The best stocking stuffer ideas you can shop for $50 or less
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When you don’t have a ton of space (or money) to spare, these gifts are clutch.
Deputy Editor, Buying Advice
Updated
The big ticket tech gifts may get the lion’s share of attention during the holidays, but it’s surprising how much people appreciate small and thoughtful accessories and gadgets. We picked out a dozen such stocking stuffers for under $50 — perfect for a little something extra for a loved one or a welcome gift for a coworker. Just be sure to check the shipping windows to make sure these handy gizmos will arrive in time. Here are some of our favorite techie gift ideas that come in at $50 or less.
Best stocking stuffers for $50 or less
I’ve never been a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles, but the pieces of art the Magic Puzzle Company makes for you to assemble are a delight. For starters, each has gorgeous and distinctive artwork — while there are a variety of artists who’ve contributed to the company’s puzzle lineup, they all feel related, packed with color, whimsy and a bunch of secrets you’ll notice as you build. The puzzle pieces themselves are high-quality and solid, something that goes a long way towards making a puzzle fun to put together.
But my favorite part is the fact that once you finish the main puzzle, you’re not done. Each has sections that can slide around after you’re done, which opens up a new middle area to be filled in with a bonus section of pieces. This new addition seamlessly fits into the puzzle and expands on its story. It’s hard to describe, but it’s unlike anything I’ve seen in other puzzles. I’m pretty agnostic about my puzzle-makers, but I am itching to get my hands on more from the Magic Puzzle Company and explore their secrets. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor
This is one of the most useful gadgets I purchased this year, and it’ll make a great gift for anyone regardless of the climate they live in. It’s a powerful handheld fan that can also be worn around the neck, or folded to sit on a desk or table, keeping you cool hands-free. It has five different speed settings and a nifty little display in the middle of the fan that shows how much battery life is left. All summer, this fan never left my bag and saved me many times from the sweltering heat of New York City, and made things a bit more bearable during multi-hour outdoor events. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor
Listen, I’ve tried to keep all sorts of plants alive over the years. Working from home, you think it would be easy — but any plant enthusiast, successful or not, will tell you it’s not as simple as you think. If you have a wannabe horticulturalist on your list, this Lego set will not only be fun for them to put together, but it will also give them a taste of that green satisfaction that they crave. The set comes with two adorable little Lego plants — a baby dracaena and baby pilea — and two interchangeable pots in which they live. Once assembled, they can live on your giftee’s desk, nightstand or shelf, always smiling down upon them and never wanting for more water. — V.P.
Twelve South’s AirFly Bluetooth transmitters have been a mainstay in Engadget’s guides for years. As of 2025, the company offers four different models, but for most people the $40 AirFly SE is the best bet for most people. It’s perfect for solo travellers who want to use their Bluetooth headphones with the in-flight entertainment systems offered on most airplanes. With 20-hour battery life on a single charge, it’s also perfect for all but the longest trips involving multiple layovers. — Igor Bonifacic, Senior Reporter
For the person on your list who’s constantly watching videos on their phone, get them the Twelve South Power Bug. It’s a Qi2-compatible, hockey puck-like wireless charger that plugs neatly into an AC outlet to power up and hold up their phone at the same time. That means they can easily use it to turn their phone into a makeshift Standby Mode alarm clock while traveling, or in their kitchen or bathroom to watch videos and top up their phone simultaneously while they’re doing other things. Plus, there’s a 35W USB-C port built in, so they can recharge a total of two devices at once. — V.P.
Who said charging accessories must be boring? Clearly it wasn’t Ugreen, since they came out with an adorable line of Uno chargers with quaint little digital faces that light up whilst you’re powering up. The 65W fast-charger is a good middle-of-the-road option: it’s strong enough to charge smartphones, handheld consoles and some tablets without being too big or expensive. It has two USB-C and one USB-A port that allow you to charge three devices at once, and the extra-cute magnetic “shoes” it comes with makes it easy to store and find amongst the rest of your accessories. — V.P.
Read more: The best fast chargers
Tamagotchi Paradise is a delightful reimagining of the classic virtual pet. You get to fill a planet with critters across three different habitats: land, sky and water, or land, forest and water depending on which color device you get. While you can only take care of one Tama character at a time, the pets you’ve previously raised will remain onscreen and get up to their own antics in the background.
