Best Gifts Under $25

The small keychain Swiss Army knife: blade, scissors, nail file, screwdriver and tweezers in a 58mm body.

A lifetime object for the price of a sandwich lunch. The scissors are the reason — everyone who carries one uses them weekly for tags, threads and packaging, and almost nobody buys one for themselves. Small enough to live on keys permanently, which is the only knife that gets used rather than stored. It cannot go through airport security, which is worth knowing for a frequent flyer.

The standard ceramic pour-over cone, with a spiral rib pattern and a single large hole.

The most widely used pour-over brewer in the world, which means recipes and advice for it are everywhere — a real advantage for a gift meant to start someone off. Ceramic holds heat better than plastic in a way you can taste. It is an entry into something they can take much further, rather than a novelty that gets used twice. It wants a kettle with some pouring control.

A woven nylon slip-through strap in a very wide range of colors and lug widths, from a long-established strap maker.

The best-value gift on this entire site per dollar. A woven nylon strap changes the character of a watch they already wear, survives water and sweat, and goes in a washing machine. Because the color range is enormous, it is also the one strap gift where you can take a risk. You need the lug width from their watch's specifications, usually 18, 20 or 22mm.

A tiny single-AAA keychain flashlight, bright enough to be genuinely useful, with a twist-on tail.

Small enough that it actually stays on the keyring, which is the only flashlight that ever gets used. It runs on a AAA battery buyable anywhere in the world, so there is no proprietary charging to explain. Cheap enough to buy two and keep one yourself, which is genuinely what most people end up doing.

A thick overnight lip balm in a small pot, sold in several scents.

One of very few beauty products safe to buy for someone else, because it is not matched to a tone or a type. A pot lasts months, and it gets used nightly rather than sitting in a drawer. It works for a teenager, a colleague or a relative equally, which is unusual at this budget. Scented, so worth a thought if they are sensitive.

The plain ribbed acrylic beanie Carhartt has sold for decades, in a long list of colors.

The rare clothing gift where there is nothing to get wrong: one size, a shape nearly everyone wears, and a wide color range. It is acrylic rather than wool, so warm rather than luxurious, which the price reflects honestly. Best as one item in a pile rather than the whole gift.

An oversized triple-milled soap bar in strong scents, with packaging that does most of the gifting work.

The ideal office-draw gift: funny when it comes out of the wrapping, and a genuinely better bar of soap underneath the joke. Triple-milled soap lasts considerably longer than a standard bar, so it is a real object rather than a novelty. Scents are strong, so choose something woody rather than sweet when you are buying for a stranger.

A hardcover notebook with an elastic closure, a ribbon marker and a pocket in the back.

A hardcover notebook that sits flat when open is a genuinely better object than whatever most people are using, and it comes in enough formats to suit a planner, a list-maker or someone who draws. It is the most versatile pairing item at this budget. The paper is thin, so a fountain-pen user will see show-through.

A set of zippered, mesh-topped fabric cubes that divide a suitcase into sections.

Unglamorous and consistently appreciated. Cubes turn a suitcase into sections, mesh tops mean you can see what is in each one without opening it, and one set covers years of trips. It is the cheapest single thing that improves travel, and almost nobody buys them for themselves. Zippers are the first thing to fail on budget sets, so buy a reputable one.