• the cape sundew I keep on my windowsill. As someone with a lot of house plants, it has been a godsend for keeping flies and other pests out of the house.

• my first aid kit. You never want to need one of these, but I've been glad to have it close to hand a fair few times

A cole n mason pepper mill & toss in a bag of tellicherry peppercorns.

I got a Swiss army knife and it has come in handy quite a bit.

Sounds dumb, but dishwashing gloves. I don't have a dishwasher, and not getting my hands clammy when I do dishes makes the process infinitely less horrible.

Definitely the opposite of making life easier but I love the stone mortar and pestle I got. I'm using it regularly not only to grind up spices like pepper or basil, but I also make pesto for pasta or rice dishes.

Second on the mandolin that was on someone's list.

Caveat being don't buy a shitty one or it will have the opposite effect.

Waternymph 360 Degree Swivel Sink Faucet Aerator. https://a.co/d/5GcJVli

Cut gloves

Pour over coffee maker

More if or when my back is hurting way less.

Dreamfarm cooking utensils: https://dreamfarm.com/

Squishmallows for comfort

USB-C cable tester, to tell you what a cable can actually support

Velcro cable ties

Cable labels https://a.co/d/jkEJrgl

Label printer

Victorinox kitchen knife

Sharpening stone

Leather strop for sharpening

Ruffwear dog leash

Ruffwear dog leash bag, attaches to the leash and is so useful!

Pepper gel spray with UV dye

Water filled pepper spray training aid

Door stopper security device

Karabiner with screw lock for keys

Nite Ize does all sorts of neat products. This is useful: https://a.co/d/bhSR9I7 a hook that doesn't fall off

Resqme car escape tool

Reusable shopping bags/totes

Pyrex or steel reusable food containers

https://a.co/d/5fx7YJm first in first out can dispensers

Weed. Okay maybe the pocket knife is better for a general gift as it is highly practical. I have a Gerber I've used for nigh on 20 years. I miss it when I travel, so I've bought an Opinel and toss it into my checked luggage so I am able to use it on a trip. If I lose it, it was not expensive. Had I lost my Gerber, I would be sad.

Two $20 bills. In all seriousness, there are a lot of board or card games that go for less than $50 dollars.

A sturdy backpack with good support for the back

• Long (6 ft) USB cords that reach from the floor (where the charger is in a power strip) to my desk or couch
• A key hook that I mounted by the door. No more setting off the car alarm with the key in my pocket when in my house

Looking at my own purchases from the last year:

• spice rack
• flexible outlet extender with USB charging ports and surge protector
• mandolin slicer
• bathtub phone holder (for playing music in the shower)
• 2.4 gallon compost bin that stick
• a sht load of microfiber clothes (great for cleaning all sorts of things, glasses, tables, walls, etc)
• magnetic dry erase board complete with dry erase markers (great for to do lists or writing down plans)

I don't know if they're still under $50 but I really like my KOSS Porta Pros, they're just ridiculously good headphones for the price.