It’s Christmas time, and that means it’s time for the annual office Secret Santa.
But now, you find yourself looking for a gifts for a co-worker under £5 when all you really know about them is they like space and astronomy
Fear not! For Sky at Night Magazine is here to help you.
We’ve trawled through our buyers guides and top kit lists to find the best affordable gifts to suit every Secret Santa budget.
And even if you aren’t partaking in a Secret Santa, our list of budget space gifts and stocking fillers are a great selection for anyone hoping to keep the cost of Christmas down this year.
From cheap and cheerful space presents to practical gifts that any astronomer would be happy to have, we’ve got something for everyone.
Best space gifts under £5
Men’s novelty space socks
Socks are the classic fallback for a Christmas gift for Dads, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be a boring gift.
These socks are patterned with a Solar System of planets to orbit your ankles and give a pop of colour.
However, the design is still low-key enough to wear with a business suit, making this a great choice if you’re looking for an office Secret Santa gift for a co-worker.
There are several other designs available, or the option to buy multiple pairs if your budget can stretch to it (or if you can’t resist getting a set for yourself).
Alternatively, you can take a look through our list of the best space socks to find your favourite pair.
Galaxy notebook
If you’re struggling to know what to get someone for Christmas, then a practical gift is always a welcome one.
A galaxy notebook makes for a beautiful, but useful, gift for any age of space fan, and this one comes at an extremely affordable price.
If your giftee is a practical astronomer, then they can use the 120 ruled pages as a log-book, but this galaxy notebook would also work as a present for a student or a teacher’s gift as well.
The paper is made from 30% recycled material and comes with a soft cover.
100-piece children’s glowing space explorer jigsaw
- Buy now from The Range (£4.99).
Jigsaw puzzle are another classic Christmas gift that can be enjoyed again and again.
This children’s jigsaw depicts the space explorers from across the years going on exciting adventures on the surface of the Moon or swooping through space.
For an added touch of excitement, each explorer is surrounded by a ring of special glow-in-the-dark paint, giving you a whole new experience when the lights go down.
The puzzle is specifically sized for little hands, so your child shouldn’t have any issues putting the pieces together.
If this doesn’t take your fancy, we have a whole list of the best space jigsaw puzzles.
Want more ideas for Christmas gifts for space-obsessed children? Why not look at our best space gifts for kids and best space sweets gift guides.
Astromedia Small Galileo telescope
- Buy now from Astromedia (£3.75).
While you can’t buy a telescope for under £5, you can make one with the help of this kit!
The kit comes with two lenses and several pre-punched card components that can be glued together to form a real working telescope with a magnification of x6.5, modelled after the ones made by Galileo Galilei.
Takes around 20 minutes to assemble, and make a great gift for teenagers, makers or crafter.
They can also be bought in bulk if you want to run an astronomy group project with a Scout group, youth group or school.
The real fun here is making the telescope yourself – it probably won’t give the most spectacular views so if you want an affordable telescope for actual stargazing, take a look at our best budget telescopes, best telescopes for kids and best tabletop telescopes.
Alternately, take a look at our best budget binoculars list, which are an affordable alternative to a telescope.
Best space gifts under £10
Dorekin 9LED Red Light
A red-light torch is a must-have tool for anyone venturing out stargazing, and this low-cost option is great if you’re working within a budget.
This battery-powered LED torch shines at 100 Lumen, weighs just 160g and takes 3 AAA batteries (not included).
The torch is splash proof, meaning it will survive in the damp, dew and any rain (although it won't work underwater, the manufacturer helpfully points out!).
If you're after a cheap gift for an astronomer, this red light torch will help your stargazer look at star charts and locate the right eyepiece for many years to come.
Looking for more red light torches? Why not take a look out our lists of best red light torches and best red light head torches.
Astronomy Fluxx
Astronomy Fluxx is a space-based card game where the cards you play determine the rules of the game. In round one, players can draw and play one card, but these will soon change the game’s mechanics: how many cards you draw in relative to what you need to do to win the game.
The Astronomy edition of Fluxx features cards with NASA photographs of the planets,nebulaeandgalaxies, and features additional information and challenges to help players learn about the Universe.
If you’re looking for an educational gift for kids, then this space game will help your children learn while having fun.
If you fancy something that provides more of a gaming challenge, then take a look at our best space board games list.
Popular Science Star Lamp Projector
Despite its strange appearance, this is actually a star projector!
If you’re looking for a gift for a student, child or someone who just likes crafts and making things, this is a gift that is not only a fun building project but grants you a usable item at the end.
The projector comes as a kit designed to promote STEAM learning, and requires you to put together the electronic components as well as assembling the stand and shade (requires a Phillips' head screwdriver).
Once put together, the lamp takes the form of a black dodecahedron, the sides of which are pierced with 2000 holes in the shape of the constellations.
The central lamp then shines through these, casting the image of the constellations onto your walls.
Want something more advanced? Take a look at our guide to best planetariums and home projectors.
Amazon basics cleaning kit
Something astronomers are always in need of is a good cleaning kit to keep their optics free of dust and grime.
