The Verge’s favorite holiday gifts under $25

This past year might not have been as life-shattering for most as 2020, but we’d argue life doesn’t have to be pure chaos for a stress ball to come in handy. The NeeDoh Groovy Glob, like all of Schylling’s colorful dough-filled shapes, makes for an inexpensive release that can be squeezed, squashed, and pulled to your heart’s content.

What’s better than a keychain that resembles a controller? One that actually works. CRKD’s Atom is a tiny gamepad that features four face buttons, a D-pad, and four shoulder buttons. You’ll need decent dexterity to use one (if you feel cramped using a detached Joy-Con, the Atom is similar), but it’s a fun charm that offers quick utility for mobile gaming when you need to kill time.

Wirelessly charging your devices doesn’t require a fancy 3-in-1 stand. Anker’s latest MagGo puck is cheap and travel-friendly, which makes it perfect for delivering zippy 15W speeds to any MagSafe-compatible iPhone. It can also juice a pair of AirPods, provided you own a more recent model with a MagSafe-ready charging case.

Rifle Paper Co. sells all kinds of lovely notebooks, fun stationery, and home decor items that make nice gifts. Its laptop sleeve is one of its more tech-focused offerings, one that can bring a touch of panache to something as humdrum as a laptop. The padded exterior and satin interior protects laptops up to 14 inches in size from day-to-day wear, while the brass zipper keeps your machine in place during travel.

No one said ladles have to be boring. The slotted Jungle Spoon is a leaf-shaped dipper that takes after a monstera stem, adding a touch of leafy character to your kitchen. The heat-resistant nylon spoon won’t scratch your nonstick pans, either, though we probably wouldn’t recommend it if you’ve been repeatedly traumatized by critters gnawing holes into your garden veggies.

Many holiday treats are decadent and filled with an obscene amount of sugar. Pizzelles, on the other hand, make for a nice treat with a touch less guilt — well, assuming you can resist the urge to eat a stack of them. They’re thin and crispy, with a touch of sweetness that pairs nicely with hot drinks. And with an electric press like CucinaPro’s, making them is dead simple once you mix the batter.

Conventional split key rings are fidgety and annoying to deal with. The Wilson Keyring, meanwhile, uses a streamlined design that makes it easy to add or remove keys and various doodads. The raw brass and colorful enamel stripe are handsome, too, giving you a simple way to identify your keys on the rack or match them to your aesthetic.

If you have to use a wall adapter to power and charge your tech, it might as well be cute. Anker’s tiny 30W Nano Charger comes in an array of attractive colors — including lilac, misty blue, and a “natural” green — in addition to the usual black and white offerings. The single-port USB-C charger also features a foldable prong, making it great for travel.

The chilly months have arrived for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and these adorable avocado hand warmers are great to have around for when you need some much-needed comfort. The rechargeable, pocket-friendly gizmos heat up quickly and can last for hours, and their endearing expressions are likely to warm your heart a little, too.

If your child loves Bluey, then they’ll love playing Bluey’s Keytar, first featured in the “Fancy Restaurant” episode of the popular children’s show. The colorful musical toy features working keys with 10 different sets of instruments and sounds, which you can use to play your own songs or jam along to several built-in melodies (including the main Bluey theme).

Glorified chopsticks for your fingers may seem profoundly silly at first blush, but you’ll thank us once you grab a messy snack while typing and keep your digits (and precious keyboard) clean. The Snactiv Pro chopsticks are a bit of a novelty, but they’re a great gift for anyone who works from home or plays lots of games. Plus, they come in an assortment of fun colors, including a glow-in-the-dark green.

Every frame is a painting when it comes to the work of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. This set of 100 postcards brings together frames from a number of iconic Ghibli films, from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Spirited Away to lesser-known gems like Porco Rosso. It’s a small treasure trove of winsome art housed in a decorative box, one that will look great on any bookshelf.

There’s just something special about tuning in to the ball game using a traditional AM / FM dial, even in 2024. Studebaker’s retro-inspired SB2000 radio allows you to do just that — or, if you prefer, listen to more modern audio sources via a built-in aux port. It’s also available in a slew of lovely colors, including a seafoam green that exudes classic 1950s vibes.

Our favorite thing about Sushi Go!: Spin Some for Dim Sum is the name, but the game itself is a close second. The fun tabletop is easy to learn and quick to play, especially once you figure out how to go about assembling the most valuable dish combos possible. It’s great for a family game night — well, assuming you and the fam aren’t hungry.

There are only a few gadgets that will meaningfully benefit from a smart plug, but they’re a welcome upgrade if you’re rocking an older fan, an air purifier, a lamp, or other traditional appliances. TP-Link’s EP10 is rather basic, but it’s relatively inexpensive and lets you use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to control power to various outlets... no hub required.

