Gift ideas
Gifts under ৳500 and ৳1,000 in Bangladesh, by person and budget
6 min read
Key takeaways
Under ৳500, give something used daily or eaten: a kantha purse or table mats (৳300 to ৳350 in 2026), a book, a plant or gift-packed tea. Under ৳1,000, give something that stays in the home: a kantha cushion cover, a painted clay pot or a small original painting. Skip plastic showpieces and shrink-wrapped gift sets.
What is a good gift under ৳500 or ৳1,000?
One good small thing beats three cheap ones. Under ৳500, give something the person will use every day or eat: a kantha-stitched purse, a book, a plant or a pack of good tea. Under ৳1,000, give something that stays in their room for years: a kantha cushion cover, a painted clay pot or a small original painting. At either budget, skip plastic showpieces and shrink-wrapped "gift sets".
Gifts by budget, at a glance
| Budget | What works | A price we found |
|---|---|---|
| Under ৳300 | Gift-packed tea, a clay tepa putul, an art print, a small plant | Tea, 100 g: about ৳200 (2024); tepa putul: ৳100–৳400 (2025) |
| ৳300 to ৳500 | A kantha purse or table mats, a classic paperback, a jute handbag, a fridge magnet | Kantha purse or table mats: ৳300–৳350 (2026); jute handbag: ৳400 (2025) |
| ৳500 to ৳1,000 | A kantha cushion cover, a painted shokher hari, two small handmade pieces together, a small original painting | Kantha cushion cover: under ৳600 (2026); painted clay pots and dolls: ৳20–৳1,000 (2025) |
| Just over ৳1,000 | Imported chocolates, a kantha wall mat | Ferrero Rocher, 16 pieces: ৳1,100 (2026); kantha wall mat: ৳700–৳2,200 (2026) |
The prices come from dated press reports and shop listings, so expect some drift.
What can you give under ৳500?
Under ৳500 a gift can't impress by size, so it has to show that you know the person. Choose from what they already like.
- A kantha-stitched purse. ৳300 to ৳350 at Kumudini in Dhaka in January 2026. It gets used every day.
- Kantha table mats. The same price at Kumudini, and from ৳350 at Karupally. A good gift for someone who has just moved into a flat or a hostel.
- A tepa putul. These hand-pressed clay dolls from Boshontopur in Rajshahi cost ৳100 to ৳400, depending on size and detail (The Daily Star, December 2025). Give one as a shelf piece for an adult, not a toy for a toddler.
- A book. A classic English paperback cost about ৳300 to ৳400 in 2024, and Bangla classics less. Write a line on the first page.
- A plant. Snake plant, money plant, aloe vera and spider plant all sell for under ৳500 at Dhaka nurseries, including those on Dhanmondi Road 9 and Eskaton Garden Road. Choose one that survives a dim room.
- Tea. About 100 grams of gift-packed local tea cost around ৳200 in 2024 (The Financial Express). Safe for teachers, colleagues and elders.
- A jute handbag. A visitor at the government's jute products fair in Dhaka paid ৳400 for one in March 2025.
- A piece of Dhaka. Fridge magnets with jamdani or rickshaw motifs sold for ৳450 to ৳500 in 2024, and illustrated art prints of the city started at ৳250.
Small handmade pieces from JADUZ makers: hand-painted wooden stud earrings, adjustable rings, cowrie-shell earrings and a set of three hogla pata vases:
−16%
Handcrafted Adjustable Statement Rings – wooden, MDF & Clay Collection
৳55
Little Kohinoor Studio, Dhaka
What can you give under ৳1,000?
With ৳1,000 you can buy something that lives in a home, not a drawer.
- Kantha cushion covers. Under ৳600 at Karupally in January 2026. One cover is a gift; a pair for a sofa is a better one.
- A painted shokher hari. One Rajshahi potter priced painted pots, dolls and toys from ৳20 to ৳1,000 in April 2025 (Dhaka Tribune), so a large pot fits. Fill it with sweets and it becomes two gifts.
- Two small handmade pieces together. A kantha purse and a set of table mats come to about ৳700.
- A small original painting. Nobody else at the party will bring the same one. These two are one-of-a-kind canvases by Dhaka artist Karunika, shown with today's price:
One of a kind
Sold outOur painting price guide explains how to tell a hand-painted canvas from a print sold at the same price.
For jewellery, two red and white bangle sets from a JADUZ maker:
What to give, by who it's for
A girlfriend or wife
Something she will wear, carry or look at: a kantha purse in her colour, fabric or terracotta jewellery, a book by a writer she loves, or a small painting for her wall. Add a handwritten note. Under ৳1,000, the note is half the gift. For bigger budgets, see our gift guide for your wife.
A boyfriend or husband
Something he'll use daily: a jute bag, a paperback, a plant for his desk, or gift-packed tea if he drinks it all day. Perfume under ৳500 is a gamble. A small bottle of attar from a shop you trust is safer than an unknown spray.
A friend
A plant, a tepa putul for the shelf, an art print of your city, or kantha table mats for a hostel room. If several friends are buying, pool for one ৳1,000 to ৳2,000 gift instead of five ৳200 ones.
A teacher
Keep it modest and give it from the whole class: a plant for the staff room, a book, a pack of tea or a good pen, with a card that everyone signs. At a farewell, the card matters more than the object, so ask each student to write one line of their own.
Your mother or father
Something for the home they'll use: kantha table mats, a cushion cover, tea or a plant. A family photo, printed properly and framed, costs little and is never thrown away.
A colleague or an office gift exchange
Agree a price limit first, then keep it neutral: tea, a plant, a notebook or a fridge magnet. Avoid scents, clothes and anything personal.
What about a wedding or birthday under ৳1,000?
For a wedding, cash in a good envelope works at any amount, and a small handmade piece can sit beside it. Our wedding gift ideas cover how much to give and what to write. For birthdays, our birthday gift ideas sort gifts by person, and Eid gift ideas cover the festival.
Which cheap gifts should you skip?
- Plastic and crystal showpieces. They go straight into the cupboard.
- Shrink-wrapped gift sets of a mug, a pen and a keyring, or of cosmetics nobody has heard of. Each piece is worth less than the box suggests.
- Gadgets that need batteries, such as LED keyrings. They're fun for a day.
- Imported chocolate near the top of your budget. A 16-piece box of Ferrero Rocher was ৳1,100 on Chaldal in October 2026. For the same money, a box from a good local sweet shop or bakery feeds the whole family.
- Clip-art photo mugs. If you print a mug, use one good photo and a short line, not a template.
How do you make a small gift look bigger?
- Wrap it in cloth. A gamchha or a handloom scarf becomes part of the gift.
- Pair two things that go together: tea and a book, a plant in a painted pot, or a kantha purse with sweets inside.
- Write a note that says why you chose it. That line is what people keep.
- Put it in a box. Our gift box and hamper guide shows how to build one around a single small piece.
- Take the price tag off, and keep the receipt only for clothes.
For more ideas made by hand, see our handmade gift ideas.