However, it’s all too easy to end up scratching the lens’s protective coating or even the glass itself with over enthusiastic cleaning, which is why you might want to also point them towards our guide on how to clean binoculars to make sure their optics remain in tip top condition.
This kit has all the tools you’ll need to keep your lenses clean and clear – a dust blower bulb, a soft brush, lens cleaning tissues, microfibre cloths, a lens cleaning pen and a spray bottle for lens cleaning fluid (not included).
The kit works for binoculars, telescopes and even DLSR cameras, meaning however your loved one observes the night sky, this will be a practical gift they can keep using for years to come.
Looking for more accessory ideas? Take a look at our best binocular accessory and best astronomy accessory guides.
Tell-the-time rocket clock
If you’re looking for a practical gift for a child that won’t end up forgotten in the bottom of a toy box, this bright and colourful clock is both eye-catching enough for a child's Christmas present but is also a useful, educational item their parents will thank you for.
The bold numbers makes them easy to read, with the each quarter hour picked out in a different colour.
Below them are the terms such as “half past” and “20 to” to help children know how to describe the time.
The hands of the clock are equally striking, the minute hand has a rocket, while the hours is a shooting star.
The ticks around the edges are depicted by stars to keep with the cosmic theme.
Want a clock for a different space fan? Take a look at our list of best space clocks.
Moongazing
- Buy now from Waterstones (£8.99).
A book is always a safe option when it comes to a Christmas present, and the Moon is a perennial favourite.
Moongazing by Tom Kerss manages to cover a broad range of nitty-gritty lunar facts, ranging from the phases to the Apollo missions and a practical section on lunar photography using a smartphone or DSLR.
The most exciting and informative segment is the ‘Introduction to the Lunar Atlas’, which divides the Moon into 16 sections and includes lunar photographs along with a map for the reader to learn the names of craters and mares.
There is a two-page segment on the surface features and the categories they fall into, which ties in nicely with the maps and provides enough information for the observer to identify features on the Moon's surface.
There is much to learn from this instructive and enthusing book, which will appeal to selenophiles everywhere.
If you’re looking for more ideas head over to our list of best astronomy and space books where we have a list of the best practical astronomy books, best space science books and best books on spaceflight.
Best space gifts under £20
Klarus HC3 clip-on head torch
Another practical Christmas gift for an astronomer they can use throughout the winter months is a head torch.
Rather than using the traditional headband to keep itself in place, this head torch clips directly onto the brim of a peaked hat.
Alternately you can use it as a stationary lamp by attaching it to a tent pole, tripod or edge of your book.
Weighing just 37g, it won’t overbalance your cap, and it can be tilted up and down by 180º allowing you to position it no matter how you attach it.
You can either use the button to turn the torch on and off, or set it to motion sensing mode where waving your hand in front of the torch turns it on and off.
The red light mode has two brightness settings, helping you to maintain your dark adaptation while out stargazing.
Looking for more red light torches? Why not take a look out our lists of best red light torches and best red light head torches.
Rose gold rocket earrings
Jewellery is a safe Christmas best when you are looking for a present for your loved one, and these charming rocket earrings are sure to wow, even if you’re on a limited budget.
These studs are made from 925 sterling silver, plated over with 18K rose gold to give a fun retro copper look (but without risking turning your ears green!).
The porthole is represented by a blue cubic zirconia, which winks out from the rocket’s body.
As they measure a diminutive 8mm long, these are small enough to wear for everyday use but refined enough for special occasions.
A great gift for women or men with pierced ears: wife or girlfriend, husband or boyfriend or even a space-loving teenager.
And if they don't have pierced ears we've got lots of other options on our best space jewellery gift guide if you're looking for a space gift for your wife, husband or other special someone.
Martin's chocolate truffle planets
When looking for a gift, it’s hard to go wrong with chocolates, and with these planet chocolate truffles from UK-based Martin's Chocolatier you can fuel their love for space as well.
There are nine handmade truffles, the outer shells of which are coloured and textured to resemble the eight major planets of the Solar System as well as the Sun.
Each is made from 100 per cent Belgian chocolate and filled with a different flavoured truffle filling with flavours including orange, chilli/cherry ganache and praline.
These refined chocolates come in a cardboard presentation box that’s just as beautiful as the confections themselves, making them a great option for an adult astronomer with a sweet tooth.
You can find even more cosmic candies on our list of the best space sweets.
Duplo Town space mission rocket
If you're looking for a gift for kids which will provide entertainment long after Christmas Day is done (and doesn't make noise or require batteries) it's hard to go wrong with a Duplo set
The larger bricks and rounder edges means they’re safe for children aged 2+, and help younger children develop their hand eye coordination, as well as thinking and problem solving skills.
A simplified design makes it fun for younger kids to assemble (or to ‘help’ while you set it up for them).
Children will love exploring the cosmos with this set, which comes with a rocket, a launch tower, a mini rover and two astronauts armed with a spanner and flag, ready for whatever their next big adventure might throw at them.
We have even more gift for kids over on our list of best space Playmobil sets, or if you're looking for space Lego for adults, take a gander at our best space Lego and best Star Wars Lego recommendations.
