Best Gifts and Gadgets That Cost $30 or Less

Whether it’s the thousands of adoring user reviews on Amazon or its loyal TikTok following, it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t like Stanley’s insulated temperature-controlled tumblers that conveniently fit most vehicle cupholders. Equally adept at keeping coffee hot and iced beverages cold, the Stanley tumbler is available in a wide variety of colors and sizes, starting at 14 ounces for just $22.

A wireless speaker is a great gift for anyone who loves music or podcasts. The Tribit XSound Go delivers great sound for its size, boasts up to 24 hours of playback time at moderate volume and is completely waterproof, making it an ideal addition to outdoor use. This item is currently listed at $37, but you can get it for under $30 by applying the 20% off Amazon coupon.

There are plenty of great Lego sets available for under $30, including some great Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel options. Ones I’d recommend for kids as young as 6 or 7 include the 3-in-1 Off-Road Buggy Kit (shown), the Adorable Dogs Set, the Batmobile, the Jurassic World set and the Holiday Camper Van.

These are one of the few sets of wireless earbuds that cost under $50 we can recommend. In addition to surprisingly good sound, the Baseus Bowie MA10 delivers active noise canceling, which is a somewhat unprecedented feature at this price. They’re best for larger ears (and they will stick out a bit), and they’re not as pocket-sized as pricier name-brand models. It makes up for the size with more than 100 hours of battery life via recharging in the case. Be sure to check for Amazon coupons on this item, as there’s currently a $10 off coupon available.

At my house, the Lodge grill pan gets used at least once a week to cook fish or turkey burgers. It’s a cheap and easy way to bring the essence of the grilling experience to your stovetop, which is especially useful during the winter months.

Buying a gift for someone who’s always misplacing their jacket, purse or backpack? With an Apple AirTag in place, that problem should become a thing of the past: Just pull up the Find My app on the iPhone, and the missing item can be tracked down anywhere there’s an Apple device nearby (which is pretty much everywhere). Order early enough from Apple.com, and you can order with custom engraved initials or emoji (as shown here). A single AirTag is $29 and you can get a four-pack for $99. Buying for an Android owner? Get a Galaxy SmartTag (for Samsung folks) or a Tile (and any other Android phone owner).

Author and illustrator David Macaulay has been publishing detailed hand-illustrated books since the 1970s, in which he meticulously documents the designing and building of everything from castles, mosques, pyramids and cathedrals to the functioning of specialized or mundane equipment ranging from electric guitars to dentist drills in How Things Work. While these books are designed for readers as young as 6, they also double as great coffee table books for all ages. I received several of these books as a child, and still enjoy thumbing through them decades later. Macaulay has even returned and updated some of his classic black-and-white books to add color, including Castle (shown) and Cathedral. 

Some old-school D&D is a nice face-to-face break from the virtual world of video games. The Essentials Kit gives you everything a group of pencil-and-paper adventurers need to get questing, but true beginners can opt for the equally affordable (and newer) Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set instead. 

True story: In my collegiate days, 3.5-inch floppy disks were a thing, and they stored a total of 1.44 megabytes of data on them. This flash drive costs $25, and it stores 128GB, the equivalent of almost 89,000 of those floppy disks. This model sports both USB-A and USB-C connectors, so it’ll work with any computer out there, as well as newer iPad Pro and Mini models.