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$20 at Amazon
Stanley Quencher H2.0 tumbler
Keep their coffee hot and their water cold
See at Amazon
Lego sets: Marvel, Star Wars and more
Many choices under $30
$22 at Amazon
Baseus Bowie MA10
Ultrabudget earbuds that sound pretty good
The holiday shopping season is here. While we’ve already seen early promotions and themed sales kick-start the season into gear — like October’s Amazon Prime Big Deal Days — this is the time when people really begin compiling their festive lists and planned purchases. Seasonal deals and sales aside, there are loads of affordable gadgets and gifts that are priced at $30 or less that will help fight those inflation woes. We have gone ahead and compiled a list of the best items available, and every one of them is a present we’d love to give (or receive) during the holiday season — or any season, for that matter.
Pricing and availability of each product below was accurate when this list was published. It’s important to note that they are subject to change without notice. If any of the items have a price listed above $30, click to see if there are any instant coupons offered to apply a discount and lower that cost.
Stanley/Screenshot by CNET
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.
Sarah Tew/CNET
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.
Lego
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.
Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET
Like
Low price
Surprisingly good sound for the money
Active noise canceling and multipoint Bluetooth
Strong battery life
Don’t like
Charging case is bulky
Earbuds are a little big
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).
Lodge
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.
John Falcone/CNET
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).
Amazon/Screenshot by CNET
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.
Wizards of the Coast
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.
Sarah Tew/CNET
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.
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