Best gifts under $50

There is always that age old question around how much you should be spending on a gift for a friend or family member. No matter the occasion, if you’ve decided that $50 or under is a safe amount, there are a wealth of gifting options available at Best Buy to choose from, whether it be for the bedroom, kitchen or on the go. Here are a few options to consider.

Here are some of the best gifts under $50 available this holiday season:

Google Chromecast

Apple AirTag

Gift card

Gifts under $50 for the kitchen

If your gift recipient is a kitchen whiz, there are some small appliances you could consider. You can typically find smaller single use blenders or hand mixers for under $50. If it’s something more for the counter, you could look at sandwich or panini grills, smaller food processors or electric kettles or coffee makers too.

But for the entertainers, there’s also a great selection of barware too! You can find everything from glasses, wine racks, wine coolers, liquor dispensers and decanters and more.

Gift ideas under $50 for around the home

I started working from home part time around 2 years ago and have been at home full time for the last 18 months and one of the things I swear by now is a wireless bluetooth speaker. It adds a nice boost to sound quality that you don’t get from your phone and since I can use my laptop to stream directly to it, I don’t even need to keep my phone nearby.

If you’re looking for something that’s traditional, unplugged and away from all technology, Best Buy also has a massive selection of board games, from the traditional favourites you’d normally think of all the way up to newer competitive and co-op titles.

Gifts under $50 for the working mind

Speaking of working from home, it’s been long enough that some of us have been working from home that it might be time to refurbish some everyday electronics. I’ve been fortunate so far with my USB headset, but my wife thinks hers is starting to go. There are a lot of really good headphones in the $50 and under range, many of which have really simple plug and play functionality.

Gifts under $50 for those on the go

No matter how many times I’d like to think I’ll always leave my car keys on the hook, they end up on the coffee table or in the pocket of a jacket and I bet you know how this story ends. Item trackers are great for people like me. They attach to your item, are either water resistant or waterproof (depending on what you choose) and best of all, you can use their apps to make audible noises if you have trouble finding them. Item trackers nowadays come in all shapes and sizes. There are credit card-shaped ones for wallets and purses, keychain-sized ones to attach to your keys and even smaller sticker style ones to tag onto other things you could lose.

For the traveler or commuter, you could look at gifting a new set of earbuds or headphones depending on preference. This might sound silly, but replacement earbud tips are a really clutch gift too. I have a set of wired earbuds that I love and refuse to give up, but I lose the tips for them all the time. I probably go through about 3-6 sets a year and the cost for those things add up in a hurry. Most earbuds tend to come with a couple extra sets, but they’re usually different sizes. A set of replacement tips to go along with a new set of earbuds would be great too!

Media streaming options under $50

There are a couple of really good media streamers for your TV that come in under $50, however, consider whom you’re buying for, remotes and ease of use as well. If you’re buying for a young family where the kids might be navigating back and forth through apps, I’d recommend something that comes with a remote and native apps so that the kids don’t need to worry about streaming from a secondary device.

If the person you’re buying for is fairly tech savvy and would usually be streaming directly from their phone, tablet or laptop, there are good options available to them in this range as well. Either way, your options definitely are not limited and some quick research might help. Make sure to check out our Media Streamers Buying Guide to narrow down your choices.

Smart home gifts under $50

There are a lot of different smart home gifts in and under the $50 range too. While you won’t be able to add locks, cameras or doorbells at that price point, there are still a lot of helpful gadgets.

Smart plugs are always a quick and easy thing to add to anybody’s home. You can turn your “dumb” device smart and use your smart plugs to set timers as well. Smart plugs have really come down in price over the last few years and you can now get multiples in the $50 range.

Some smart light switches also fall into this price range too. Smart switches will allow your recipient to leave those old school timers behind and set their own lights on timers while away from the home, or just conveniently shut them off through an app (or voice control if connected to virtual assistants). However, if you don’t want to commit them to light switches, you could just as easily consider smart bulbs themselves. Bulbs can also shut on and off with user input through an app. Before considering any of these options though, you’ll need to do a bit of research before you leap. Many smart switches require a ground wire in the junction box to close a proper power loop. I’d say that if the home this switch is getting older, it’ll be pretty dicey as to whether or not you’ll have a ground wire in the box. Newer homes won’t have this problem. Smart bulbs don’t necessarily have this complicated need to work properly. However, most smart bulbs prefer an open (as opposed to enclosed) light fixture for the best performance possible. Smart bulbs, just like LED bulbs, have difficulty dissipating heat from enclosed fixtures, which could lead to a shorter lifespan and may affect the warranty.

Subscription service gifts under $50

If you’re buying for the person who either has everything or goes and purchases everything when they need it (I’ve been told I’m this type of person), then why not just continue to help them along with whatever they’ve already got? I know that some gifters consider gift cards or subscriptions a bit disingenuous, but the person you’re buying for gets as much use out of a streaming or gaming service as much as I do, I’d say you’re doing them a solid by helping them extend out that subscription for a few months just so they don’t have to think about it. My friend has a running birthday gift with my daughter every year where she pays for her annual online pass for the video game “Just Dance”. It saves me the time and effort of having to do it and truthfully, both my daughter and I really appreciate it because it’s one of her favourite things in gaming. Nowadays, with more people continuing to move off cable, introducing them to a new service or continuing their ongoing subscription might just be the ticket.

At the end of it all, if you’re still looking to keep your options under $50, don’t forget that you can sort all of your search terms on BestBuy.ca by low-high price! You’ll see this option just above your search results on the right side. You can even search down what’s available at local stores by toggling the “Available at Nearby stores” button. Hopefully this has given you some good gifting ideas to start with and happy searching!

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