Five Gifts Under $5 That Are Perfect for Gifting!

Five Gifts Under $5 That Are Perfect for Gifting!

Sometimes I want to give someone a small gift, just to say I was thinking about them or thank you. Other times I might need a gift for something like a housewarming or other event that calls for a gift, but I am on a tight budget that month. This is when gifts for under $5 come in handy. It might be hard to believe but there are still $5 gifts out there that people will enjoy getting from you. Especially if it is accompanied by a hand written card with some heartfelt words in it. Here are five gifts under $5 (or just around $5) that I love to keep my gift closet stocked with.

It is getting harder to find anything for under $5 these days, so finding gifts that you will feel great about gifting in this price range can be tricky. But it can be done, and with a great gift the recipient will love too.

I mention a gift closet above, as this is one of the best ways to keep gifts $5 and under on hand. Sometimes if you go out spur of the moment, it might be harder to find some of these items. So grab them while they are available at under $5, and have them ready for when you need them.

Here are my favorite five gifts under $5

Jar Candles

Candles are such an easy gift to stock your gift closet with, and then add to a pretty gift bag when you need something to give. I love to shop the Fred Meyer candle sales. I find nice sized jar candles, that make beautiful gifts. I like to buy them in scents like vanilla or lavendar to use for gifts, as those are common scents that many enjoy.

Walmart is another great option for finding fun jar candles for just $3.66!

That is my candle cabinet, where I like to store my candles for my own use and for gifts. The jar ones with the lids are the ones I mention that I grab at Fred Meyer when they go on sale for $4.99. The stacked jar candles are the ones I mention above at Walmart for $3.66 all the time.

Plants/Flowers from Trader Joes

I can almost always find something for $4.99 at Trader Joes in the flower section. Currently I am in love with these succulent pots for just $4.99 at my local Trader Joes. Selection will change seasonally, but it is usually one of my first stops to check for flowers. Unfortunately, these are not usually items you can add to your gift closet, but they do make wonderful gifts depending on when you are shopping, and I do find they always have some option under $5 here!

And how cute are those Hyacinths in a jar for only $3.49 – that would make such a fun gift for the right person and well under $5!

I also love to buy my milk in the glass jugs, and then wash them out and store away when we are done drinking the milk. They make beautiful vases for free. I find that Trader Joes often has in season bouquets for as low as under $3! Grab one of these, and add to a stored milk jar for the vase, and you have a lovely vase of flowers to gift for easily under $5.

Throw Blankets

We often see throw blanket deals for $5 and under throughout the year. Grab them when you see them on sale, and tie a nice ribbon around them to turn them into a fun gift.

Some great places to look for throw blankets in this price range include:

• Walmart has this Mainstay option for $3 right now! They also often have kids blankets as well as other fleece blanket options in store for just $5 too.
• Check the Dollar Spot at Target, we found these fuzzy ones shown above for $5 during the holidays. Any of those colors could work year round, when you get them by themselves, so stock your gift closet when you come across these kinds of offers.
• Five Below often carries many throw blanket options in the $5 range.

A Fun Bottle of Wine

There are some decent bottles of wine out there for under $5 a bottle. This one is going to depend on who you are buying for, but I think that many people who enjoy wine would enjoy these as fun table wine options. One of my favorites under $5, is to gift this Motif Wine that I can often find from Trader Joes for just $4.99. I enjoy it at this price, and the bottle is so pretty too.

Another one that I love, and that I often find on sale for $4.99 a bottle at Costco is this Red Blend from Portugal. I have never had anyone complain when I brought this one for a dinner party!

My three favorite spots to look for great bottles of wine for around $5 and under include:

• Trader Joes (they start at just $3.99 per bottle for the Trader Joes brand)
• Costco – check for their current sales on wine. I have found a few options I really loved for $4.99 to $5.99 recently
• Grocery Outlet – I often find name brand options that would run closer to $10 a bottle for under $5 here

Herbs

If you are looking for a gift for someone who loves to cook or garden, I love to buy live potted herbs. You can often find them for under $5 a pot. My very favorite is to buy the basil plants. Rosemary and Thyme or Mint are also great options. I like to them wrap them in some burlap to make them look like a gift, with some twine around it, or ribbon.

You could even print out a few recipes you love to use that herb in (like a pesto recipe to go with a basil plant).

This is one I got towards the end of the season. The size of the herb plant you can find in the $5 range will depend on when you are buying them. I can generally find them year round, but here are some tips for looking for them:

• If it is in season look in your stores garden center for them (or wherever they may have flowers). If you buy them early in the season you can get a great price on starters, and then grow them a bit at your own home. or later in the season if there are plants left, they often are larger and going for less. Peak season you may have to settle on a smaller plant (but still a fun gift).
• If it is out of season look over in the vegetable section (usually by the tomatoes in my stores). These ones will be much smaller than the one shown above, but still a fun gift, especially if accompanied by a favorite recipe.

