10 Unique Gifts Ideas for Your Best Friend | Under $50
If you asked me 10 years ago, what I’m getting my best friend for her birthday, without a doubt I’d tell you in full confidence. But nowadays, it gets harder and harder to find a practical, fun but unique gift that doesn’t empty the pockets.
This is where my deep love for personalized gifts came into play! To help you find that perfect gift for your bestie, we’ve compiled a list of 10 custom gifts that are sure to please any friend and make a lasting impact (so go get you those bestie brownie points!).
Please know, gifts with this symbol 📍 are businesses local to the Ontario or Canada region (if you’re not in this area, we encourage you to use these businesses as inspiration to #shoplocal in your community).
These gift recommendations are ones our team members at BinoBooks have received or given ourselves, so we can definitely vouch for them!
1. For the best friend who drinks too much sparkling water
Shelly Kein | Personalized Family Coasters
$23.00 — $102.00
These personalized coasters not only prevent watermark stains on your special coffee table but help your friends and family know whose drink is whose, in a cute and fun way! No more screaming, “Hey! That’s my drink” is needed with these adorable coasters. Check them out here.
2. For the best friend who loves making their place homey
@_meandthree_ | Personalized Door Mats 📍
$30.00 — $50.00
If your friend is looking for something unique to spice up their indoor or outdoor home decor, then you’ve got to check out the personalized doormats made over at @_meandthree_. Whether it’s a quote your friend lives by OR a way to make your friend think of you and smile each time they come home, make your mark and check out Cait’s mats.
3. For the best friend who guesses everyone’s astrology sign
Birthdate, Co. | Birthdate Candles
$46.00 — $56.00
If your amigo is looking to dive deeper into their love for all things astrology, then this custom birthdate candle is meant for them! All you need to do is enter your bestie’s birthday and you’ll have a scent designed just for them, with fun astrological details printed on the candle. Have some extra cash to go all out on your friend? Have a look at the birthdate book, which goes as deep as one can go into a person’s astrological birth chart. Ready to smell the roses, uh… we mean personalized astrology candles, have a peek at them here.
4. For the best friend who loves a classic morning routine
Bed Bath & Beyond | Personalized Towels
$20.00 — $30.00
Does your friend soak in their morning routine? I mean who doesn’t love a good warm shower (if you or your friend prefer cold showers, then you’re a whole other beast)! This gift is super practical, I mean towels are essential, between wash clothes, hand towels, and bath towels it’s hard not to come in contact with one of these towel variants during your daily routine. So make your friend’s daily routine even more special with this personalized towel gift.
5. For the best friend who is endlessly creative
Crock A Doodle | Pottery Painting 📍
$20.00 — $48.00
Is your bestie always creating stuff, trying new hobbies or projects out? Then, this might just be the gift for them! Crock A Doodle is a paint-your-own pottery kind of place. So whether you want to make something special and gift it to your bestie, OR give them the experience of creating something special themselves, this is definitely a gift they will enjoy. Browse the different pottery painting options at Crock A Doodle here.
6. For the best friend who can’t pass up statement jewelry
JewelNora | Personalized Initial Bracelet
$19.95 — $44.95
Want to tug on your friend’s heartstrings, with a classy but beautiful gift? Then customize your friend their own unique bracelet. Whether you want a bracelet with one letter charm, or a mix of different letters, symbols and/or birthstone charms, you can make a super personalized piece of jewelry for your friend that they are sure to never forget. Play around and personalize your friendship bracelet here.
7. For the best friend who always asks for music recommendations
Free
We couldn’t pass up an opportunity for a classic mixtape. Why do you think Guardians of the Galaxy was such a hit? Well of course because of Groot nonetheless, but Peter Quill’s “Awesome Mix Vol. 1” gave us all the feels! So why not put your creative juices to the challenge and make a one-of-a-kind Spotify mix for your bestie. You can even go the extra mile, and give them a Spotify gift card (totally optional). Want some pointers on making a Spotify playlist, check out this “Best Friends” Spotify playlist for inspiration (or honestly just go listen to Doja Cat’s song “Best Friend”).
8. For the best friend who is addicted to Starbucks
$5.00 — $15.00
I might just be living under a rock, but I haven’t even made a dent on my Starbuck secret menu bucket list. I mean who knew that a Minnie Mouse Frappicinio existed, nevertheless a Hocus Pocus Latte! If your friend is already obsessed with Starbucks, then getting them a drink they haven’t tried before will put a big smile on their face. I mean look at all these custom drinks, just make sure you check if they make them at your local Starbucks. (P.S. if your friend loves a good cocktail, you can always DIY a custom drink yourself and have a friend’s night in, or as we like to call it a GNI-Girls Night In).
9. For the best friend whose place is decorated in art
Guch World | Custom Friend Portrait 📍
$65.00 — $90.00
I know what you’re thinking, “You said this was $50.00 and under gift ideas” and honestly, you’re right! But I had to give a shoutout to an artist our team at BinoBooks’ loves over at Guch World, Alex Smyth! With some insight from you, Alex can create a cute custom illustration of you and your bestie that’s sure to make a mark on their wall space. This is a perfect way to go the extra mile and show your friend how much you care, especially for those we haven’t seen in a while. So what are you waiting for? Create your custom order here.
10. For the best friend who is a superstar parent
BinoBooks | Personalized Digital Storybook
$12.50 — $14.99
We’re getting into the territory where our besties are starting to think about and build their families. Give your friend and their kiddo the ultimate gift by putting their child in a storybook. These storybooks subtly touch on hard topics, like body image, and allow the parent to chose if they want to dig deeper by providing discussion questions at the end of this personalized digital storybook. Personalize your friend’s kid’s new favourite storybook here.
About the Author
Hello 👋 my name is Danielle Baxter and alongside my co-founders Sydney Terry and Jessica Dassanayake we wanted to compile this list of 10 personalized gift ideas for friends because these are gifts we’ve personally received, given, or wish we had and wanted to share these ideas with you!
My love language is mainly acts of service, words of affirmation and quality time. But don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the satisfaction of seeing my friends and family truly enjoy the gifts I give them. I’m no pro, but as I’m approaching my quarter-life milestone, I’m learning the importance of showing the people I love exactly how much I care about them (sometimes we slip up and forget gifts, we’re only human but it’s the thought we continue to put overtime that matters).
So from our team to you, we hope you find these gift ideas useful, and if you do, be sure to tag us @hellobinobooks on Instagram, or comment below, and let us know what ideas stood out most for you.
About BinoBooks
At BinoBooks, we create personalized digital storybooks on complex topics, such as body image, consent and more that act as conversation starters between parent and child while making the child feel represented through character customizations.
We’re a team of three ambitious female founders and graduates from Queen’s University. We initially started our venture in the Queen’s Innovation Centre program in 2020, which you can find here, with a prototype book on covid. As of January 4th, 2022, we successfully completed a crowdfunding campaign for our first official book “Humans Can’t Fly, But They Can” on Kickstarter, which you can find here, and is on the topic of body image.
We’ve now launched our first customizable storybook, ”Humans Can’t Fly, But They Can” on our website, you can check it out here.