Gift-giving is huge. There are birthdays, holidays, random occasions where a gift is expected.
For those of us that enjoy gift-giving, and have money to spend on giving elaborate gifts, it’s awesome and can make us feel really great to give someone a gift.
However, for those of us who don’t have the finances to fund breath-taking gifts for our friends and loved ones, gift-giving can feel stressful and sometimes even embarrassing.
Lucky for you, there is a solution. There are lots of ways we can make gift-giving less stressful.
One of those ways is by giving our friends and loved ones cheap gifts.
Cheap gifts don’t have to look cheap, feel cheap, nobody even has to know it’s cheap. It just has to be cheap for the gift giver.
Let’s get into the best cheap gift ideas to change up the way you view gift-giving.
#AllOccasions Movie Quote Book
This cheap gift idea covers multiple bases. If you have a friend (or a dad) who loves incorporating movie quotes into their daily speech, then this movie quote book is going to be a great and cheap gift for them.
With one hundred and ninety-three pages of classic movie quotes that every film lover is sure to swoon over, this movie quote book is a great cheap gift idea.
Big, elaborate gifts aren’t always necessary. We like this movie quote book because it is fun, silly, and simple.
It’s something that a movie lover will pull out and use in their day-to-day. When they do, they will be thinking about you!
If you have a film buff in your life with a birthday coming up, check out some of our other gift ideas for movie lovers.
Writer Emergency Pack
Know someone with writer’s block? This twenty-six pack of cards to get those creative juices flowing again.
By using helpful tips and tricks, your writer friend will be back to it in no time!
We love this cheap gift idea because it’s practical. It’s an awesome way to show that you care about your friend’s passions or line of work. This isn’t a gift that will sit on a shelf for years to come.
Your friend will be putting it to good use every time they need a little creative bump.
For more gift ideas for your buds in the writing field, check out our list of best gifts for writers and authors.
Athletic Cooling Towel
We all have that friend who seems like they never sit still. I’m talking about our athlete friend who is always walking, running, climbing, or engaging in some sort of movement.
Especially in the summer, outdoor activities can get grudgingly steamy. So why not cool them off?
No, we are not suggesting you run alongside them with a water bottle ready to spritz them when they start looking a tad overheated. (Though that would take cheap gift-giving to the next level.)
Instead, why not give your athletic friend a breathable mesh cooling towel? This one comes with a little carrying case, making it convenient to bring to any activity, anytime.
We love it because it’s simple, and it gets the job done.
Just place it on your neck to feel a sense of relief from the heat, or use it to dab sweat off the forehead. This UPF 50+ rag can do wonders for your loved ones while also protecting them from the sun.
Are you looking for other great gifts to give to your runner friends? Check out some of the best gifts for runners.
Personalized Dog Parent Necklace
Dog parents are parents too! Wearing jewelry with your kid’s name on it is not just for people with human babies!
Surprise your dog mom or dog dad friend with a classy, personalized necklace featuring their pup’s name.
This bar necklace comes in stainless steel, gold, and rose gold. It also has a little dog paw print next to the pet’s name. How cute!
This gift is definitely going to wow your dog parent friend.
We like this gift because it is personalized. Everybody loves the idea of feeling like their gift is made just for them. This necklace is just that gift.
For other gifting ideas for pet parents and dog lovers, check out some of our other suggestions.
Brush Cleaner for #ArtistFriends
This lemon-scented brush cleaner and preserver is a practical gift for your artist friend.
Brush cleaning is something they have to engage with every time they pick up their tools, so why not give them something that could make their life a little easier.
Help your friend preserve their brushes and keep them painting for longer. It uses a non-toxic solution to clean brushes and make even those crunchy brushes come back to life.
We love this gift because it’s one of the things your artist friend probably needs but probably would rather not spend money on.
To keep your artist friend active, motivated, and creating, here are some other great gift ideas.
Earth-Conscious Gardening Notebook
Your eco-friendly gardening buddy is sure to love this honeycomb style, recycled paper notebook. Printed with soy ink and made in the USA, this notebook features an intriguing design that is good for our planet.
This notebook is great for journaling about the garden even in the garden. Give your friend a guilt-free way to log their garden wins with this honeycomb-style notebook.
We love that this notebook is eco-friendly while boasting such a cool and intricate design at a super reasonable price.
If you’re looking for more ideas for gifts for gardening friends, check out some of our other ideas with our guide to gift-giving for gardeners.
Travel Guide for Adventurers
Adventurous friends will appreciate this cheap gift idea. The Anywhere Travel Guide is a seventy-five card set game to play with their loved ones.
This game includes prompts and actions for your friend to follow along with to learn and explore.
We love how interactive this gift is. For adventurous travelers, this is the perfect cheap gift idea to feed their wandering spirit.
To keep the planning out of your traveling friend’s life and the spontaneity in, check out some of these other creative gift ideas for travelers.
Super Protective Wine Condom
For wine lovers with a sense of humor, this is the gift to get. Toss that cork in the trash, or store it in your cork keeper decor piece because wine condoms are here to protect your bottle.
Wine condoms seal the opening of the bottle to keep wine fresh and prevent spillage. If you have a friend who loves wine and likes to laugh a little, this gift is practical and will tickle their funny bone.
We love the wine condom because it’s a gag gift with practical use. Just the right amount of humor goes into this gift, and it’s sure to bring a grin onto your friend’s face when they open the box.
For other cool gifts for wine lovers, check out our article for the best gifts for wine lovers.
#Naughty Plant Mug
Plant moms and dads are also a thing. Seriously though, the benefits of keeping house plants keep growing. (Get it?)
This plant mug is a super cute and creative gift for all the plant lovers out there.
