Culture

People Really Want These 69 Most Wished For Things Under $30 On Amazon

by Alexandra Miguel

Amazon

When it’s time to buy a gift — especially for people you don’t know well — it helps to know what people are wishing for. Even if you don’t know what the person you are shopping for wants, there are lots of things others are wishing for and your recipient likely will appreciate, too. But how are you going to know what other people want? That’s easy. I’m going to tell you: People really want these 70 most-wished-for gifts under $30 on Amazon.

Of course, people fall into categories when they wish. For example, if someone has a car that’s a few years old, they probably wish it was more connected. And there is a brilliant and affordable solution for that — you’ll be their hero. Maybe someone else lives for their fur babies and would love to give kitty her own door so she can escape the dog? And if you know someone who is constantly stopping to pick up cold-brewed coffee, you can change their life — and save them a fortune — with this cold brewer that makes brewing at home super easy.

There are 70 ideas here so there is sure to be something for your people — or for yourself.

We only recommend products we love and that we think you will, too. We may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was written by our Commerce team.

1. A Lamp That’s Also A Charging Station

Clean up your bedside table or desk with this lamp that not only throws a warm light for reading or ambiance, but also has three USB plugs to charge your gear and three slots to hold your phones on edge as they charge. An easy-to-access power button is right on the base, and the lamp has nice clean lines that blend into any décor.

2. This Wall-mounted Phone Case For The Shower

Stick this phone case to the shower wall — or the kitchen tiles — and you can have tunes, movies, news, or whatever you like while you bathe or cook. A nano adhesive holds it to the wall, and the case swivels 360 degrees so you can switch from choosing music to watching videos without removing your phone from the case.

3. The Cute Cat Door That’s Also A Kitty Brush

Give kitty an easy way to get away with a cat door that only the cat can fit through. It’s a great way to isolate the litter box while making it cat-accessible, and it gives kitty a brushing every time they go through it, which can help keep your house tidy. The brush snaps out for easy cleaning.

4. These Coasters That Light Up The Bar

Stick these light-up coasters to the bottom of a glass, bottle, or vase to create cool bar lighting, either as a display or just as people carry drinks around at a party. They stick on easily and have three lighting modes — solid, flashing, or slow flashing — to go with whatever scene you are trying to create.

5. A Wide Rearview Mirror For A Better View Behind You

Just snap this simple rear-view mirror over your existing one and it will expand your view of what’s behind you — in the back seat and behind the car — so you can keep your eyes on the road and still know what’s happening in the periphery. “My enemies will never be able to sneak up on me again,” says one reviewer. “And I can stare lovingly into my spawn's eyes as I keep my head facing the road.”

6. These Clever Stacking Eye Shadow Trios

Choose the color that suits you best from these clever stacking bento box-style eye shadows and you can toss an entire makeover in your bag. The colors are designed in trios that complement each other in a wide range of colors and textures, including shimmer and matte shades. And the packaging makes them super portable and collectable.

7. A Tea Maker That Brews Loose Leaf Tea Into Your Cup

This clever tea brewer lets the flavors of loose tea expand into the hot water in the BPS-free Tritan plastic brewer while a fine-mesh stainless steel filter keeps leaves from ending up in the cup. When the tea is ready, just set the brewer over your cup. The contact with the mug releases the delicious brew into your mug.

8. This Body Brush That Exfoliates & Reduces Ingrown Hairs

This exfoliating body brush is the skin care routine your epidermis is craving, and it’s so easy to do. Wash with it, massage your skin with it, and exfoliate away the rough skin. Almost 9,000 people are amazed at how their razor bumps and adverse waxing reactions are improved by using this body brush a couple of times daily.

9. A Full Set Of Reusable Silicone Straws That’ll Fit Your Favorite Tumbler

Switching to a reusable straw is easy with this set of 10 silicone straws. They are also temperature insulating, gentle on your teeth, and bent so sipping your smoothie is pleasant. These straws also fit into Tervis or YETI tumblers and come with a cleaning brush and storage bag.

