, but why would I like it? Well, I'm a parent, and a gift like this would give me a great opportunity to sit down at a table and make some drawings with my children. I do that sometimes anyway, but a gift like this becomes a ticket to spend time with them on a creative project.

We'll do things like draw complementary pictures, or we'll both try drawing the same scene that we made up together and see how the pictures are different. A gift like this, addressed to a parent and a child with a note to draw some pictures together, can be a great way to encourage some quality family time.

10. A local food item from your area

Every area has an unusual local food item or two, like Cheerwine soda in the South Carolina area or Sterzing's potato chips in the southeast Iowa area. It is always fun to try these local favorites, particularly if you're not from that area.

This is a great idea for someone who isn't from your area. If you're traveling a good distance for your gift exchange, local food items will almost always click as a novel gift for the recipient.

11. A box of tea, like this Box of Harney & Son's Paris Tea


A box of special unique tea is a great idea for anyone in your life who enjoys drinking teas. You're probably better off getting a smaller but higher-quality item - for example, the one I linked to is more likely more expensive than tea you'll find at the grocery store. I'd far rather receive the gift of one good tea than a mountain of mediocre ones.

12. Quality pens like the Uniball Signo 207 Ultra Micro

I write in my personal journal and in my pocket notebook all the time. That means that I simply wear out pens over time. I often wind up running pens completely out of ink and while I do have a "nice" pen set that I refill, I usually have several good quality pens around.

For me, the Uniball Signo 207 series is the absolute best bang for the buck pen out there. I absolutely love the black ultra micro pens - they write well with a thin line without smearing or smudging at all. I am always happy to have a few of these on hand.

13. A pocket chess set


I still wish I had one for my "daily bag" so that I could do just that. While I'll never be a truly competitive chess player, it is a great mental exercise that I enjoy deeply. I like to download games from ChessGames.com, like this classic match between Kasparov and Topalov.

14. A homemade soup mix, like this one


I particularly like it when people get a little creative with their mixes. It's easy to find a "sixteen bean soup" mix that just contains a bunch of beans and a few pinches of seasoning. If you get creative, I'll always smile.





If you know someone who enjoys playing card games and seems to always be suggesting that people shuffle up and deal, a few decks of playing cards can be a nice gift idea for them, especially if it's coupled by some printed rules for different card games. Here's a great database of card game rules.


17. A nice journal, like this Piccadilly one


Some of them can be expensive, but there are some very nice ones at a reasonable price. Piccadilly makes very nice moderately-priced journals, for example, and I've used several of them over the years.




19. A book you've read recently and would love to talk about, like The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson


I chose to mention The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson because it's a novel that several people in my close social circle have read and loved over the past few years. It's a great example of what I'm talking about.

20. Good hot chocolate mix, like Land O'Lakes Classics

A delicious cup of hot chocolate is a great treat in the winter months. Hot chocolate is typically something shared by our whole family, as we'll make a large saucepan full of it so that we can all have a mug.


21. The card game Lost Legacy

This is just a nice, simple card game for two to four players that only has sixteen cards to it. It won't take up much space at all in their home, but it has a ton of replayability.

I love little games like this. They're easy to transport in the side pocket of a bag or in a drawer somewhere so that the game can easily be pulled out. It doesn't take up much space - you could play it on a train or on an airplane, too. Plus, the game's fun, short, and requires a bit of luck and a bit of strategy and a bit of memory, too.

22. A photo album with some classic photos

If you're an older relative and you have many boxes of old photographs or photo prints that you're unsure how to handle, consider buying an inexpensive photo album from any local department store and loading it up with some of those old pictures.

Look for ones that depict the recipient when they were younger, especially with people they were once close to and particularly if those people have passed on. Pictures of memorable family members and events are also great to add. If you want to add an extra touch, don't be afraid to document the pictures by writing what you remember on the back of the prints.

23. Podcasts on CD

Go online. Look for a podcast that matches the interests of the person you're friends with. Download a bunch of episodes of that podcast. Take a bunch of blank CDs that you have laying around the house and burn a bunch of CDs full of those podcasts. Want a good starting point? Take Welcome to Night Vale, for starters. It's a great story told in a format that really only works in audio, and you can fit about three episodes onto a CD. Record 4 CDs worth and they have more than four hours of audio to enjoy. Another idea? Serial. You can fit the whole first season onto nine CDs.

CDs are flexible. A person can toss a pile of them in their car and listen to them any time they're driving anywhere. They can also rip them back to an electronic format if that's easier for them - whatever works!




25. Homemade cookies



Final Thoughts


It doesn't take a lot of money. It just takes thought and a little bit of love.

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