Jordan Mechner is best known as the video game designer who developed early Apple II games Karateka and Prince of Persia in the ’80s; however, he’s also an accomplished graphic novelist with a fascinating family history. These last two traits come to a head in Replay, Mechner’s illustrative memoir of his own life and parallel familial tales from his father and grandfather, dating back to pre-WWI Austria-Hungary.

You don’t have to be a talented artist to enjoy a nice art pen (though it doesn’t hurt). The Sakura Pigma Micron Fineliners are excellent for lining drawings to give them a contrasty pop of detail, but they’re also great for note-taking and journaling. A six-pack of pens with different line widths allows you to draw and write with as much fine detail as you’d like.

Whether you’re looking to do some late-night reading or need a backup lighting source to hedge against an overworked grid, the Moji Lantern is worth keeping close by. The AAA-powered light can sufficiently illuminate smaller areas thanks to a bright 150-lumen bulb, which is admirable considering it’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Be prepared for the warmer months with this portable fan that easily clips onto your baby’s car seat or stroller. This four-speed fan can move a good amount of air to help keep your baby cool, and since it recharges via USB-C, you can easily extend its battery life by plugging it into a power bank.

Keeping house plants alive can sometimes feel insurmountable, but breathing new life into them is as easy as attaching a pair of cartoon eyes. Cslehel’s magnetic PVC eyes are a lighthearted way to personify your green friends, and they’re small and light enough that they won’t harm your plants or require removal when it’s time to water.

Serious LED lighting for photo and video work is quite costly, but these mini lights from TTArtisan that resemble 35mm film rolls are cheap, charming, and a fun gift for any camera nerd in your life. They come in white or RGB color configurations, and while they’re a bit of a novelty, they can be used for some nice special effects or small-scale lighting projects.

AirPods are great, but they’re expensive and need constant charging. That’s where EarPods come in. Apple’s wired earbuds sound pretty decent for the price, feature a great mic, and use a modernized shape that many find to be more comfortable than traditional earbuds. They also come with an inline remote and either a USB-C, Lightning, or 3.5mm connector.

Is this a gift for the kids or the kid in you? These finger puppets of historical figures and cultural icons, both real and fictitious, are a delightful way to entertain and educate children. They also make for fun and inspirational desk accessories, because there’s something quite charming about a finger-sized Carl Sagan or Dorothy Parker hanging around while you hammer away on your keyboard.

Looking to stuff someone’s stocking with the magic of Disney? Unless you’re Scrooge McDuck, we’d recommend a $25 Disney Plus gift card. That’s enough to stream Disney films and shows for two months, or you can put it toward a bundle that includes Hulu and either Max or ESPN Plus. Disney Plus has all the classics, too, along with modern blockbusters from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more.

Somewhere along the way, Comfort Colors became one of the premier vendors for band tees (sorry, American Eagle stans). Luckily, the company also sells the same heavyweight shirts, minus the Iron Maiden logo, in various colors for a fraction of the cost. That lets the short-sleeve T-shirts work particularly great as basics, regardless of what size you wear.

The Tapo Smart WiFi Light Bulb can be a fun stocking stuffer for someone exploring their first smart home buildout. The Matter-ready smart bulb works natively with Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung SmartThings — no hub required. Just screw it in, set it up over Wi-Fi, and use the app or voice commands to make it shine one of 16 million colors.

A good catchall bag can be as clutch as, well, a clutch. Topo Designs’ ultra-durable accessory bags come in three convenient sizes that make them perfect for stowing earbuds, charging cables, and a host of other small items. Plus, they’re available in an array of two-tone designs, allowing you to add a splash of color to any packing kit.

Few streamers under $20 can compete with Walmart’s entry-level Google TV box. It lacks HDR and surround modes — there’s no Dolby Vision or Atmos — but its excellent OS offers simple content discovery across a deep selection of apps. The Google Assistant remote makes it easy to peruse said content, too, and you can cast content via YouTube, Spotify, and a host of other apps.

If you’re a fan of word games like Scrabble, Bananagrams is a great alternative. Players complete crossword grids using whatever letters they have at their disposal, but instead of a point tally, you win by being the first person to complete a valid grid with your entire pile of tiles. The anagram game has nothing to do with bananas, except that’s the required victory cry (and what the carrying pouch looks like).

Glocusent’s Bookmark Style Reading Light is the perfect gift for those who burn the midnight oil reading. The clip-on USB light offers a lightweight design and multiple brightness levels, providing a soft, warm glow that’s dim enough that it won’t disturb anyone else trying to get some shut-eye nearby.