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Samantha Schoech is a writer focusing on gifts. She spends her time finding things that combine quality, beauty, usefulness, and delight. Coloured Paper Bags
We’ve streamlined our list and added a bunch of new gift picks under $100, including a lemon tree, a sleek and sexy vibrator, and our favorite travel day pack.
The cost of unique, thoughtful gifts can add up alarmingly fast. But we’ve spent thousands of hours on research and testing (some of which involved eating ice cream), plus some good old-fashioned retail hunting, to find these gems under $100.
If there’s a cook on your list, we have you covered. Outdoorsy? Yes. Ditto for homebodies, travelers, plant parents, and people who just like cool things. Though we’ve made every effort to confirm that all the picks in this guide meet the threshold, prices can dance around a bit—especially around the holidays.
If you’re looking for more-affordable gifts, check out our guides to the best gifts under $10, under $25, and under $50.
Remarkably light and easy to compress, this bag ticks all the boxes for daily use while you’re traveling—it’s comfortable, quietly stylish, and sturdy.
From: The Best Packable Daypack for Travel
This suction vibrator provides diffuse, customizable sensations in a small, convenient size.
This two-tier Japanese steel toolbox has a roomy primary chamber and adjustable top compartments (to hold smaller objects). It’s more scratch-prone than plastic counterparts, but it makes up for that with cheery colors and butter-smooth hinges.
From: The Best Anniversary Gifts for Any Relationship
Get fresh lemons from this pest-resistant mail-order tree, which can grow indoors or outdoors in warmer climates.
From: Best Gifts for Mom
This sturdy, rust-resistant garden kneeler–bench combo is extra wide for stability and extra cushy for comfort.
From: Best Gifts for Gardeners
These classic mixing bowls have been made the same way since the 1950s in the last hand-pressed glass factory in the US.
From: Best Mother’s Day Gifts
The HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 offers clear and impressive sound quality seldom found in headsets at this price, and it’s comfortable enough that most people should be able to wear it for hours without complaint. It’s also compatible with all platforms.
Each of these dainty, 12-millimeter hinge hoops are made from vermeil—a thick layer of 14k gold over solid sterling silver—and embedded with one of 13 lab-grown gemstones.
From: Best Gifts for New Moms
This low-profile sterling silver money clip is perfectly pocket-sized. And you can have it custom-engraved to include a drawing, signature, or special design.
From: Best Gifts for Groomsmen
High-end yarn, beautifully designed instructions with online tutorials, and three dozen color choices make this an especially giftable (though pricey) beginner knitting experience.
From: The Best Fiber Craft Kits for Adults
For those who want an affordable yet high-quality portable hand grinder, the Timemore Chestnut C2 is the best in its class for speed, ease of grinding, and consistency.
From: The Best Coffee Grinder
This screen inflates itself in seconds for easy setup and delivers solid picture quality. But you have to contend with drawbacks such as fan noise and a less taut screen surface.
From: The Best Outdoor Projector Screen
These modern, mostly cotton Japanese house slippers are machine washable and perfect for shoe-free households (or anyone who wants warm feet).
From: The Best Housewarming Gifts
Versatile and flattering, these leggings offer a structured fit, a substantial feel, and medium compression. They’re also available in three lengths, nine colors, and a wide variety of sizes, from XXS to 6XL.
Sharp, non-serrated stainless blades meet stylish wood handles in these classic French steak knives.
May be out of stock
From: Wedding Registry Ideas: What You Should Add to Your List
This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon.
The WR-15 radio combines an eye-catching retro design with reliable performance, solid build quality, and superb value. Its taller, vertical form makes it look more striking than many competitors.
From: The Best Tabletop Radios
Comfortable to hold and easy to start using right away, this 3D pen also benefits from 3Doodler’s excellent customer service, and it gives you the option to buy different-size tips.
From: The Best 3D Pen
This power bank is small and light, and its rounded edges make it easy to slip into a pocket. It comes in only one color, but it has two built-in cables and enough capacity to charge most smartphones up to three times.
From: The Best Portable Chargers
This midsize teak cutting board offers a deep juice canal on one side and hand grooves for lifting and serving.
May be out of stock
From: The Best Cutting Boards
This loose-fitting pinafore is absurdly comfy, and the thick linen keeps the wearer protected, cool, and feeling kind of French.
From: Our Favorite Kitchen Aprons
This inexpensive Dutch oven has easy-to-grip large handles, as well as shorter sides and a wider base, which together allow steam to escape easily, helping to concentrate flavors during cooking. Its design rivals that of pricier models, too.
From: The Best Dutch Oven
Extra-creamy best-selling flavors— brambleberry crisp, brown butter almond brittle, darkest chocolate, salted peanut butter with chocolate flecks, and salty caramel—from a renowned ice cream maker will delight the 6-year-old in just about anyone.
