40 Unique Gifts You Can Get For Under $50
Give 'em something they actually haven't seen before.
We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
1. A mini bonsai tree reflection pool to calm their nerves — dunno about you but I'm feeling zen just looking at it.
Promising review: "For the price, this is a steal!! It's absolutely beautiful. Packaging was perfect, not a single branch damaged. I gave mine as a gift and my mother-in-law loved it and thought I paid so much more than I did, so it's a perfect gift." —Allea
Get it from Amazon for $15.99 (plus $5.99 for shipping).
2. A DIY hot sauce kit for the person in your life who should really just be making their own condiments at the rate they offer their unsolicited feedback to restaurant servers.
The kit includes gloves, sterilizing solution, a small funnel, bottle labels, and six 5-fluid-ounce glass containers.
Get it from Amazon for $47.82.
3. A house-shaped tissue box that'll make them feel extremely ~blessed~.
Promising review: "I first spotted this at a swanky modern hotel room with all-white decor. I love how it hides an unsightly branded tissue box — it practically vanishes! It looks so cute with the tissue-y 'billow' of smoke, and is functional too. Every modern minimalist's dream." —nycgirl
Get it from Amazon for $5.
4. A desktop wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man they'll probably be able to learn a dance move or two from.
Promising review: "I opened the package and screamed for joy! As I placed the battery my hands were trembling with what was going to happen next! As I turned on the wacky waving inflatable tube man I knew I'd have a friend for life. Someone you can really count on cheering you up when you are feeling down. He brought me such joy I started to cry with laughter and happiness." —Robert Wurstner
Get it from Amazon for $10.86.
5. A pair of aerating wineglasses that'll win over even the most snobbish wine drinker in your life.
6. A Moog synth vinyl record from the '70s designed to help houseplants grow — give it to your friend with a green thumb and, at the very least, watch your friendship grow.
Promising review: "Finding this album has become a sort of mission for me after I heard it played at the Los Angeles Triforium Project's 60th anniversary of the Triforium. It's one of those memories that never fade, and after being enchanted with one of the songs on the album, the album had to be mine. It's just as great as I could hope it could be." —assoluto
Get it from Amazon for $24.98.
7. A rechargeable electric lighter that requires no flame, making it also windproof and a whole lot easier to use outside.
Promising review: "Looks cool...but most importantly, it works. It's absolutely windproof. And the charge it lets out is (or looks like) plasma...an awesome purplish zap. It's easy to charge. This would be a great survival device — you could start a lot fires on one charge. The only thing I had to get used to was not having a flame. If you're using this for cigarettes, you have to push the cigarette into the arch and move it around a little bit. After you get over that curve, it's amazing." —Ronald E. Mahler
Get it from Amazon for $17.99+ (available in six colors).
8. A Memphis-y insulated water bottle for your quirkiest friend who likes to stay hydrated.
Get it from Hay for $35 (available in five colors).
9. A vintage Apple monitor stand they can slip their phone into to relive simpler times on the World Wide Web.
Promising review: "This is the cutest iPhone stand I've ever seen. It's perfect for a vintage Apple fan. It is fun and functional!" —A. Mangione
Get it from Amazon for $14.99 (available in black and white).
10. The Noma Guide to Fermentation if you fermeant to cop this piece of exquisite culinary literature for your foodie friend when it dropped last year.
Promising review: "The Noma Guide to Fermentation doesn't just teach you 'how' to ferment, it teaches you 'why.' And the biggest why is that the ferments in this book will make your food delicious. The book starts with very easy projects like lacto-fermentation (typical recipe: fruit, salt, jar, time) on through the complexities of making shoyu, the world's most popular fermented flavor. Yes, you can make your own soy sauce! More than that, this guide gives you the foundation (the 'whys') that you can use as a jumping point to go beyond the recipes in the book to #fermentallthethings. Thank you, Rene and David, for sharing your knowledge." —AimsInBrooklyn
Get it from Amazon for $23.49.