The Paradise has a full color screen and a new zoom dial on the side that allows you to switch up the view. You can zoom out to see the whole planet (which you can decorate with cute accessories), or zoom in to see the Tamas in the field, up close and even examine their cells. As with most Tamagotchis, there are also mini-games and a shop built-in. Overall, it’s a nice change from the norm for any longtime players looking for some newness, and a great place to start for beginners. Just be sure to buy some rechargeable AAA batteries to go with it. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor
One of 8BitDo’s newest controllers, the Ultimate 2C will be a great companion for anyone that has a Switch 2. It connects via Bluetooth to Nintendo’s new console and features Hall Effect joysticks, rumble vibration and six-axis motion control. It also supports custom mapping if you want to make it more personalized, but really the best things about it are its overall design and quick, reliable connection. It feels great to hold for long gaming sessions — much better than holding Joy-Cons in the Nintendo-provided grip — and it maintains a strong wireless connection with the Switch 2 without fail. I personally picked up two of these so my husband and I can more comfortably battle it out in Mario Kart World. — V.P.
Read more: The best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories
Chipolo makes some of our favorite Bluetooth trackers and the Pop only improves upon previous models. It can tap into both Apple’s and Google’s finding network, making it even better at keeping track of your stuff, wherever it may be. It also uses that finding network when you need to locate your lost wallet, coat or bag to pinpoint its location with better accuracy. For when you know your stuff is nearby, the Chipolo Pop’s chime is louder than an AirTag and it has 12 different cute tones you can choose from. And mercifully unlike AirTags, there’s a built-in keyring hole on each device. — V.P.
Read more: The best Bluetooth trackers
Instead of trying to match someone’s design aesthetic, give them something they can customize themselves. Govee’s smart LED light bars are one such gift; this pack of two light bars can shine bright in over 16 million colors, all customizable via Govee’s companion app. They can easily set the mood for a movie night, game night or holiday party, and control the whole thing with Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands. There’s also a fun music-sync mode that changes the lights in time with whatever music they’re listening to. These can stand upright, be laid flat or even be mounted behind a TV to enhance their home entertainment setup, so there’s a good chance they’ll find the perfect place for them without too much hassle. — V.P.
Maybe you have a tech lover in your life or someone who just wishes their home could be a bit smarter – if so, TP-Link’s Kasa smart plugs are a great gift idea for them. Building up a smart home ecosystem from scratch can be intimidating, but starting off with smart plugs like these is a convenient and mostly stress-free way of doing it. These blocks plug into standard wall outlets and then turn whatever they plug into them into app-controllable gadgets. That means they can set a schedule for their coffee maker to turn on at the precise time each morning so it’s ready to go for them when they need to make a new pot. They could also use Away Mode to automatically turn on and off lights when they’re on vacation to make it seem like they’re actually home. Those are just a few things these smart plugs let you do with otherwise “dumb” items around your home, so your giftee can go as far as they want in creating a smart home. — V.P.
Read more: The best smart plugs
One of the worst feelings is getting to the end of a long work day or a night out with friends only to find that you can’t order some takeout or call a ride-share with your phone because it didn’t survive the day. Anker’s 10K portable charger can make it so you (or your giftee) never experience that again. With a 10,000 mAh capacity, it has more than enough power to charge up a smartphone a couple times over, and it supports up to 30W fast-charging, too. It also has a built-in USB-C cable so there’s no need to carry a connecting cable with you at all times — anyone with a USB-C iPhone or other smartphone can charge up anywhere, anytime. And when you need to give the power bank itself some more juice, its foldable AC prongs will come in handy. — V.P.
You can’t go wrong when you give a PopSocket as a gift, and the Kick-Out accessory just makes the original even better. First off, these are MagSafe compatible, so they’ll snap magnetically and securely to the backs of iPhones. Second, in addition to giving them that classic PopSocket grip many of us have come to love (and require) while holding our phones, these kick out and swivel to act as a stand. They make it much easier to prop up your phone in portrait mode, which can be critical when FaceTiming with friends or taking a selfie at the right angle.
Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.
