Whether you’re on the lookout for stocking stuffers or a small, thoughtful gift to give to someone to show you’re thinking about them this holiday season, I hope something on this list pops out at you! With gifts ranging from $5 to $25, it’s definitely a budget-friendly gift guide!
More 2016 Gift Guides:
Gift Ideas Under $25
- Card Case
Though I have a traditional wristlet wallet, I actually keep a small card case inside my wristlet with my driver’s license, insurance card and credit cards. This makes quickly transferring my “must have” items to a small purse/clutch so simple! It also makes accessing credit cards easy since I’m not digging them out of the way-too-tight slots in most traditional wallets. I love my card case and think it would be a great gift for everyone from working professionals who carry business cards to someone who just wants to have their credit cards handy.
Favorites: Kate Spade Card Case (On sale for $22.50) / Kate Spade Initial Card Case / Teal Hand Drawn Card Case (Love this design!) / Custom Monogram Card Case
- Trinket Dish
I’m not sure why I love trinket dishes so much, but they always catch my eye! They’re useful for everything from jewelry, lipgloss and perfume to paperclips and spare change and are much more beautiful to look at than usual organizational dishes or office supplies.
Favorites: Anthropologie Mythical Feather Tray / Zebra Dish / Madison Trinket Tray / J.Crew Jewelry Tray / Monogram Jewelry Tray / Anthropologie Plate
This stocking stuffer is a great one for the coffee and tea lovers in your life! The silicone straw helps prevent teeth staining from drinking dark beverages and I use one every single day in my morning cup of coffee. Love this little thing!
- Seasonal Nail Polish + Fast Dry Top Coat
You may recognize the fast dry top coat in this stocking stuffer suggestion from a recent Things I’m Loving Friday post and that’s because it does the most amazing job at transforming regular nail polish into rapid-drying polish. Pair this with a seasonal color of polish for a fun stocking stuffer for a beauty lover in your life!
Favorites: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat / OPI Magala Wine / Essie Bahama Mama / Essie Berry Naughty
This is another recent TILF feature that I couldn’t help mention here because it’s an affordable gift that will blow any beauty-lover’s mind. The Makeup Eraser does the best job at removing stubborn eye makeup and is something I use every single day. It’s also wonderful for traveling when you don’t want to worry about getting hotel or friend/family’s towels dirty with makeup after you wash your face.
- Useful Kitchen Accessories
There are a few kitchen accessories I discovered within the past couple of years that far surpassed my expectations. (Basically they were small gifts from my mom that I didn’t think I’d use all that often that ended up being incredibly practical, functional and extremely useful!)
Here are two of my favorites:
If you know someone who likes to make a lot of dishes that involve placing a skillet or cast-iron pan in the oven, a silicone handle is a great gift! My mom gave me one when I first began making frittatas and offhandedly told her I burned myself almost every time I would make one because I’d absentmindedly grasp the pan handle to hold the frittata steady as I cut it after I pulled it out of the oven. Now I simply slip this handle cover on the pan the minute it comes out of the oven and haven’t burnt my hand since!
This tiny little tool is incredible!!! I honestly don’t know what I did without it! If food that sticks to pots and pans drives you up a wall, this scraper will save your sanity! It makes cleaning dishes 10,000 times easier and scrapes food that seems that it will be forever stuck to pots and pans off in an instant. (It is also handy for removing sticky and stubborn labels.) It’s the little tool you never knew you needed and would make a great gift for pretty much anyone who does dishes (aka everyone).
- Mug / Tumbler
I’m convinced you can never have too many coffee mugs or tumblers. For some reason I cannot help but look at new mugs every time I pop into HomeGoods and always love receiving big coffee mugs and tumblers as a gift. (There are a ton of fun sayings on a variety of different-sized mugs out there on Etsy and Zulily.) If you know someone who love to take their coffee or tea to go in the mornings, a fun tumbler might be a good gift!
