The best gifts for aunts and uncles are small and easy to enjoy: coffee beans, hot sauce, warm socks or a game for after dinner. Below are 30 ideas in three budgets, plus what aunts and uncles can give nieces and nephews. Filter by aunt, uncle or interest and share the shortlist.
Updated by the Frugal Santa elves
Most ideas suit either. Aunt and Uncle show the picks that lean one way, and the other tags sort by what they love. Star the ones you like, then share the shortlist with your siblings or cousins. Shopping for more people? Browse all our Christmas gift ideas.
Crunchy, garlicky chili oil to spoon over eggs, noodles and leftovers. Mild versions exist for the relative who fears heat.
A fresh bag for the one who brews a pot every morning. Check whether they own a grinder; if not, buy it ground.
One bottle with a label worth reading. Tuck in a note naming the dish you want him to try it on.
Warm even when wet, and soft enough to wear around the house. Buy their shoe size, not one size fits all.
For ball games, dog walks and outdoor holiday markets. They charge by USB, so there's nothing to throw away.
Smoky cinnamon, teakwood or mocha for long December evenings. Once it burns down, the jar becomes a pen cup.
Print a dozen photos of the nieces and nephews and let them write the captions. Expect it to come out at every visit.
A drizzle for pizza, soup or warm bread. A small bottle lets a good cook try a flavor before buying the big one.
A one-night mystery solved at the kitchen table after dinner. Pick one marked 12 and up and older nieces and nephews can join.
A few seconds in the roast and he knows it's done, with no cutting the turkey open to check.
Cornbread, steak and frittatas from one pan for decades. The handle cover that comes with it saves a burnt palm.
Pliers, a blade and screwdrivers for every loose hinge at the family gathering. Remind him to keep it out of carry-on bags.
Mist the block and watch shiitakes sprout on the kitchen counter, then cook them. A science project they get to eat.
A thousand pieces of a snowy street for the card table that stays up all week. The nieces and nephews will sneak in pieces.
A trading game where cousins, aunts and uncles all have a fair shot. Check the age and player count printed on the box.
Big enough for a pot of chili, small enough for a two-person kitchen. Stovetop to oven to table in one pot.
A big lidded mug that keeps coffee hot through a cold morning in the stands or a long walk with the dog.
A plain wool hat in a color that goes with his coat. Warm, simple and worn every day until March.
For the uncle who turns pizza night into a family event. A turning peel spins the pie so it cooks evenly.
Whoever brings it to the gathering becomes the family photographer, and the kids get prints to keep.
Ask a parent what they played on repeat back then. It's a record and a story at the same time.
A year of entry to national parks and other federal recreation sites. Plan the first trip together and bring the kids.
Two seats for their team or the band they saw in high school, and you go along.
Pick a cuisine she always orders out and let her learn to make it at home. Book a January date, after the holiday rush.
A deep color folded over the end of her couch. Guests will try to borrow it.
Mail the original to a framing service and it comes back ready to hang. Have the artist sign and date the back.
Ten bottles from mild to scorching for a tasting night with the family. Keep milk close by.
Heavier than a shirt and lighter than a coat: the layer he reaches for from October to April.
It prints sticky-back photos straight from a phone. The kids will ask for a print at every visit.
For the aunt who hosts every year. Book it for the week after New Year's, once the guests have gone home.
Something small and good that they will use up or enjoy with the family: a jar of chili crisp, a bag of coffee beans, warm wool socks or a game for the long evening after dinner. Many families see their aunts and uncles only a few times a year, so a gift that shows you noticed them counts for more than the price.
Collect clues at the next gathering. What do they cook when it's their turn to host? What do they talk about once the kids leave the table, and what do they wear when it snows? An uncle who runs the grill gets real use from an instant-read thermometer, and an aunt who hikes every weekend wears through merino socks.
Tap Aunt or Uncle to filter the ideas above. With a long list of aunts and uncles, a family name draw keeps it to one good gift each.
Of the 30 ideas on this page, 9 cost under $25 at the US stores we checked in October 2026. Food and drink lead, because a jar, a bag or a bottle gets used up instead of needing shelf space: chili crisp, small-batch hot sauce, coffee beans from a small roaster or a bottle of flavored olive oil.