11. A pair of food socks so their love for sushi and pizza can be made abundantly clear for any that dare question it.
Get them from Food52 for $26+ (available in six foods).
12. A glass prism maker they can place in a window and watch beautiful rainbows pour in.
Get it from General Store for $32+ (available in small and large).
13. A galaxy donut kit — perfect for the person who finds themselves ~spacing~ out and thinking about donuts at inopportune moments.
The kit includes: organic Sunday stacks pancake mix, organic glaze mix, silicone donut pan, plant-based pink dye packet, plant-based bright blue dye packet, and dye-free diamond sugar packet.
Get it from Foodstirs for $25.99.
14. A handmade speckled-clay soap dish with a wavy pattern to give their bar soap a proper resting spot.
Get it from Recreation Center for $30 (available in five colors).
15. A set of upright nesting cutting boards if one simply doesn't ~cut~ it.
Promising review: "These cutting boards are gorgeous, super easy to use and stackable. I love them so much more than wooden ones since they keep cleaner and don't get moldy from water" —Nataly Ouvarova
Get it from Amazon for $30 (for three).
17. A sculptural candle that's so fancy they probably won't even want to burn it.
Get it from The Primary Essentials for $40.
18. A set of cleverly designed moon dominoes — the phases of the moon are used to replace the classic dots for numbers 0-6 — you can be sure they'll be over the moon about.
Get it from Fredericks and Mae for $45.
19. A tabletop puzzle for your purest friend with an affinity for vibrant colors.
Get it from Need Supply for $25.
20. A multi-tool that'll give them a poke to take care of their household chores.
Promising review: "Surprisingly good quality. The tools are sharp and sturdy. The scissors are the best quality I've seen on these multi tools." —#1Customer
Get it from Amazon for $22.50.
21. A mini fish hotel aquarium so they can finally get that beta fish they've been talking about.
22. A lovably disturbing "Fuggler" plush toy that definitely won't give them nightmares.
Get it from Spin Master on Amazon for $14.99.
23. A travel pillow for the person you know who can never seem to get a wink of sleep on the plane — it ends now!
Promising review: "Do you have a few hours? Because I need to tell you about this neck pillow thing my wife just got me. Imagine your neck is swimming in a bowl full of noodles, unable to grasp any support through the turbulence on your flight from LAX to, say, PIT. Then, imagine, just as your neck is about to drown in the limp pasta, a hand reaches down from the heavens and baby Jesus himself wraps your supple, tired neck, barely keeping its cricoid above the surface of the linguini soak, in a velvety, form-fitting embrace. Sure, other necks in the pot are just fine...floating casually next to you, but your neck, your poor poor neck, is writing goodbye letters to its loved ones - clavicles, humeri, and the like - as it can't imagine keeping up this pace for much longer. But then, the sweet Jesus baby appears and wraps it up in what might as well be the brazier of the mighty Athena...and all troubles are forgotten.
This is how I felt when I first strapped on Trtl Neck Pillow. My weary neck works all night, sleeps all day - and knowing that Trtl has its back on red eye flights makes all the difference. My neck has said "sayonara" to floundering with fettuccini and 'hello' to raging with the rigatoni." —Traveled
Get it from Amazon for $29.99 (available in four colors, as well as junior sizes or packs of two).
24. Skulls Unlimited International, Inc., a subscription box that'll feed your most morbid friend's curiosities by shipping bones and other osteological items to their doorstep every month.
What you'll get: skulls, baculums, teeth, claws — all the bones! Specimens will be of A or B quality with only minor imperfections.
Promising review: "It's like it was made for me. I can't wait for more!! I love my European rabbit skull. :D" —Carol
Get it from Cratejoy for $24.99+/month.
25. A cartoony ceramic mug to brighten their mornings.
Get it from Coming Soon for $45.
