Gift Guide: White Elephant/Secret Santa Gifts Under $10

Gear up for your annual Secret Santa soiree this holiday season without breaking the piggy bank ... again.
Gear up for your annual Secret Santa soiree this holiday season without breaking the piggy bank ... again.

The holiday season is nearly here!

It's time to gear up for your annual Secret Santa soiree, but everything is so expensive. There's no way you can get a decent gift without selling at least one organ on the black market.

Or is there?

Actually, there is a wealth of unique, inexpensive gamer gifts out there. It's shocking, I know, but you can look like a gift-giving savant without breaking the bank. So, to help you along, we've put together a list of top-notch gifts that're $10 and under. Let's get started!

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Mega Man 10 Proto Man and Bass PVC Pin Set

Rating: Not Available

Price: $5.50

Buy it on: eStarland

Mega Man is cool, sure, but he's on everything. If your Secret Santa is a real Mega Man nut, then they'll appreciate seeing these characters get the spotlight they deserve. But, if you're not too sure about "Shield Guy" and "Fin Head" here, there's also a set -- for the same price -- featuring the man himself and an E-Tank.


Yume Nikki Train Washi Tape

Rating: 5/5 (69 reviews)

Price: $8.00

Buy It on: Etsy

If your Secret Santa is the spooky type, then this decorative tape is definitely a good choice. The roll features a slew of popular (and terrifying) characters from the cult-hit RPGMaker game Yume Nikki. I would suggest giving it to them as soon as you can. I mean, it's just pictures on tape, but better safe than sorry, right?


Portal 2 Inter-Spatial Portal Earrings

Rating: 4.5/5 (70 reviews)

Price: $5.12

Buy it on: Amazon

Clever, yet subtle, these earrings would be great for a fashionable Secret Santa. They get to revel in gamer glory without being tacky about it! In the orange, out the blue -- a reminder to think with portals, hanging right from their ears.


Legend of Zelda: The Complete Season

Rating: 4.5/5 (124 reviews)

Price: $5.99

Buy it on: Amazon

If you wanna' be "that guy" -- and, let's face it, you probably do -- you can burden your Secret Santa with this. They may hate you for the rest of your natural life, but it'll be worth a laugh, at least. 

As an aside, though, this cartoon is fun and cute in a dopey, '80s sort of way. It might be completely tangential to the quality and even humor of the Zelda we know today, but it's still worth something in its own right.


The Concealable Entertainment  Flask 

Rating: 3.5/5 (3 reviews)

Price: $9.89

Buy it on: Amazon

For the boozy Secret Santa, a drinking flask shaped like an NES cartridge. Forever clever, it comes in a variety of "games" like "Kega Man," "Drunk Hunt" and "The Legend of Drink." The only downside, though, is that it apparently doesn't hold much happy juice.


Mega Charizard Y Cosplay Pikachu Plush

Price: $7.29

Rating: 4.5/5 (60 reviews)

Buy it on: Amazon

There are a metric ton of Pokemon plushies out there. The only reason that Pikachu's even in the header is because it's dressed like a Mega Charizard. Which is super cute, although you could find an actual  Mega Charizard Y plushie for nearly the same price.

If your Secret Santa has a favorite Pokemon, you can definitely find it for less than $10 somewhere on the internet.


The Legend of Zelda Spirit Stone Set

Rating: 4./5 (14 reviews)

Price: $9.99

Buy it on: Amazon

In case you don't want to be "that guy," here is an excellent choice for the Zelda enthusiast. The set features the Spirit Stones from Ocarina of Time, packaged in a small wooden chest decked out with a TriForce. It also comes with a keyring and a chain, so the charms can be made into a keychain or necklace, respectively.


Fallout 4 Nuka Cola Pinup Poster

Rating: 5/5 (2 reviews)

Price: $4.89

Buy it on: Amazon

Posters are always a great option for Secret Santas since, even if they don't particularly like whatever it's from, they'll still have a lovely piece of art to stare at. But who doesn't love Nuka Cola? Zap that thirst!


Mega Buster Keychain

Rating: Not Available

Price: $9.99

Buy it on: ThinkGeek

This Mega Buster keychain lights up! But, unfortunately, it doesn't actually shoot pellets of hyper-compressed solar energy. It doesn't come with a shape-shifting robot dog, either. But it'd still be fun to pretend that it does.


Dishonored 2 Emily Funko Pop! Figure

Rating: 4./5 (3 reviews)

Price: $9.82

Buy it on: Amazon

There are a huge amount of video game Pop! figures out there. From Mega Man to Skyrim to Overwatch, you can find your Secret Santa's favorite characters from some of the most popular franchises. But chances are, they were pretty excited about Dishonored 2, so this Emily figure is a pretty good choice.


Kingdom Hearts Sora and Roxas Pendant Set

Rating: 5/5 (1 review)

Price: $7.15

Buy it on: Amazon

Give these to your Secret Santa so they can show some love for one of the most tragic duos in gaming history. Or, you could take a necklace and make it a sort of "best friend" set that's indicative of your relationship. Or lack thereof. Just like Sora and Roxas!


Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Vol. 1 manga

Rating: 5/5 (23 reviews)

Price: $8.75

Buy it on: Amazon

Just in case pendants are too symbolic, your Secret Santa can relive the tragedy of Roxas in real time by reading this manga.

Plenty of video games have been adapted into comic or manga form and, just as with the Pokemon plushies, if it's popular and your Secret Santa is a fan, you can probably find it for under $10.


Skylanders Trap Master Headrush

Rating: 4.5/5 (1,206 reviews)

Price: $7.50

Buy it on: Amazon

You can find pretty much any recent, normal-sized Skylander for less than $10 these days. In fact, if it's a common one, you can even find much older Skylanders for as little as $2.

"But this one isn't normal-sized," you say? That's because depending on the rarity, you find the "special" characters (like Trap Masters and Giants) for cheap as well. Headrush here is a favorite, but go hunting! You never know who you might find hiding in the dark reaches of Amazon.

Your Secret Santa might not get the Skylander Sensei they've been eyeing for Imaginators, but oldies can still be goodies.


That's it for this list! There's certainly a lot of good -- or at least unique -- stuff out there for under $10. Get your Secret Santa something unexpected! A ritzy-looking trinket from their favorite franchise could make you their holiday hero this year.

Did anything from this list speak to you? What's the best present you've ever gotten for $10 or less? Let us know in the comments!


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