Gifts under $30 that people actually use

Really good wool socks

The adult version of getting socks for Christmas, except now you're thrilled.

A bottle of nice olive oil

Everyone uses it, nobody buys the good one for themselves.

A paperback you loved, with your notes in the margins

Cheapest gift on the list, most treasured.

A jigsaw puzzle of somewhere they've been

A good pen and a plain notebook