The holiday shopping season seems to start earlier each year. These days, October is the unofficial kickoff for when people start planning their purchases, which is why we’ve already seen early sales like Amazon Prime Big Deal Days. But even without seasonal sales and deals, there are plenty of inflation-fighting gifts and gadgets that cost $30 or less. We’ve rounded up the best ones available, all of which are things we’d like to give — or receive — during the holidays, or any other time of year.
Note that pricing and availability of the products selected were accurate at time of publication, but both are subject to change without notice. If a price above $30 is shown, check to see if there’s an instant coupon available to get the price lower.
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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. 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 ouncers for just $20.
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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 it’s completely waterproof — making it an ideal addition to a bathroom, kitchen or backyard.
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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.
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These are one of the few sets of wireless earbuds that cost under $30 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 pocketable as pricier name-brand models. But they make up for it more than 100 hours of battery life (via recharging in the case).
At my house, the Lodge Grill Pan gets used at least once a week to cook fish or turkey burgers (to name just two). 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 (any other Android phone owner).
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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.
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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 whopping 1.44 megabytes of data on them. This flash drive costs under $21, 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.