Favorites: Bearly Awake Mug / Merry Travel Mug / Personalized Custom Mug / Faith Mug / State Mug / Skinny Tumbler / Anthropologie Mimira Mug / Anthropologie Monogram Mug / Travel Coffee Mug
- Fuzzy Slipper Socks
I recently gave one of my girlfriends a fuzzy pair of slipper socks as part of her birthday gift last weekend and they seemed to go over very well! There’s something warm and cozy about a comfortable new pair of slipper socks in the winter months that I just adore!
Favorites: Plush Socks / Bear Butter Socks / Sherpa Lined Slipper Socks
Additional Gift Ideas
- Passport Cover
- Oven Mit or Kitchen Towels (Great selection at HomeGoods)
- Festive Candles
- Makeup Brush (I love my IT Powder Brush – but it is $1 over the limit for this gift guide!)
- Lotion / Body Butter (I love Wish Pomegranate Body Butter and Beautycounter Citrus Mimosa Hand Cream)
- Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate (We are obsessed and buy it every year!)
- Gift Certificate for a Manicure
- 6-pack of Hand-Selected Local Beers
- New Stationary/Cards
- Cozy Sweatshirt (This “I Am Freaking Cold” sweatshirt cracks me up!)
- Adult Coloring Book
- Journal/Notebook
- Cocktail Kit
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I’ve never had a card case but that sounds like something I’d like! I second that fast drying nail polish. I ran out and actually need to get more. It’s incredible. I’ve also been using the Revlon Gel, which is less expensive than other gel nail polishes and it lasts for a while on my fingers!
Awesome ideas. The make-up eraser is one of my holy grail products that I live for. The WS hot chocolate is the perfect gift for a host – and I always snag one for myself, too! Such a delicious treat around the holidays.
I think it’s time to try that make-up eraser!!!! And we only spend $25 on each adult in our family – and quite honestly, that’s plenty. Read that the average person gets $1400 in gifts at Christmas. Yikes.
Little gifts are my favorite to pick out! My mom still makes us a stocking every year, I love it, it’s my favorite thing to go through!
i love little trinket dishes too! so cute!
I LOVE that scraper too! It’s a lifesaver! These are all great ideas—also a nice big cozy throw blanket is always a winner too with some popcorn and hot chocolate 😀
I love trinket dishes too! Every time I visit Zara Home, I have to have hands in pockets as they always have a cute one that catches my eye!
When I used to drink coffee (gave it up over a year ago due to cystic acne and can’t say I miss either the coffee or the spots!) I went through a stage of drinking it through a straw until I realised that it’s the same as smoking for the lines around the mouth. Quite a few dermatologists say the same! Each time you take a sip through a straw it’s the same as taking a drag as the same muscles are in action! I don’t want to be a buzz kill, but thought I should mention it. xo
These are great ideas! I love quick-dry top coats because I’m so impatient when I do my nails. I love giving Bath and Body Works candles to people. They have the best scents!
If you like Seche Vite, you should try Out the Door! Its cheaper and I like it better. The Seche Vite bottles would dry out so fast!
I love mugs! For a cheap DIY gift, you could buy dollar store mugs or plates (for a trinket dish) and draw on them with oil paint pens. Or you could even have Chase add his own touch to them with finger prints =)
Haha I just pulled out the same nail polish and top coat you included last night! That top coat is AMAZING!
My husband and I buy the William Sonoma hot chocolate every year! We love it so much! Thanks or all the ideas!
These were really cute ideas! I just bought the Williams Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate for my co-worker. It was 20% with free shipping so only $15.96!
Awesome!!! I hope they love it! We made some last night and it’s SO delicious!
Oh I love that maroon color nail polish! And those socks look so cozy!
I’d like that whole list 🙂
I love coffee mugs and have so many injust can’t help myself! I also love getting nail polish as a gift bc sometimes I get different colors that I wouldn’t normally get myself.
The Makeup Eraser has been on my Amazon wishlist since your TILF post. I checked back today, and it’s 25% less than when I added it. YAY! Great list – I love trying out new (and relatively inexpensive) things! (It looks like this one is going to be a gift to myself!) Thanks!
I have a Make Eraser mini and love it! It’s so much better and more eco-friendly than buying liquid make remover or wipes. I also love collecting coffee mugs. I got the cutest Rise & Shine mug from Morning Culture last month and can’t wait to add another this month.