Most useful thing you've bought under £30

[KenAdams]

We do a game at Christmas where instead of presents, we do useful gifts in bags for people to win. Things like mango slicers, those cards that double up as ice scrapers, that sort of thing.

Have you bought anything surprisingly useful that you use more than you thought you would that cost under £30 please? I really need some ideas this year!

Rechargeable hand warmers. Invaluable when watching interminable football matches.

A head torch. Whenever you need a torch you don't have one hand useless from having to hold a torch. It changed my life. Or at least the bits when I held a torch.

https://uk.stepone.life/pages/mens-underwear everyone needs pants

ShePee for all females in the family.

Cheese slicer
Air fryer
Honey spoon

Smart plugs.

Pineapple corer and slicer in one. From Temu, £2.49
It's fab.

Eating something out of a deep sundae glass or straight from the jar.

Onion holder, it's been a total revolution! It's like a giant fork with several prongs. Great for slicing eggs, onion, tomatoes, apples, lemons and most things really! Admittedly my knife skills in the kitchen aren't great so I've never been good at cutting uniform slices. I thought it might be a bit of a gimmick but I use most days.

Got an Oodie recently and it blows all the cheaper dupes out the water. If you're trying to do literally anything (especially if youre already clumsy) though, even just make a drink, it's impossible as the sleeves aren't practical. For lounging or wfh it's perfect.

A great way to use veg on the turn. Yellow broccoli, bendy carrots etc.

Kochblume silicone pan lids. Put them over pasta/veg etc stops it boiling over, while also reducing steam.

I love my yeti flask with the hotshot lid. Easy to drink from, excellent insulation, comes apart for easy cleaning, dishwasher proof, completely leak proof. It is heavy though.

Agree on the oxo good grips peeler.

This year, my most used new purchase was a double -walled stainless steel teapot. I bought it for camping, but it's replaced my home teapot now. https://www.procook.co.uk/product/procook-double-walled-teapot-12l?_gl=11gwlj23_upMQ.._gsMQ.._gaMTUxNTc2MjQzLjE3MzIzOTg4NTk._ga_XQN579C06L*MTczMjM5ODg1OC4xLjAuMTczMjM5ODg1OC4wLjAuMjk4NDM3MzQ4&gclid=CjwKCAiAl4a6BhBqEiwAqvrquh8s5IaJd452f5fFQqn-749fl76ughKBxaUHKmi4s1i-oCRArJTKjRoCDTEQAvD_BwE

A good folding step for the kitchen.

Feeling a bit thick, but what does it do? Our coin trolleys you put the coin in a little drawer and slide it shut. How would this work? All the photos on Amazon just show it as a keyring, no trolley in sight.

@GreyDuck , the fat lolly head goes into the coin slot the stick of the lolly with they ring on stays out. You can use a yale key also .

Love this thread

I love this mini chopper - use it for all sorts!

Oh pants…. Link didn’t work

Pineapple slicer/dicer
Mobile phone power pack

Rubber jar lid removers. They look like female contraceptives, but work REALLY well.

This potato ricer:

Potato Ricer, Sopito Stainless Steel Potato Ricer Multifunctional Fruit Vegetable Masher for Smooth Fluffy Mashed Potatoes : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Bought it on a bit of a whim in January and it's honestly one of my favourite kitchen gadgets. It's built like a tank and makes perfect mash every time with such ease I almost feel guilty about how little effort it takes.

Seconded. I have this one, and it's brilliant. https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/0-3l-personal-rice-cooker?

I got this oil spray/pour bottle which has been really great - it just has a really nice affordance when you spray it and just feels right. Plus it means that instead of slurping more oil into my salad or onto roasty veg for the oven, I just need a couple of sprays and am in control of how much I use.Feels like I've used it liberally and I still haven't even used a quarter of the oil I put in originally when I'd usually have gone through at least one bottle by now. It's also much better for me in health and wealth terms than buying a spray olive oil from the shop!

2 in 1 spray pour bottle

A stick blender, which we call the soup wand. Turns a saucepan full of veg into soup in a few seconds.

Small net bags, from craft shops. I put last bits of soap in one and tie up the top. Endlessly refillable, and easier to hold than slippery soap.

USB Hand warmers. I have severe back pain every month and I used to wake up in the middle of the night to boil water for hot water bottle. These hand warmers are god sent. They last for hours and so warm that it eases my pain.

I find mine pretty useful for WFH, as it doesn't get in the way of using a keyboard. I don't like to heat the whole house if it's only me at home, so my (cheap duplicate but very effective) Oodie is perfect. The trouble comes when I have to take it off for online meetings.