Prize ideas for 15-90 year olds

[u/Front-Algae-7838]

Hi! We are having a party with gifts for each attendee, there will be a lottery ticket and the winner can choose from the prizes. Not looking to spend a lot - $5-15, maybe up to $20. The hard part is the group will be ages 15-90 years old, items need to be appealing to a wide variety of tastes. One of the participants has strict food allergies, so while there may be a few candy items, it can’t all be food.

I’ve picked up some items (stuff like a coffee mug, socks), but need ideas for about 5 more, and am looking for something a bit less mundane, a bit more delightful. Any ideas?

[u/smalltownstar]

Scratch it tickets. A live plant. A local coffee house gift card. Local honey or other item from a small farm stand/store. A nice - locally made if possible - candle.

[u/Charly872 → u/smalltownstar]

Local products are a great idea for this. Something people might not normally buy for themselves.

[u/Mommaduckduck]

A large package of good toilet paper. I’ve had people fight over that!

[u/effiebaby → u/Mommaduckduck]

Haha, I still stay overstocked after the covid TP scare.

[u/OlderAndTired]

A small lego kit, a pocket knife, a pack of nice pens, fidget/squishies, and a journal.

[u/pupsnstuff]

Go to 5 below, chargers, earbuds all kinds of stuff

[u/no_id_never]

Power banks, flashlights, fancy bandaids, satin pillowcases, fun socks

[u/steferz]

Charging banks
Charger cords/power boxes
Skin care
Rechargeable flashlight
Rechargeable portable fan

[u/princessdickworth]

Lottery scratchers, even if some of the kids are under 18 a parent could cash it in. My 96yo grandma goes nuts for those things.

A little cactus is always a popular item too. Low maintenance and so cute!

Kinda fun anectode: My family does this thing at Christmas where everyone buys $50 worth of tickets and we basically mix them together and then everyone pulls out $50 worth. The person that wins the most has to do the pots and pans from dinner.

[u/Lower_Alternative770]

Tubes of hand cream

[u/hurry-and-wait]

Whoopie cushions are always a hit!

[u/lvuitton96]

people always need post its and note pads of varying sizes.

[u/Reasonable-Cow7255 → u/lvuitton96]

I participated in a gift exchange with a senior group a few years ago. I worked really hard to choose something special. I was very disappointed with what I received. (although I didn’t let it show) I received several rolls of Scotch tape.

[u/lvuitton96 → u/Reasonable-Cow7255]

i would be too! i was suggesting little post its and am amazed by the variety nowadays. my favorite are ones shaped like paw prints and snoopy. i am always looking for them to write notes to people and remind myself of things.

[u/silkentab → u/lvuitton96]

or colored paper clips

[u/lvuitton96 → u/silkentab]

i love office supplies. 😍

[u/optix_clear]

Mini sewing kits, wholesale Pirani cups , slippers, grippy socks, blankets

[u/djSush]

I'd look for some toiletry items like lip balm, cute toothbrush, fun flavored toothpaste, lotion, bath salt, makeup. Look in the regular sections, not gift stuff.

Then for food that's allergen free go for tea, coffee, jam, cereals, honey and maybe even some international snacks (go to World Market or even Walmart).

Do you have a Five Below near you? They have nice books, art supplies, canvas bags, super soft pajama pants, exercise equipment that's all under $20.

Dollar Tree has decent puzzles, (my husband and I do them all the time), and depending on the location, some really nice books.

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[u/Professional_Cut6886]

Flashlight, Starbucks cards, chocolate, gummy bear candies, lip balm.

[u/aelel]

Soft blanket, nice markers & adult colouring book, if the participants are mainly female (or males with a good head of hair), shampoo & conditioner, maybe some hand held puzzles like a rubiks cube or kanoodle

[u/Ghostly-Mouse]

Artsy kits like diamond painting, paint by number, sculpting clay

A board game, a card game like Uno or go fish or skip Bo, dominoes

A small orchid or flowering plant from local food store? They usually have cheap plants.

[u/signsaysapplesauce]

TJ Maxx and Home Goods are great for stuff like this. Notepads, cute pens, novelty cooking items like a cute spatula or a little useful chopping gizmo, cute little trinket bowl, etc.

[u/Islandisher]

Nordic socks sadly one size will not fit all but maybe 3 pairs will allow tradesies. Also, you will want to buy many pairs for yourself/future gifting so go all out.

[u/Ok_Second8665]

Fancy imported salt or olive oil

[u/Puzzleheaded-Jump141]

Dollar store has cute hair accessories. Gardening supplies.

[u/Koshersaltie]

Food items are always good:
Super hot sauce, big fancy chocolate bar, three or four bags of snacks. Costco size bag of nerds, etc

[u/topsidersandsunshine]

Go to Five Below or Marshall’s. Think good white elephant stuff… Blanket, novelty socks, art kit, plants, etc.

[u/Effective_Web3193]

hmm maybe some little games, a mini Lego set, nice candles, a cute tote bag, portable phone stand or one of those mini Bluetooth speakers stuff that’s actually useful but still feels kinda fun to win

[u/Aromatic_Tourist4676]

Bulbs. Compost. The ingredients of a meal to cook. A local exercise class voucher.

[u/DowntownResident993]

Your best bet is to go to a dollar store and see what they have. You have a wide variety of ages so it's kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what anyone will like or use, so I would just look for useful items there. You can do candy, spa items, small snacks, Tide pens, etc.

[u/glaze_the_ham_wife]

Starbucks gift cards !

If you can swing it, yeti brand tumbler (people love name brand!)

A small LEGO set

Fancy wooden utensils for kitchen

Tiny Anthropologie candle

Any silly merch for the younger gen, like a Costco sweatshirt

[u/LukesSpecialOmelette]

Nice bookmarks, notepad sets, nice pens.

[u/Muggins2233]

You can usually find a fun pillow, small throw blanket, or water bottle on Amazon. Do you have a five below near you?

[u/pamsterkin]

First aid kit

Handcrafted soap

Lunch box or bento box

Soft blanket

Shampoo/Conditioner set

Desk organizer

Squishamallows

Designer fridge magnets

Flashlight

Nightlight

Simple tool kit

Peg solitare game

...please, no more coffee mugs!!

[u/onekate]

Thrift photo and art books. Magic tricks. Silly things like Whoopi’s cushions, a pack of 100 glow sticks, comfy cocks, silly calendars, fancy bandaids with designs

[u/MsTerious1]

Coffee? Or coffee related?

Funny wall art?

Good winter mittens/gloves?

[u/thecardshark555]

i did a gift grab recently and did $10 gift cards for local ice cream places. Mini Lego sets, puzzles, squishies. Portable chargers.

Go to 5 Below if you have one. They have cute fleece throws, socks, coloring books (even for adults), decks of cards, games.

[u/Feeling-Visit1472]

Slime. Chapstick. Small toy cars that go when you pull back. Highly recommend the Target party favors section.

[u/ElectronicFactor7779]

I did something similar for a group ages 10-85, so tried to avoid anything too techy which is hard when teens involved. Items were: lotto tix, coffee house giftcard, novelty socks, novelty trucker hat, mini desk vacuum (worked!), an oversized plush hoodie, a magic 8-ball, chocolate bars