10. This Two-headed Scalp Massager That Feels Amazing

The handle of this scalp massager fits neatly into your hand and you can choose from the two massaging heads to give yourself the sort of yummy scalp massage a good hairdresser gives — every time you shower. The massage is exfoliating, too, which can help with product build-up, dandruff, and hair loss.

11. A Cute Honey Dispenser That Pours From The Bottom

Honey is delicious but getting it from the jar to your tea, toast, or waffles can be messy. This clever hive-like dispenser takes the friction out of the process. Just hold it over its destination and pull the trigger. Gravity does the rest. Let go of the trigger to close the spout and return it to its resting bowl. It works just as well for whatever sweetener you use often, from melted chocolate to granulated sugar.

12. This Kit That Teaches You To Make Your Own Candles

Turn all your empty containers into delightful soy candles with this complete candle-making kit that teaches you how and provides everything you need to do it: a pitcher for pouring wax, three wick centering tools, pre-waxed wicks, wick glue dots, a pound of all-natural soy wax flakes, two candle tins, gift boxes, and a book on candle making.

13. The Vr Headset That Can Take You Anywhere

Pop your phone into this VR headset, strap it onto your head, and sit down because — depending on the app, game, or destination you chose — you might find yourself floating in space, exploring an imaginary world, battling aliens, or walking through ancient ruins on a land that’s far away. You’ll need a compatible Android phone and a sense of adventure.

14. A Mortar & Pestle For Freshly-ground Spices

Toss anything small you want ground into powder — peppercorns, seeds, or dry spices — into this marble mortar and pestle and it will do the job. Or use it to crush and muddle fresh spices while cooking. Ridges in the interior make fast work of the job but everything comes cleanly out of it because it is made from marble.

15. A Complete Kit For Making Macarons At Home

This macaron baking kit has everything you need to make them in your own kitchen and all of it is easy to clean up because it’s made with the beginner in mind. The silicone mats are non-stick so it’s easy to get the finished product off them, and they have uniform shapes drawn onto them to use as templates when piping. It comes with piping bags and lots of tips for creating all sorts of shapes and decorations.

16. This Lens Cleaning Kit That Gets Your Glasses Super Clean

It’s frustrating to go through life with a smudge on your lens but you don’t have to take your glasses for a professional cleaning because this kit has everything to get them completely clean. The cleaner removes all the dust, grease, and fingerprints and prevents fogging. The cleaning cloths are large and high-quality. And the cleaning wipes go with you for on-the-go touch-ups.

17. These Puck Lights For Easy Lighting Anywhere

Stick these three puck lights under your kitchen cabinets, inside a closet, on the underside of shelves, or anywhere you want better illumination without running wires. Tap the light to turn them on and off or use the remote and they will cast a warm, white glow that shows off what’s on the shelf or makes cooking or cleaning in the kitchen brighter.

18. A Gentle Brush That’s Great On Wet Or Dry Hair

This gentle hair brush has lots of flexible bristles on a large area and the result — according to well over 33,000 five-star reviews — is that it glides through curly or straight hair, wet or dry, without tearing, pulling, flattening curls, making frizz, or eliciting tears. It comes in six colors.

19. These Bamboo Cutting Boards With Over 6,000 5-star Ratings

These three bamboo cutting boards are pretty, easy on your knives, anti-microbial, and created from sustainable bamboo so their terrific price isn’t the only reason to own them. Whether you use them for serving cheese and crackers or prepping dinner, they look good, clean up nicely, and look like the matched set they are.

20. The Latest Fire Tv Stick Because Its Remote Is Awesome

Installing the Fire TV gives you access to everything that Amazon Prime and most other streaming channels offer through whatever TV you have, and it’s super easy to use. It also comes with Amazon’s newest slick remote that allows voice search across all the apps offered on the service so you never have to type a TV show’s name into a weird on-screen keyboard. Just ask Alexa to find it. Almost 67,000 people give this thing five stars.

21. This Adapter That Brings Your Car Into The Streaming Age

It is so much simpler than you think to convert a not-connected car into one that can stream music from whatever service you use, take calls, and give turn-by-turn directions over the in-car stereo. Just plug this adapter in, connect it to your phone, and use your phone as the computer that is your car’s command center. Done!

