This December, the members of HC at UVic—like countless other people—are participating in a gift exchange! It’ll be just like your typical white elephant/yankee swap in that it comes with a price limit of $20. While this rule is imposed to lessen the financial burden on poor students, it can be difficult to come up with gifts under $20 that someone would actually like. Luckily for you, I’ve thought of a few! Check out these holiday gift exchange ideas for under $20.
Something from Work
If there were ever a time to take advantage of employee discounts, it’s now. I work in a souvenir store, so you might not think that there’s much there that would make a good gift for a fellow Canadian, but we sell more than just corny T-shirts and maple syrup. We sell some high fashion items, cute wallets, nice jewellery, and lots of other things that would interest someone other than a tourist. So if you work in retail, take a look around your store and see if there’s anything someone might really like to receive in a gift exchange. If you have a discount, you might be able to get something worth more than $20 while still adhering to the price rule.
Something Vintage
Everyone loves vintage stuff. There are great vintage stores downtown, like The Patch and Vintage Funk, that sell unique items at reasonable prices. It might be a little risky to buy clothes for a gift exchange unless it’s something like a scarf that would fit anyone, but if you’re a risk-taker, go for it. Other vintage gift ideas include jewellery, sunglasses, and vinyl records.
Bath Products
I’ve heard people say that receiving soap and hygiene products as gifts makes them think that they smell, but I don’t see it that way. Stores like Lush and The Body Shop sell wonderful, luxurious products that I would love to have and use, but are usually too expensive for me to justify spending money on when I can get good soap products for cheaper at the grocery store (gasp). I think most people would be super happy to receive a fancy shower gel, or a face mask, or even body lotion, because then they would be able to use it without feeling like they spent too much money. Pick up a sweet-smelling bottle of something soapy, and you’re good to go!
Beauty Products
Makeup and beauty products are another thing I feel guilty spending on, so that would be another good thing to buy for someone else. Go to a drugstore like Shoppers or London Drugs and browse for nail polish, mascara, lipstick, and more for reasonable prices. Just because it’s not from Sephora doesn’t mean it’s not good quality. This article lists good drugstore makeup products under $10!
Stationery
Who doesn’t need another journal to fill them with motivation to be productive? I know I sure do. Tons of brick and mortar stores sell journals, including places like the campus bookstore, regular bookstores, Urban Outfitters, Charming Charlie at Uptown, and even Walmart. If you have time for it to arrive before the gift exchange, good online stores for journals include Amazon (obvs) and Muji. Things like nice pens and cute notepads can also be found for less than $20.
Winter Clothes
When it’s cold out, everyone appreciates a new hat or pair of gloves. A particularly good winter clothing gift idea would be texting gloves, which have fingers made of special conductive materials that allow you to use a touchscreen without baring your hands to the cold. I found cute, cheap texting gloves at my store for well under $20, and I know they also sell them at Mark’s Work Wearhouse and Old Navy.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Use your imagination to find even more great, affordable gifts!