Holiday Budgets Stick to $20. So the Gift Shrinks.

Retailers are betting the season on $20. A $35 candle showed me what that doesn't buy.

Nov 02, 2026

Wrapped gift with a $19.99 price tag — $20 is the magic number

I bought an overpriced candle that smells like shit. The disappointment is akin to when I kill a plant.

I’m someone who should never be buying a candle to begin with. I have dozens at home in drawers and cabinets that have never been opened or burned. Purchased. Gifted. And saved from when my mom and brother worked for a candle company.

But I couldn’t resist. Hello Fall smelled amazing in the glass jar. A perfect combination of pumpkin, ginger and clove. I indulged, came home and confessed to my partner, Gary, “You won’t believe what I bought.”

“You bought a candle? Have you looked in the drawers?”

But when it burned, nothing came out. It wasn’t until I wanted to snuff it out, already disappointed, that I realized it didn’t even come with a top to put it out. So I had to blow, and unscented smoke drifted into my eyes, which was doubly annoying. I wasted $35 on a candle that blew.

Shoppers, even if we’re not ready, this is what we’re bracing for as we hit the holiday gift-giving cyclone: spend the same to get less. Which isn’t what any of us need right now. We’re already weary from a year that keeps costing more. Food. Fuel. Flights. Inflation is killing all our fun.

More than half of shoppers (56%) say the economy will impact what they spend, according to the National Retail Federation. Searches for “Christmas gifts under $20” are up 130% on Google Trends.

$20 is the Magic Number

Twenty dollars has been the magic number for decades. It’s the allowance for a Secret Santa gift and what the ATM spits out when you actually remember to get cash.

Retailers are expecting us to be extra price-sensitive this season. It’s why Target, Kohl’s and Walmart are all offering tons of gifts under $20. It’s the price point that covers the obligatory gifts for the coworker, neighbor or reluctant host.

These mediocre purchases we reluctantly make – because we feel obligated to have something so we’re not caught empty handed – are how several retailers are hoping to hit their seasonal sales numbers.

“We’re really excited that 75 percent of our gifts are under $15,” said Ryan Waymire, Kohl’s chief merchandising officer. Kohl’s set gift pricing tiers at $5, $10, $15 and $20 to help shoppers stick to a budget.

Target said almost 4,000 of its new holiday items are $20 or under.

“The entire back of the store will be transformed into what we’re calling Christmas Morning Magic. Think $3, $5, $10 and $20 killer gifts,” said Cara Sylvester, chief merchandising officer at Target.

It even has $5 candles. “We didn’t have anything like this at $5 last year,” Sylvester said.

Retailers are Jittery, Too

They don’t trust us to show up, so they’ve extended the deals. It’s why stores are announcing their sale dates in advance and adding more days. Walmart has 14 days of deal events, up from 10 last year. It’s also offering thousands of gifts under $20.

Twenty dollars is still the social default. It’s “enough” to count as a real gift and can be bought without a lot of thought or breaking the bank.

But there’s a catch. Keeping the price point the same means the gift shrinks. Today’s $20 buys about what $15 did in 2019.

My $35 impulse candle is nearly double the price retailers are counting on us to spend. But I would have been embarrassed if I’d given it as a gift.

What used to deliver now often doesn’t. It’s why it’s hard to hold out hope—we’re feeling let down when we do buy.

So, what would a shopper get from a $20 candle? I didn’t want to find out. Instead, I wasted too much time at Marshalls sniffing the clearance candles. I gave myself a headache from all the scents and still came home with three: one for $3, another for $5 and splurged on a $7 jar. I’ve lit them all. The $3 one blew me away.