22. An Outlet Extender That’s Actually A Charging Station

When your power needs exceed your closest outlet’s capacity, this outlet extender is here to completely fix that. Plug it into that inadequate outlet, replace the center screw with this one’s, and those two plugs are now five standard ones, three USB, and one USB-C. This thing will create a charging station right on the wall.

23. This Clever System For Hiding All The Wires

If you have wires everywhere — running across the wall, all over your desk, on the floor — this cable cover kit will secure and obscure them so you can hardly tell they are there. Hide the wires inside the 10 channels, connect the channels with the corners, T-shaped connectors, and bridges, and secure it all to the wall, desk, or table and it will be hardly noticeable and a lot safer.

24. A Magnetic Tracker So You Know Where Your Car Is

This is an affordable and effective way to keep tabs on your car, kid, pet, bike, grandma or anything else. Just stick the magnetic tracker to the metal underside of your car or bike or clip it to something, sign up for the monthly service, and install the app. You can look on your phone to see where that vehicle or person is in real time and get alerted if they leave an area you designate. And, if something happens to them, there is a panic button right on the device.

25. An Alarm Clock That Charges Your Phone

Whatever else you have in the way of timepieces, there is nothing like an easy-to-glance-at screen in a dedicated spot that always tells you when it’s time to get up, and this digital dual alarm clock is a smart one of those. It tells the time in a large, easy-to-read font in either 12 or 24 hour modes, has two alarms for people who share a room and keep different schedules, is dimmable, and has a built-in phone charger.

26. These Stainless Steel Wine Tumblers That Won’t Break

When you want to take your time sipping your wine or take it outdoors, this set of four stainless steel wine glasses has you covered. The sturdy material is better than glass because it retains temperatures better and won’t break. These are easy to hold and sip from and you will never have to clean up broken glass.

27. A Sandwich Maker That Does All The Work

This clever machine might seem silly — until you eat one of its creations. Just pile the ingredients into it in the right order, using the egg cup for your egg, and close it. When it beeps you have a delicious ham and egg (or whatever you put in there) sandwich. It’s like having a takeout window in your own kitchen. Nearly 8,700 people are in its five-star fan club.

28. A Bottle Opener That’s Always Within Reach

End the perpetual hunt for a bottle opener by sticking this decorative one — magnetically — to the fridge. Everyone will be able to get their beer open and won’t leave a trail of bottle caps because embedded magnets capture them and hold them as they fall. You can mount it to the wall, with the included hardware, if you prefer.

29. This Big Bottle That Filters Your Water

Wherever your day takes you, you can have filtered water with you for all of it because the water you pour into this Brita filtered bottle gets scrubbed of chlorine and other impurities on its way to your mouth. The specially designed filter in the straw can filter 40 gallons of water. The bottle holds 36 ounces.

30. This Trick For Turning The Toilet Into A Night Light

A night light in the bathroom is a great idea because it’s easier on your sleeping brain than turning on a bright overhead, but where to put it? How about in the toilet bowl? Just hook this motion-triggered, color-changing light over the rim, and the bowl will light up as you approach. You can choose a color to suit your décor or just let it change the color constantly.

31. A Lighted Mirror For More Accurate Grooming

It’s difficult to apply makeup, groom, or get the hair you are going for when your lighting is too dim or harsh, but this grooming mirror has 24 LEDs embedded in its 12-inch screen so you can see more clearly. Brighten or dim the lights as you’d like. It comes with an attached magnification mirror for more detailed work.

32. A Realistic Moon Lamp For Ambient Lighting

This moon lamp is probably the coolest nightlight you will find. It looks realistically like the moon, casts a moonlight-like glow — in either white or warm light — and comes with a stand. “This lamp is everything,” raves one reviewer. “The ambient light it provides is perfect and it looks just like the moon. The option of white moon or yellow moon is brilliant. You can adjust the intensity of the light with just a touch of your finger.”