Did we mention that this isn’t just a standard plant mug? This one is for plant lovers with a similar sense of humor to the friend you might be gifting the wine condoms too.
We love this naughty plant mug because, once again, it’s a gift with practicality and a little laugh.
For more great gift ideas for plant lovers, check out our garden full of ideas.
Warming Coffee Coaster
Coffee culture is real. If you don’t love coffee yourself, the chances you know someone who does are high.
This coffee mug warming coaster is a great cheap gift idea. Best part? It’s scented too.
Available in cinnamon clove or coffee-scented, these warming coasters are the perfect spot to sit your mug and keep it warm. They are super easy to use, all you do is pop your coaster in the microwave for about thirty seconds, and you are good to go.
We love this warming mug coaster because it is handmade in Guatemala by Guatemalan women who are a part of United For a Better Life. This organization trains Guatemalan women to make handmade goods to enhance their quality of life and provide them with a skillset.
If you’re looking for other great gift ideas for the coffee lovers in your life, check out some of our other best gifts for coffee lovers.
Fashionable Vegan Wallet
Want a fancy gift to give to your vegan friend? Not only is vegan leather much less expensive than real leather, but it is also just a way better choice to remain eco-friendly and conscious of our environment.
This vegan leather wallet comes in six different styles. Some even with textures including black carbon fiber and crocodile.
We love this gift because it is eco-friendly, and it looks expensive but actually is very cheap.
For a list of more gift ideas for vegans and eco-friendly folks, check out our top picks.
Dammit Doll
The Dammit doll is a gift that helps you in the daily stresses and hardships of everyday life. You can pull, tug, punch or squeeze these soft dolls whenever you need to let out some of that pent-up frustration or anxiety.
This is a silly and practical gift for someone you know and love that suffers from feeling stressed frequently. They come in twelve different vibrant patterns and are about the length of a ruler.
We love this gift because sometimes the best gifts are the ones that help us let out our frustrations. Everybody gets stressed out, and this little doll is a great gift to let out that steam.
For more out-of-the-box stress management and anxiety, gift ideas check out our list.
Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker
If you aren’t sure what kind of stuff the person you are giving a gift to is interested in, you usually can not go wrong with music. Music is generally something everybody can get behind and enjoy.
This waterproof Bluetooth speaker is great for use in many different conditions. It is waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, rainproof, and definitely a fool-proof cheap gift idea!
You can pick from black, pink, or mint when gifting this waterproof speaker. They are relatively compact and super portable.
We love this gift because it is something that just about anyone will be excited to use. Having a waterproof speaker is a handy thing to have and can be used in whatever ways your giftee likes to incorporate music into their daily routines.
If you are searching for more music lover-friendly gift ideas, check out some of ours.
Colorful Tea Infuser
There are coffee lovers, and there are tea lovers.
Tea lovers will love this cheap gift idea. This tea infuser is great for brewing an individual cup of tea. It’s an awesome gift idea for tea lovers on the go because it is super small and convenient for small brews.
These tea infusers are designed to keep chunky pieces of tea leaves out of your friend’s cup. They come in a small variety of bright colors sure to impress your friend.
We love this cheap gift idea because it’s simple, easy, and super useful to make your friend’s tea brewing experience great every day they brew.
For more gift ideas for tea, lovers check out our list of piping hot gifts for tea lovers.
Foodie Recipe Journal
Another topic everybody can get behind…FOOD! If you have a friend that loves to cook or one that loves to eat, this recipe journal will make a great cheap gift idea.
This journal includes one hundred pages for your loved one to fill with delicious recipes they love.
We love this gift because it takes the standard recipe cards to a new and organized level. This recipe journal allows you to stay organized and keep everything you need for all things cooking in one place.
For more food lover gift ideas, check out our list of excellent gifts for foodies.
#SilentReadingTime Reading Sign
Got a bookworm in your life but don’t know what kind of reading they’re into? Skip the book and go straight to the knick-knacks.
This “Go Away I’m Reading” sign is the perfect gift to keep your reading friend from being disturbed.
We love this gift because it makes an adorable decor piece while also conveying an important message. It is a cute and creative way to incorporate your friend’s hobby into a gift without making the wrong decision.
If you want more ideas for gifts made for book lovers, check out our article.
Gifting Tips
Giving a cheap gift doesn’t have to look cheap. Putting thought into the gift you give someone is much more valuable than giving a gift with a steep price tag.
A little effort will take a cheap gift and turn it from zero to one hundred.
Here are some gifting tips when trying to give good cheap gifts to your loved ones (or acquaintances):
- Think about the person’s interests.
If you’re giving a gift to someone you know very well, try to figure out their interests. When you give a gift related to someone’s hobbies or something they are passionate about, the gift always feels more meaningful to the person.
For example, if you know your friend is absolutely a coffee fanatic, get her a gift like the coffee mug warmer. Something specific to what you know she loves and is useful to her.
- If you don’t know, don’t guess.
If you are giving a gift to someone you don’t know very well, or aren’t for sure what their interests are. Don’t give them a super-specific gift. Instead, give them something that generally works well for everyone.
An example of this would be giving a gift such as a waterproof Bluetooth speaker. A gift like that isn’t overly specific to a certain niche or hobby and is generally on the safe side in terms of likability.
- Less is more.
Rather than getting a bunch of silly, meaningless, and useless things, put a lot of thought into just one gift. This is perhaps the best way to master cheap gift giving.
If you know the person you are giving a gift to, chances are they are not expecting a gift that costs hundreds of dollars. They are just expecting a thoughtful gift from you.
Don’t overthink it. Less is more.
Give your friend or loved one something you know they will love. The price tag is irrelevant.