💸 What to buy in Finland if you're on a budget: the best gifts for under €10, €20 and €50
Finland knows how to play a funny trick on your wallet.
You seem to have just popped into the supermarket ‘for a minute’ to buy some coffee... but you come out with two bags, a €78 receipt and the feeling that you have no energy or money left for gifts.
And ahead of you are family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, your children's teachers, ‘oh, I promised my aunt from another city something Finnish’.
And so you stand between the shelves with Fazer, Marimekko and strange duty-free sets and think:
"How much is it normal to spend on a gift from Finland?
What can you buy for €10, and what is considered “decent”?
And how can you make sure the gifts don't look... well, too cheap?"
Spoiler alert: you can put together a very decent Finnish set, even if you're not ready to spend half your travel budget on souvenirs.
In this article, we'll calmly, without shame or panic, lay everything out on the table:
- what you can really buy for up to €10,
- what's available for up to €20,
- and what gifts look impressive when you have up to €50 per person or couple.
Along the way, we'll give you a nod to other materials:
the anti-guide to Finnish souvenirs, the guide to Finnish supermarkets, sauna gifts and the ‘Finland box’, so you can quickly dive into whatever interests you most right now.
This text is not about ‘how to survive on a shoestring’.
It's about how to shop Finnish: practically, honestly, without unnecessary glitz, and with a keen eye on whether the gift will still be useful in six months' time.
Ready? Then let's start with the most important thing — why in Finland it's worth thinking about your budget in advance, rather than at the checkout.
🤔 Why it's important to plan your gift budget in Finland
Finland is not the cheapest country in Europe. That's true.
But because of this, many people make the same mistake: they wait until the last minute and then panic and buy something ‘just for the sake of it’, overpaying for the packaging and the word ‘Finland’.
The result:
- the gifts are random;
- you spend more than you wanted to;
- half of the souvenirs are in the ‘well... thanks...’ category.
If you have a rough idea in advance of:
- how many people you want to please,
- what budget you are prepared to spend on each (€10 / €20 / €50),
- what format you want to give gifts in (food, home, children, design, sauna),
your mind becomes calmer and your purchases become much more Finnish: conscious, simple and drama-free.
Next, I suggest going through three levels:
up to €10 → up to €20 → up to €50,
and in each one, look at what best ‘gives off a Finnish vibe’ for that amount of money.
Finnish logic is simple: a small, honest and useful gift is better than a large and strange one.
• It's okay to bring back one Fazer chocolate bar and a postcard from Finland — if it's ‘human’ and from the heart.
• No one expects a tourist to bring back a €300 Iittala suitcase.
• The story is more important: why did you choose this particular gift for this person — and what Finnish memory lives on in this gift.
🔟 Gifts under €10: ‘little Finland’ for everyone
A budget of less than €10 is nothing to be ashamed of.
This is the ideal range for ‘lots of people’: colleagues, acquaintances, neighbours, your child's classmates, ‘I need to bring something, but nothing too fancy’.
What works well in this budget
1. Chocolate and sweets from the supermarket
- Classic Fazer (blue bar),
- limited editions with berries, caramel, biscuits,
- small assortments of sweets.
These are things that rarely sit in cupboards.
If you want to delve deeper, this is a natural reason to move on to the guide to Finnish supermarkets.
2. Coffee and tea in small packages
- Paulig / Löfbergs mini packs,
- tea with northern berries.
It sounds simple, but for many, this is their first personal encounter with the taste of Finland.
3. Postcards and mini-posters with Finnish views
- Not garish postcards with Santa kitsch,
- but neat illustrations of Helsinki, forests, lakes, and the northern lights.
You can sign them on the spot, making the gift very personal.
4. Small items for the kitchen
- coasters,
- napkins with Finnish designs,
- mini towels, oven gloves.
These are items that fit into any kitchen and remind the recipient of you every time they use them.
If you have a lot of recipients who will receive €10, the easiest way is to make one ’Finland basket" from the supermarket and divide it into small packages.
For example, buy:
— several different Fazer chocolate bars,
— a couple of packs of coffee,
— an assortment of sweets,
— a pack of napkins with a Finnish print,
and put together 5–7 individual mini-sets from these items.
💶 Gifts up to €20: cosiness, sauna and small design
At the €20 level, the choice expands greatly.
Here you can find items that look solid and ‘Finnish’, but still won't break the bank.
Category 1. Cosy gifts ‘for the home’
- A good kitchen towel / small blanket,
- a mug with a Finnish pattern (it can be without the Marimekko brand if the budget is tight),
- a candle from a local manufacturer, rather than a nameless ‘Arctic’ one from a souvenir shop.
These are things that a person will use every day, not just in December.
Category 2. Mini sauna & wellness
This budget can easily cover:
- a high-quality sauna hat,
- a set of natural salts/oils for the sauna,
- a small set of Finnish cosmetics (mini cream, mask, gloss).
If the topic catches your interest, you can refer to a separate guide to sauna gifts.