33. A Himalayan Salt Lamp For A Natural Glow In Your Home

The soft glow of a pink Himalayan salt lamp is like no other kind of light. It gives off an earthy, amber glow that’s calming and beautiful. This one has a touch-dimmer on the cord and and sits on a polished rubber-wood base. Reviewers give it 11,000 five-star ratings.

34. This Fun Pair Of Light-up Gloves

The fingers on these gloves have LED lights embedded in them so your fingers light up, which is a great thing if you are on a bike or just acting goofy. You can choose from three colors and six modes to create the flashing color combo you prefer. They are sized for adults who still have some childish spirit.

35. A Scratch-off Map To Track Your Travels

Planning to set foot on every spot on the globe in your time on this Earth? Keep track of your progress with this scratch-off map. Hang it on the wall, and scratch off the places you have been to reveal the color underneath. The more you travel, the more vibrant your map will be. You can track flags of the countries you’ve been to as well.

36. This Expandable Bathroom Tray That Has Everything

Open this expandable bamboo tray up over the tub, place your book or tablet into the waterproof cover in the reading stand, set down a snack in the food tray, slide your wine glass into the clever stem slot, light a candle, and relax. It folds up small for storage but lets you keep everything you need for a long soak right at hand.

37. The Magnetic Pick-up Tool That’s Also A Task Light

This pickup tool and flashlight is a brilliant combination of magnets and lights that you will want to take into every job. There are three bright LEDs in the light end so you can see into the dark while the light telescopes out 22 inches and bends around corners. The light has a powerful magnet built into it so you can pick up dropped metal parts. And the base also has a magnet so you can also stick it the car hood or metal walls and use it as a task light.

38. A Dozen Scented Candles In Pretty Dishes

Want to create a beautiful candlelit presentation? These 12 scented soy candles with scents including lavender, green tea, fig, coffee whiskey, and oolong milk tea are poured into beautiful painted pots. The 2.5-ounce candles are small enough to create a cluster or to incorporate into a centerpiece.

39. A Black-bladed, High-carbon Chef’s Knife

A beautiful and sharp chef’s knife is indispensable in the kitchen, and you will certainly come to rely on this high-carbon, 8-inch chef’s knife. Despite its beauty with a striking black blade and American cherry wood handle, it is completely affordable.

40. A Complete Air-pump Wine Opening Kit

This air pump wine opener is a slick way to get the cork out of your bottle. Insert the needle, pump the top, and the cork comes right out with no twisting, struggling, or yanking. This four-piece kit also comes with a matching foil cutter, aerator, and stopper.

41. The Blanket You Can Wear All Weekend

When you curl up on the couch to watch a movie or read, pull this blanket over you and stay warm and cozy. It has arms so your shoulders and extremities stay warm, and when you stand up to fill your glass, you don’t have to experience the shock of cold. Just keep wearing it. There’s a handy pocket on the front, and it comes in 16 colors.

42. This Multi-colored Light That’s Also A Bluetooth Speaker

This cool, multicolored light is the perfect night light for your bedside table because you can connect a phone to it and it will read you a bedtime story or play music. It has three brightness levels and seven modes so you can just tap to go from snoozing to reading to dance party. It’s rechargeable so you can take it with you and it will work as a speaker phone, too.

43. A Blanket That Makes You Look Like A Burrito

Give everyone a laugh while you nap by wrapping up in this soft and cozy microfiber blanket that looks very much like a huge tortilla. It’s startlingly realistic for how comfy it is and will make you look delicious. It comes in four sizes.

44. A Weird Key For Cleaning Your Grill

This solid brass disk with precise ridges cut into its rim is a smart way to clean your grill because it scrapes off all the burnt-on detritus without shedding metal bristles the way a brush does. Those bristles can get into your food and cause serious problems. This is a fast and effective alternative that’s easy to hang on the side of the grill.

45. These Chillers That Go Right In Your Beer Bottle

Is there anything more disappointing than discovering that none of the beer is cold? For those moments, keep these chiller sticks in the freezer and you can quickly recover. Insert them into your beer bottle and drink right through them and, by the time the beer gets to your lips, it will be nice and cold.