A custom gift bag

Grab fun items when you see them go on sale for $1 or $2, then group them together to make a fun gift bag.

For example my local Walmart had these $1 sauce bins this past holiday season (for stocking stuffers). This was a fun opportunity to grab some hot sauces and BBQ sauces to make a great grill gift bag.

A gift from the Dollar Tree along might not be impressive, but find the right 4 things to put together in a gift bag, and now you have a great gift. For example, we love to make these DIY pedicure gift bags.

Another idea for a pampering gift bag from your local dollar store would be to grab a bag of epsom salt, a lotion, shower gel and candle and put it all in a gift bag. If you are shopping for someone who likes to craft you could do a little craft kit with supplies from the craft section. Or grab a fun wine glass to go with the bottle of $3.99 Trader Joes wine we mention above. A coffee mug some hot chocolate and marshmallows could make another fun idea. Travel items can be used to make a small beauty bag, and on and on.

Walmart also offers these Walmart $5 beauty boxes from time to time. Grab them when they are available and put them away until you need a gift.

The options can really be customized for the person you are shopping for.

A bonus idea – $5 Gift Cards

There are still spots you can grab a $5 gift card, and the recipient can find something at these stores for that price.

Some of our favorites to use for gifts include:

• Gift a FREE Movie Night. We show you how you can do that, and use the free Movie Gift Card Printables here.
• Starbucks Gift Cards. You can use this free Thanks a Latte printable to turn it into a fun gift card (these work great for Teacher appreciation gifts, but can really be used for anyone you want to give a thank you gift too).

• Amazon Gift Cards for $5 (find them here). The recipient can use it to buy e-books, or find lots of items available on Amazon for under $5. Plus, grab one of these free Amazon Gift Card Printables for all occassions here, to use to gift your Amazon gift card with and make it extra special!
• Target $5 Gift Cards – Ok here is the thing about Target $5 gift cards. You can buy them here, or you can also sometimes get them for free if you shop right. Target often offers $5 Target Gift Card promotions, where if you buy certain items you can get a free $5 Target gift card. Shop when you need those items, then save your free $5 Target gift cards to gift to someone else!
• Walmart $5 gift cards can be found here.
• Dollar Tree offers $5 gift cards in the store

Gamers – 

If you are shopping for someone who likes Video games, these are fun as they can buy things for their favorite characters online, etc.

• Xbox $5 Cards 
• Nintendo $5 Cards

There are also many other options where they will sell them as a gift pack. So for example you can buy 3 $5 gift cards in a pack for $15. Then you can just seperate them so you have 3 seperate gifts. This also works well for movie ticket packs you can often find at Costco.

More Ideas on where to find $5 and Under Gifts

Shop these spots seasonally for great $5 finds, and stock your gift closets when you find something you love. You can alsp shop after holiday clearance sales. Many times if you take some of those items out of the holiday context, they would make great gifts year round (like the green or white blankets we mention above).

Here are some more ideas for where you might find a great $5 gift:

• Target Dollar Spot (check this one seasonally in store). They offer some really fun items for just $1, $3 and $5 usually. The two pictures above of the vase and basket are examples of things I have found here for $5. I also often see tea towels, candles, signs and more in this price range.
• Amazon under $5 gifts section – if you have Prime this is a great option because you can find items here and have them shipped for free.
• Walmart Dollar Shop – Many Walmarts offer a Dollar Shop, with some fun finds from $1 to $5. Unfortunately we do not have them on the West Coast yet, but if you live in an area where they do have them, it is a great spot to check. They also offer many gift ideas available online for under $5 here. You can also sign up for a free trial of Walmart+ to get free shipping as well.
• Five Below, where many items are $5 or under. They carry popular items like Squishmallows, kitchen items, and much more.
• Dollar Tree Plus Stores used to be the spot to go for $5 finds. However they have recently announced that a new pricing structure will be coming to the regular Dollar Tree stores too. They will start to carry items that are $1.25, $3, $5 and $7. That leaves three price ranges at $5 and under – so I am looking forward to seeing what kinds of items they carry at those price ranges. I am sure there will be some fun gift ideas.

If you are shopping for kids, or someone who loves Plushies, check out the Kohls Cares collection. These are nice plush toys, or books for $5 each. Plus, they drop to just $3.50 each when they go on sale!

And there are also great DIY Gift Ideas too!

Five Gifts Under $5 That Are Perfect for Gifting! is a post from Thrifty NW Mom