From: Most Gift Baskets Are Terrible. These Are Great.
This 1.7-liter kettle heats water quickly and accurately to the various temperatures needed to get optimum flavor from teas and coffee.
From: The Best Electric Kettle
Powerful, easy to use, and convenient, this personal blender will save on cleanup time.
From: The Best Personal Blender
These multipurpose, durable bags seal securely and can hold everything from snacks to prepped ingredients to leftovers to toiletries for travel. And they can go from fridge to freezer.
From: The Best Reusable Produce Bags
This frozen-bowl-style ice cream maker quickly churns out dense, creamy ice cream—at a fraction of the cost of most competitors.
From: The Best Ice Cream Maker
This classic mandoline found in restaurant kitchens all over the world has razor-sharp replaceable blades and a safe hand guard.
Five millimeters of natural rubber provide plenty of padding for knees and a truly nonslip surface. It’s available in the massive “big” size too.
From: The Best Yoga Mats
Good for long-distance runners or always-prepared types, this nearly bounce-free waistband has a pocket, loop, and clip for stowing your stuff.
From: The Best Running Belts
This lantern’s rechargeable battery is removable for use with many other Coleman products. It has a USB-C input port and a USB-A output port, and its 1,000-lumen bulb offers six brightness settings to cast a soft, warm glow.
From: Outdoor and Backyard Lighting We Love
The Jet Sled is big, boxy, and capable of holding a lot of riders. It isn’t the fastest sled, but it’s a load of fun for families or groups of friends.
This chair’s big, heavy canopy provides ample sun protection at a campsite or cookout and doubles as a backpack-strap-equipped carrying case.
From: The Best Camping Chair
This light and slim multi-tool focuses on well-executed essentials—such as precise, comfortable pliers—and has no fillers. It’s easy to carry daily and built to last.
This spacious neoprene pack is a true blend of fashion and function, capable of holding plenty of stuff (a large wallet, makeup kit, phone) with room to spare.
From: The Best Fanny Packs
These sunglasses are ultralight, ultraflat, and ultraflexible, so they’re perfect for traveling—they take up barely any room at all.
From: The Best Cheap Sunglasses
They’re sharp, durable, smooth, easy to repair, and easy to find. As thousands of gardeners already know, a Felco 2 may be the last pruner one ever buys.
From: The Best Garden Pruners
This pillowcase, made from the highest-grade mulberry silk, is lustrous and weighty right out of the box.
From: My Favorite Hair Care Tool Is a Silk Pillowcase
This bag includes a detachable pouch and other organizational options, so packing is easier for both long and short trips.
From: The Best Toiletry Bags
This lightweight jersey-knit robe feels soft and slinky, and the three-quarter-length sleeves don’t get in the way. The curve-skimming cut is flattering on different body types.
In our tests, this aluminum grinder produced the fluffiest and finest results. Its bonus storage compartment and an optional plate for coarser grinds are unique extras worth the added cost.
From: The Best Cannabis Grinder
Curated by the online Japanese market Bokksu, this snack box is chock-full of tangy, crunchy, and sweet shelf-stable delights.
From: Most Gift Baskets Are Terrible. These Are Great.
Smooth against the skin, the Luna blanket looks and feels balanced, especially with the duvet cover (sold separately).
From: The Best Weighted Blankets
This tasteful card holder has everything you could want—nice leather, four slots, a cash pocket—and nothing you don’t.
From: The Best Slim Wallet
These sculptural earthenware vessels are slip cast in Portugal, painted in food-safe glazes, and beautiful when filled with food or flowers—or just sitting pretty.
From: The Best Gifts for Your Mother-in-Law
Ohom’s quirky Ui Mug comes with a warming pad that doubles as a wireless phone charger—and it works well in both respects. But it isn’t compatible with regular mugs.
From: Mug Warmers We Love for Keeping Our Coffee (and Tea) Hot
In a bedroom, dorm room, nursery, or office, the compact and cost-friendly Clorox Medium Room is a fine option.
From: The Best Air Purifiers
This lightweight, all-in-one grinder, brewer, and insulated mug works well anywhere—just add beans and hot water.
From: The Best Gifts for Coffee Lovers
Houseplants are much harder to kill in these pretty terra-cotta-and-glass self-watering planters, which slowly absorb water to keep soil moist.
From: Gifts for Plant Lovers
We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.
This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.
name wall stickers Except for the time she gave a boyfriend her mother’s old toaster for Christmas, staff writer Samantha Schoech has a reputation as an excellent gift giver. She lives in San Francisco with two teens, two cats, a geriatric betta fish, and a bookseller husband. Her first book of short stories, My Mother’s Boyfriends, is coming out in 2024.