46. A Set Of Steel Meat Claws For Better Pulled Pork

When you’ve slow-roasted a pork butt and want to pull it apart, these steel claws will get the job done faster and more efficiently. They will also help you lift large pieces of meat off the grill without fear of dropping it. And they will make you feel the power bears feel with those giant claws at the end of their hands, if only briefly.

47. This Insulated Wine Tote That Holds Three Bottles

If you are taking the party outdoors, this wine tote should be handling the wine transport because it holds up to three bottles while keeping them cool. There is a shoulder strap and a handle so you can carry it easily. An elastic strap in the lid holds the opener and a handy pocket in the front holds napkins or other necessities.

48. A Selfie Stick & Tripod With A Bluetooth Remote

When you are taking family photos, travel blogging, or logging into a video call, you need a few essentials to make that go more smoothly and — except for your phone — this tool is all those things: a solid tripod for long exposures or group shots, a selfie stick so you can get your arm out of the shot, and a Bluetooth remote so you can snap the photo at the perfect moment. Over 51,000 people give this five stars.

49. This Phone Stand With A Speaker For Going Hands-free

Set your phone down on this stand and connect it to the speaker in the base so you can watch your cooking video while cooking, join a video call, or do whatever hands-free activity you want to do while also looking at your phone or tablet. The arm is adjustable, the speaker is rechargeable, and it’s capable of holding everything from a small phone to a large tablet.

50. This Weird Neck Light So You Can Keep Reading

When you are at the exciting part of your book and can’t put it down but your bed partner complains about the time, pull out this neck light and keep turning pages. You can choose the brightness of color — yellow, warm, or cool — of each arm of the light, and bend the neck to point the beams right at your page. It’s also great for tasks like plumbing or knitting where you can’t use your hands to hold a light, too.

51. The Smart Outlet That Gets Alexa To Do All The Work

If you want to be able to say, “Alexa, make the coffee!” while still under the covers or, “Alexa, I’m going to bed!” and have all the lights turn off, you will need a smart outlet to connect the coffee pot, lamps, and other fixtures to your smart home system. And this Amazon smart outlet will do it seamlessly. All you do is plug it in and tell Alexa to find it and what do with it.

52. This Rainfall Shower Head That Boosts Water Pressure

Not happy with the water pressure in your shower? That’s easy to fix. Just unscrew the shower head you have and screw in this decadent, high-pressure, rainfall shower head and get ready for an amazing shower. The wide head delivers a fast deluge of water because the anti-clogging silicone jets force the water out faster. It works even with hard water.

53. A Fanny Pack So You Can Carry All Your Stuff

This roomy fanny pack is so handy if you are shopping, running, or commuting and have stuff that exceeds your pocket capacity. Strap it on and your phone, keys, and sundries are always with you but your hands are bag-free. It’s water resistant, comes in a huge number of colors and patterns, is rich in pockets, and has a reflective stripe so you are more visible in the dark.

54. These Charging Cables For Any Phone Or Device

If the people in your life have refused to standardize on one phone, you need to stock USB-C and Lightning cables. And there are still many gadgets that use micro-USB or USB. That’s just annoying. These three charging cables have you covered, though. Each 5-foot cable has all of those types of chargers.

55. A Pair Of Wireless Earbuds With A Charging Case

This pair of wireless earbuds is so small, you can always have it with you for those times when you need to walk somewhere, wait in line, or drown out an annoying conversation at a nearby table. The storage case is a battery that will charge the buds four times for a total of 30 hours of listening or calls — they won’t let you down when you need them. They come in nine colors.

56. A Terrific Lunch Bag That Will Keep You Fed All Day

This roomy, insulated lunch bag is the solution for your morning lunch-packing Tetris issues. It’s large enough to fit your lunch, snacks, and water bottle — along with some chiller packs — and there’s an outside pocket to stash utensils. Mesh side pockets hold your morning coffee so getting out the door is easy.

57. This Indoor Security Camera That Recognizes Faces

Want to know what’s happening in your home when you aren’t there? Set this simple camera up and let it alert you if it hears strange noises, people coming in the house, or if your pets are up to something unusual. It can even recognize people and tell you when they get home. And the two-way audio lets you talk to your family or pets.

