Buy the good version of a small thing. Under $30 is where most gifts turn into a scented candle from a chain, so the way to win is to go specific: French candy in a tin, the licorice with a cult following, a pressed glass from a works running since 1475. Everything below is under $30, on the shelves at 555 Hudson Street and in Small Things, priced as listed.
Under $20
Saint Ange Orange & Lemon Candy Tin, $8. French confiserie candy, citrus rind first and sugar second, in a tin that stays on the desk. This is the right answer for the coworker you barely know.
Lakrids A Original, Chocolate-Coated Licorice, $18. Soft Danish licorice in a single coat of dark chocolate, in the black tin. Lakrids has a following, and the person who knows it will be pleased you did.
Bee Tumbler, Clear, $18. A single pressed-glass tumbler from La Rochère in eastern France. Buy two for $36 if the budget allows, or one and let it be their desk glass.
John Derian Object Lessons Notebook Set, $18. Three small notebooks from Derian's archive of vintage collage. For the coworker who takes notes on paper on purpose.
Thick Honey Tube, 6 oz, $18. Raw honey thickened to a buttery texture in a tube, no jar and no spoon. It goes in the office kitchen and gets used at every tea break.
Pure Dark Tabasco 74% Chocolate Bar, $18. Single-origin dark chocolate from Casa Bosques in Mexico City. A bar of chocolate is the oldest coworker gift there is, and this is a better bar.
Merci Beaucoup Flat Notecards, $16. Eight letterpress notes on heavy cotton stock from Dahlia Press. The gift for the coworker who writes thank-you notes, and a hint for the one who should.
$20 to $28
Parmesan & Herb Cheese Pennies, $24. Six single-serving boxes of cheese pennies baked in Atlanta, the Italian cousin of the Southern cheese straw. Six boxes means it can be shared without ceremony.
Glass Tile Coaster, The Old Day, $28. A hand-poured glass coaster from Subtle Art Studios that handles hot and cold. One coaster, for one desk. Five left.
Taper Candle Pair, Tall, $28. Ester & Erik, hand-dipped in Denmark, 16.5 inches. A pair of tapers is a better $28 than a jar candle, and it suggests dinner rather than a bath.
What to skip
A mug, a gift card, and anything from the checkout line at a chain. Under $30 is a constraint, not an excuse, and the cheapest thing on this list still came from somewhere.
All of it is in Small Things, or come by 555 Hudson Street, open daily eleven to seven. Every order leaves wrapped by hand, which at this price is most of the gift.
Written September 2026. Prices and stock change, so the product page is the honest version.