Best White Elephant Gifts Under $35

This stellar mug from Thermos keeps drinks hot for an impressive 7½ hours. It also has an easy-to-clean lid, which earned a rating of Very Good in our review. But one of the three lid gaskets can’t be removed or replaced, so when it goes, so goes your mug. The tapered design means the mug will fit in the cupholder of most cars. Bonus: It has a handy tea hook on the underside of the lid, so you can suspend a tea bag in water without losing it inside. Throw in some hot chocolate (see below) and you’ve got a White Elephant gift worth fighting over.

For more options: Best Insulated Travel Mugs

Hot chocolate and the holidays go hand in hand, so bring a little flavor to the table with this spiced mix. The full-bodied, complex Mexican-style hot chocolate won’t overload the taste buds with spice, but rather the cinnamon mingles beautifully with the chocolate, allowing both flavors to come through in harmony. This blend came out on top for the best spiced option in an evaluation of hot chocolates, edging out the competition with its unique flavor.

For more options: Best Hot Chocolates

When you think of the brand Instant Pot, its line of multi-cookers usually comes to mind, but the company has branched out into coffee makers and frothers. Its affordable Instant Milk Frother was one of the best models in our at-home review, offering performance almost on a par with the Nespresso Aeroccino4 milk frother, which costs more than twice as much. The only downside is that the Instant Milk Frother isn’t dishwasher-safe because its controls are built into the side of the carafe. Cleaning is still a breeze, though: You just need to hand-wash it with a wet cloth.

For more options: Best Milk Frothers

While our evaluators were certainly amused by the appearance of this mask, those strange contoured eye cups may be appealing to people with lash extensions or who dislike the feeling of fabric on their lids. But one evaluator found the material inside the cups a bit rough on her skin and too wide for her small face. If your head size is average or big, you might love the Nidra mask. The price is good, it offers lots of space for the eyes to flutter freely, and even the appearance can be cool if you consider it from a different perspective.

For more options: Best Sleep Masks

This Adidas Adicolor Essentials Trefoil Hoodie is luxuriously soft and plush inside, which means it might just be a prime option for a night of R&R on the couch. The fabric hangs nicely, and while the ribbed parts aren’t constricting, they’re tight enough to hug your hips and keep excess sleeve fabric above the wrists.

Beautiful packaging is just one reason to love these sweet confections, which come in a book-shaped box that opens to reveal six glossy, colorful domes of chocolate. The unique flavors are a bonus—including a “wild strawberry” that’s reminiscent of strawberry shortcake ice cream bars, and a black and white bonbon modeled after the iconic cookie that’s widely found in New York City bakeries.

For more options: Best Boxed Chocolates

Angela Judd, a gardener and the author of “How to Grow Your Own Food: An Illustrated Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening” (Adams Media, 2021), swears by an olla, which is a terra-cotta vessel that’s buried underground and filled with water, and she won’t garden in containers without one. “The water seeps out gradually as needed by the plant’s roots,” Judd says. “Ollas help my container plants not only survive the hot summers of Arizona but also thrive.”

For fans of fantastic fungi, a mushroom-growing kit is a great gift idea. This Pink Oyster mushroom kit from Forest Origins has an easy setup and is low maintenance. In a series of at-home evaluations, we found that this kit produced mushrooms in just four days and bore medium-sized fungi in vibrant variations of pinks and creams. The first batch was ready to harvest quicker than some other options we checked out.

For more options: Best Mushroom Growing Kits

Plant care essentials that combine form and function make wonderful gifts. “Most of the leafy plants that thrive indoors originally hailed from tropical rainforests,” says Sophia Kaplan, co-founder of the botanical and indoor plant shop Leaf Supply in Sydney, Australia. This includes common varieties such as monsteras, anthuriums, and philodendrons, which flourish in humid environments. 

A water mister can be used daily to add a bit of moisture to the air around them, which will benefit their health greatly. “Mimicking their native climate will ensure their best chance of success in your home,” Kaplan says.

Inspire a budding bartender. In a recent CR evaluation, we found the True Wooden Finish Cocktail Shaker to be a well-priced product that’s best for beginners, with a built-in sieve for easy cocktail-making. But if you’re shopping for a hardcore mixologist in your life, it’s worth noting that this wasn’t the most durable of the bunch we tried.

For more options: Best Cocktail Shakers