Category 3. Children and teenagers
For up to €20, you can get:
- a small Moomin toy,
- a simple Tactic board game,
- warm socks or mittens with a Finnish pattern, but not screaming ‘I ❤️ Finland’.
For teenagers, this is a good area for:
- hats/buffas from local brands,
- cute accessories (eco-bag, shopper, notebook).
🧊 Gifts under €50: the ‘wow effect’ without the feeling of luxury for luxury's sake
Up to €50 per person is the level where gifts feel serious:
for loved ones, parents, partners, ‘very important people’.
What to consider in this budget
1. Small but authentic Finnish design
- mug or bowl from Iittala / Arabia,
- textiles or accessories from Marimekko,
- small decorative items (vase, candlestick).
It is important here not to chase size:
it is better to have one item that will fit into your life than a huge set ‘for later’.
2. A powerful sauna set
For €40-50, you can put together:
- a hat, a towel, an aromatic mixture/oil,
- plus a little ‘story’ about the Finnish sauna in a postcard (and a link to the Finnish sauna guide).
3. ‘Box of Finland’ for a loved one
This budget easily covers a mini gift set:
- coffee + chocolate,
- a small design item,
- something for the home (a candle/towel),
- a postcard with a story explaining why you chose these particular items.
Such a set looks very personal, even if each individual item does not cost a fortune.
For example:
• an Iittala mug (or another reputable brand),
• a pack of Finnish coffee/tea,
• a card with a few words about what you love about Finland.
This works almost every time — for parents, friends, and colleagues who have become close.
🧮 How to allocate your budget if there are many recipients
Let's say you have ~€150–200 for gifts ‘for everyone’.
Instead of trying to give everyone ‘€30’, you can follow the Finnish logic:
- 1–2 people: up to €50 (closest friends and family),
- 3–5 people: up to €20,
- the rest: up to £10 (colleagues, neighbours, teachers, ‘from the heart, but without drama’).
This way, you:
- don't get into debt,
- cover all the important people,
- and don't raise expectations where people wouldn't expect a gift at all.
📋 Quick checklist before checkout
Before taking your basket to the checkout, ask yourself three quick questions:
- Do I understand how many people I am covering with this cheque?
- Will it turn out that I have already spent on three people, but five others are left without a gift?
- Is each gift for someone specific, or am I just buying a bunch of stuff?
- If it's the latter, try to mentally label each item with a name.
- Do I have at least one alternative plan?
- If the design turns out to be over budget, do I know what to replace it with (food, sauna, textiles)?
If the answer to all three questions is ‘yes,’ you can go ahead and pay.
Finland is a country where people value the ability not to dramatise money, but to buy things that will last a long time.
🎬 Conclusion: a budget doesn't kill the magic — it brings it to life
Finland doesn't become any less magical if you're not prepared to spend €100 on every gift.
On the contrary: when you have a realistic budget — €10, €20 or €50 — you suddenly start to see what's important:
- people enjoy clear, understandable, warm things,
- rather than the amount you spent at the airport.
The Finnish approach to gifts is not ‘wow, look how much I spent,’ but rather:
‘This is what makes my life in Finland more comfortable, warmer, tastier.
I want to share this with you.’
If this text has helped you feel more relaxed about price tags and lists of ‘what to bring to whom,’
save it, send it to those who are also going to Finland,
and check out our other materials:
- an anti-guide to Finnish souvenirs (what not to buy at all),
- a guide to edible gifts from Finnish supermarkets,
- sauna gifts for those who love warmth,
- a ‘box of Finland’ for different people.
This way, your budget will cease to be a source of stress and become simply a tool that helps you collect smart, honest and very Finnish gifts.
FAQ
Yes. For €10, you can buy very decent things: a bar of good chocolate, a mini pack of coffee, a postcard, a small decorative item or a kitchen gadget. This is ideal for colleagues, acquaintances, neighbours and a ‘wide circle’ of people.
Most often, it is in the range of €20-50. This easily covers a nice design item, a sauna set, cosy things for the home, or a well-thought-out ‘box of Finland’ with several items.
No. Branded glassware, large design items and clothing are expensive. But food, basic textiles, small decorative items and mini cosmetics are quite affordable. It is important not to focus on the most ‘Instagrammable’ items, but to look more broadly at supermarkets, local shops and small brands.
Yes, and this is one of the most Finnish options. Coffee, chocolate, snacks, spices, tea, sometimes basic cosmetics and cute textiles. Add a postcard with a story, and the gift will be lively and very Northern European in its honesty.
Anything that a person cannot use: too fragile, too specific in taste (the strongest salmiakki), bulky, with an aggressive ‘I ❤️ Finland’ print, as well as fake Finnish design items. It is better to give one simple but honest item than an expensive but strange set.
Instead of chaotic purchases, it is easier to figure it out in advance: 1–2 people — up to €50, 3–5 — up to €20, everyone else — up to €10. This way, you won't go over budget and won't feel like you've ‘offended’ anyone.
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