Best Free and Budget Gifts for a D&D Player

No budget for presents right now? No problem – there's plenty of nice little extras you can do for little to no cost!

Run a Themed One-shot

Whether it's a seasonal one shot around Santa being kidnapped, or a birthday themed one based on their favourite things, running a game is always a fantastic gift. Not least does the recipient already love D&D and therefore gets another chance to play it, but if they're the DM of the game, they finally get to play a character too. You can find these easily on the internet, by searching for the topic you have in mind, and will find that there's a whole wealth of one-shots out there to choose from. If you're feeling extra fancy (or do this already), you could even create one from scratch. I've made one for a hen weekend that saw the best man as the Villain and the pair's dog as the hero, and taken part in a birthday one that leapt through portals into Disney properties. The world is your oyster.

Pick up a Seasonal One Shot on Drive Thru RPG

A Journal of Escapades

If you've got the session notes but do very little with them, turning them into a tale of adventure and sharing them with your group is a lovely thing to do. Extra points if you print them and make a pretty cover with them (bookbinding is much more simple and effective than you might think, and can be found on YouTube/Tiktok if you want to go that step further), but it's almost like making a photo book of a trip, in immortalising the groups exploits. 

Make Dice Themed Presents

If you're someone who plays RPGs you'll probably have a few sets of dice lying around that you could bear to part with. Though this does rely on your craft making skills, we're reliably informed that it only needs to be as complex as you can easily handle. We've seen them made into necklaces, Christmas ornaments, cufflinks and more – just remember to keep the highest number facing out for the best success!

Buy D20s on Amazon

Cook a D&D Themed Evening

If cooking is your bag, making a meal for a D&D fan that happens to be themed on D&D is a great way to honour them in an evening, with just a few changes to your shopping list rather than outright purchases. There is a D&D inspired cookbook called Heroes' Feast which is popular, but if you don't already own it, there are plenty of ideas on the internet for meals. Add in some music in the background (we love modern music played in a medieval theme), and maybe even a few candles, a tankard or two (if you have one), and if you want to be extra fancy, a menu – it's a whole experience. 

Buy Heroes' Feast on Amazon

D&D Cocktails and Mocktails

Related to a D&D meal, is providing D&D cocktails and mocktails. Use things you already have in the house to put together something thematic to your game. We've had health potions in the past, but you could always incorporate them into any game itself as a prop!

Make a Poster

There are plenty of printables available online that would work fantastically as a poster, and if you've got a printer, you've got no real cost to making it – just roll it and tie it with a ribbon to make it look even nicer. Alternatively, it's a few pence at the library to get printed (or free if you work in an Office, we suppose!) We've got a few suggestions of things you might enjoy...

Personalised Character Sheet

You could make a character sheet of your friend, tailored to how good they are at real life experiences. Extra points if there are then annotations – -3 to Dexterity because you walk into basically everything, -4 to Intelligence because you argued you couldn't use oven gloves in a microwave because they're for the oven.

A Spell or Location Card or Sheet

If you have been playing D&D with the recipient for a while, you'll perhaps have some in-jokes or special moments within the story. Immortalising these in some way is a really thoughtful and low cost treat for the recipient. There are plenty of free options online, from Canva to generic free sites, or you could design something more detailed if you're able. It's also a chance to add a bit of humour in – did they forget they had that spell at the moment it was desperately needed? They could definitely use a reminder of it in that case!

D&D Papercraft

Papercraft is a forgotten art, but there's plenty of spaces online offering free crafts that are either already D&D related, or could be used as such. For example, finding a chest would work perfectly as a mini mimic. The cost would simply be the paper, sticker and time to put it together, but would be a sweet addition to the tabletop. 

Sometimes we may include links to online retailers, from which we might receive a commission if you make a purchase. Affiliate links do not influence editorial coverage and will only be used when covering relevant products