26. An LED dog leash that is sure to make any pup owner light up.
Promising review: "We have the green one and it is so excellent! Our Labradoodle is the coolest dog at the dog park and all the owners constantly comment on the least and collar of the same color! Just charge up on the USB and press the button to indicate which level of "flash" you want and voila! You got yourself a very trendy but safety-inducing dog leash. To address how visible this leash can be seen — we saw another dog with the leash/collar and color from at least a half mile away, it was a bright yellow. So yeah, the visibility is great with this leash/collar." —Raquel Gaitan
Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in 4- or 6-feet and in six colors).
27. An Ostrich travel eye pillow so they don't have to make eye contact with their haters on public transit.
Get it from MoMa Design Store for $40.
28. A winter-friendly "movies" beanie that'll give new meaning to the phrase "comfort watch."
Get it from Movies Brand for $25.99.
29. A set of colorful flex coasters that'll instantly liven up any table.
Get them from Coming Soon for $40 (for four).
30. A projector that displays media from your smartphone onto the wall, so that friend who is always browsing YouTube on their phone can finally enjoy the content in all its glory.
31. A pistachio pedestal so your snack-happy friend has a place to store their discarded shells while they eat.
32. A "tic-tac-trivet" — that's a tic-tac-toe board that doubles as a trivet, if you're stumped — so they can protect their beautiful tables from getting stained with cup rings while gaming.
Get it from MoMA Design Store for $40.
33. A children's denim apron for the parent who's having a hard time getting their kiddos in the kitchen.
Get it from Food52 for $50 (available in two designs).
34. A Japanese-inspired tea jug with a striking modular design.
Get it from Wallpaper Store for $36.
35. A scented candle that'll evoke an oddly specific memory — like say, studying in a college library or that infamous road trip in '13.
Get the library candle for $29.95 and the road trip candle for $25.46 from Homesick.
Explore the full memory collection here.
36. A sheep toilet paper holder that'll also hold their guest's attention, probably.
Promising review: "After using the bathroom, my husband sought me out to inform me that he loves this product. He was so delighted, and I was surprised at his reaction to the toilet paper holder. We use to stack our TP on top of the toilet tank. Easy to put together, and stands on floor. It holds lots of TP, and best of all, it is cute." —Murphy
Get it from Amazon for $34.99.
37. A travel knitting bag so they can take full advantage of their subway commute.
Promising review: "I travel a great deal for work, and am always looking for a way to carry my knitting with me. This bag is an excellent solution — I no longer have to run after my yarn ball on airplanes or trains! I also appreciate that I can button it up when I'm ready to put my project back in my purse." —DrK
Get it from Uncommon Goods for $35 or find something similar on Amazon for $17.84.
38. A geometric decanter that you can't go wrong with.
Promising review: "I like interesting things and this is interesting. it doesn't look like your everyday decanter. It is unique and most people will not have this item. Can you imagine having it in different colors? What a display that would make!" —CoCo's Mom
Get it from Amazon for $48+ (available in green, blue, and pink).
39. An unglazed terra cotta candle holder for a striking, minimalist centerpiece.
Get it from Food52 for $38 (available in black, terracotta, peach, and white).
40. An octopus shower caddy that'll hold all of their shampoos, conditioners, and shaving supplies.
Promising review: "I purchased this for my older kids' bathroom because their tub always seems littered with bottles (half of them empty) and the corner racks always get rusty and gross after some time. It works great and helps with clutter. The plastic seems indestructible. When you slip in the bottle, you need to pull the plastic loop down the feeder rope to tighten. It really is easy to do. The design is built to not slip (which is a good thing) so you just need to be firm with moving it and not afraid of breaking it. You can also place the bottle just over 50% through the loop to have it tip in the direction you want, making it easy to keep bottles pointed to their caps for when the contents are running low." —H. Solomon
Get it from Amazon for $32.95 (available in four colors).
Some reviews in this post have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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