Warm things come next. Merino wool hiking socks and rechargeable hand warmers suit the aunt who walks the dog in January and the uncle who never misses a home game. And for the relative who seems to have everything, a small photo album filled with pictures of the nieces and nephews costs little and gets shown to every visitor.
Add the personal part for free: a recipe card, a caption in a child's handwriting or a note about a day you'll spend together. Show only the ideas under $25, or browse more cheap Christmas gifts.
Ask the parents first. They know the age labels that suit their child, what is already on the list and what the house has no room for. Then pick something the child can do with you: a board game for your next visit, a book you read together on a video call or a day out you plan for the spring.
Age decides most of the rest. For little ones, follow the maker's age label, because small parts are banned in toys for children under 3. For ages 3 to 12, see Christmas gifts for kids. Teens usually want to choose for themselves, so try Christmas gifts for teens or a gift card.
If you live far away, gift minutes with Santa travel well. You buy minutes at $1 a minute, write a short note and send the gift card code to the parent, so the kids can call Santa on the parent's account. Nothing to ship, and the minutes don't expire.
Ask the people who live with them. A cousin knows what your aunt keeps borrowing, and a spouse knows which tool your uncle keeps meaning to buy. Keep a note on your phone through the fall, and check whether they shared a Christmas wish list with the family.
Or let Santa ask. With Santa's interview, you send your aunt or uncle a link, and they have a short video call with Santa, an AI video character. He chats about their year, what they love lately, what they'd rather not get and their wishes. He tells them at the start that he shares their wishes with you, and they tick a box to say so. The surprise is which wish you pick.
Afterwards you see a short summary, their likes and dislikes, and each wish with store prices. Send links to several relatives and each one appears under their own name. Your minutes pay, at $1 a minute, and a call only uses the time they talk.
Food travels well at the last minute: a jar or bottle from a local shop with a recipe card. An e-gift card to a restaurant they like arrives by email, and under federal rules in force since August 22, 2010, the money on a gift card can't expire for at least five years from the day it was bought or last loaded.
Experiences need no box. Buy two tickets for the next home game, book a class, or plan a day with the nieces and nephews in spring, then print the plan for a card.
Or give them a call with Santa. With gift minutes, you buy minutes at $1 a minute, write a short note and get a gift card with a code to print, save as a picture or send as a link. They open it on the redeem page, sign in with their email, and the minutes go into their account. Minutes don't expire, and each code works once.
Draw names. In a big family, everyone buying for every aunt and uncle adds up fast. A name draw gives each grown-up one person to shop for and one budget, and our free Secret Santa generator draws the names and keeps them hidden until the reveal.
Then compare. Check the same item at three stores and look at the total with shipping and tax, not the sticker price. One order from one small maker can also cover several relatives: three jars of chili crisp make three gifts and one shipping charge.
Santa's wish list does the comparing for you. After a live video call with Santa, each wish comes back priced across stores, lowest first, with links. Keep receipts, since Target matches its own lower price for up to 14 days after purchase. Last, share one shortlist with your siblings, so two of you don't buy the same multitool.
Something they use up or do with you: good food, a booked outing or a framed drawing from the kids. See gift ideas for someone who has everything.
There's no right number. In the NRF's 2025 survey, adults planned to spend $627.93 on gifts for everyone on their list combined. Many families set one small limit for aunts and uncles.
Something they made: a drawing, a card or captions for a small photo album. A grown-up can help with an idea under $25.
Families decide that together. Some give one shared gift per household, like a board game, and others draw names.
Older relatives often love the same ideas grandparents do. See Christmas gifts for Grandma and Christmas gifts for Grandpa.
Yes. Grown-ups can call Santa for themselves on a live video call in the browser, with no app. Read how calling Santa works.
It stays in this browser on this device. A shared link carries only the idea codes after the # sign, and browsers don't send that part to a website.
Live videoGrown-ups call Santa for themselves. On a live video call, they name their wishes and get them back as a list with store prices, lowest first. $1 a minute.
Call Santa