58. A Camping Lantern With A Built-in Fan

When you are camping — or the power is out — you have to bring your own light. This portable light is designed to hang from the tent ceiling and create top-down light, which is always handy. But it’s also a fan, and if you have camped in the summer, you know how much you want one of those. You can also set it on a flat surface and direct the light and fan wherever you want.

59. This Quiet But Powerful Neck Fan

Stay cool, no matter what happens, by sporting this clever neck fan that delivers a portable breeze right to your face for four to 10 hours on a single charge. There are three speeds so you can get the level of cool you need, and it’s lightweight and comes in three colors.

60. A Wireless Pad For Sleek Phone Charging

Quit fumbling with cables and keeping drawers filled with all the right kinds of charging cables, and instead set your phone down on this simple wireless charging disk. Plug it in once and keep it somewhere handy. Anyone with a phone that can do wireless charging can use it. The perimeter lights up briefly so you know it’s working, and then it goes dark so you can sleep.

61. This Gorgeous, Colored Backlighting For The Tv

These light strips are so simple to install — just peel and stick them to the back of the TV and plug them in — and they transform your TV watching experience by throwing light on the wall in whatever color you choose, which softens the contrast and makes it feel like you are at the movies. Even when the TV is off or playing music, it will look decorative.

62. A Car Mount That Charges Your Phone On The Road

Make sure you never lose phone power on a long trip by keeping your phone in this phone mount with a built-in wireless charger. Every time you put your phone in the mount, it will charge automatically, even through a case. It suctions onto the dash and has an articulated arm that can position your phone wherever you want it.

63. These Solar Lights For Your Landscape Or Fence

These solar lights come with two mounting options and two light levels. You can mount them to a wall or stick them in the ground, which makes lighting your outdoor spaces super easy. Adjust the attached solar panel so it catches the rays and they will charge all day and come on when the sun goes down. You choose how bright you want each lamp to be.

64. A Tablet & Pen For Photoshop Art Or Signatures

If you like the drawing functions available on your computer but hate drawing with a mouse, this tablet and pen will feel more natural and give you lots more control. Even if you just sign lots of contracts or other documents, digitally, this will make it all much easier and make your signature look like your own again.

65. A Cool Place To Rest Your Hot Laptop

A laptop that gets hot when you are working or gaming is not ideal. That heat may harm delicate internal components, cause your system to run poorly, and shortens the life of your expensive gear. Set it on this cooling laptop pad with two fans to chill that heat and it will probably run better. It also brings two USB ports to your rig and raises the screen up.

66. A Solar-powered Battery Backup

If the power goes out or you go out where there is no power, this solar-powered battery backup will keep your phone and other small gadgets charged. You can charge it up via USB where there’s power or leave it in the sun to power it up. There’s a built-in flashlight, and a carabiner so you can clip it to your pack.

67. A Small, Portable Speaker For All Your Calls & Music

Want a speaker phone for your group call? How about a way to listen to music as you fall asleep, sit on the beach, or chill in your living room? This little Bluetooth speaker is small enough to tuck in your bag yet loud enough to be your soundtrack or amplifying everyone’s voice in a call. The soft-touch controls on the top are simple to use, it charges via USB-C, and comes with a hard-sided carrying case that clips to a bag.

68. These Colored Lightsaber Chopsticks

These silly and functional lightsaber chopsticks will make eating dinner much more fun. Choose from the wide selection of colors and turn them on at the start of the meal, and you might find that the dinner table will break into warring factions, between bites, as swordplay breaks out. Fortunately, they come with extra batteries so you can use the force to defend your stir fry.

69. The Easy Way To Make Cold-brew Coffee At Home

Make your own cold-brew coffee at home and you can save money, time, and energy. With this genius cold-brewer, it is super easy. Fill the fine mesh filter with coffee grounds and the pitcher with water and assemble it. Then leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, remove the filter and drink your brew. The lid seals tight for storing whatever is left over in the fridge.

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