The holiday shopping season is right around the corner, and you’ve probably already spent some time thinking about what you could get your friends and family members this year. For the people you know best, with clear hobbies and interests, you may already have a long list of potential ideas. But for the people you don’t know as well, like your neighbors, coworkers, or extended relatives, coming up with ideas may be more difficult.
So what can you do if you run out of holiday gift ideas before you’ve accounted for everybody?
Keep Browsing and Brainstorming
First, be prepared to keep your eyes and ears open. Holiday gift ideas may come upon you when you least expect it. Start by regularly browsing for Christmas gift ideas on some of your favorite websites, and head to new stores on a regular basis during the season. Take notes on some of the unique or interesting items you happen across, and keep your most difficult gift recipients in mind during these travels and brainstorming sessions.
It’s also a good idea to pay more attention when talking to the people you struggle with the most. They may mention something offhand, like a new hobby they’ve picked up or a favorite brand of wine. If you pick up on this, you can use the information to easily brainstorm a new idea.
Focus on Food and Drinks
If you can’t come up with a specific gift idea for someone, consider turning your attention to food and drink items. These have a few inherent advantages that make them ideal gifts for the general population. First, they’re temporary; rather than gifting someone a piece of art, which they may feel pressured to put on display, you’re gifting them something they’ll consume and be done with after a brief period of indulgence. Second, you still have plenty of options to work with, meaning this gift can work for almost any consumer and for any budget.
Make sure you know a handful of the recipient’s personal preferences before you go all-out with a gift. For example, a gift of mixed nuts is a poor choice for someone with a severe nut allergy, and a bottle of scotch is a poor choice for a recovering alcoholic.
Ask Around
If you have mutual contacts with someone for whom you need to buy a gift, ask around about their preferences. If you know their spouse or a close friend, be blunt and ask them for hints about what you could purchase for them. Most people will be more than willing to give you ideas. In some cases, you may find other people who are struggling to find the right gift for this person. If that’s the case, you can each contribute money to purchase a larger gift together. At the very least, you should walk away with more information you can use to make your decision.
Consider an Event or Experience
If you’re still struggling, consider purchasing an experience rather than a material possession. Again, there are some key advantages to this approach. For starters, people tend to remember experiences more than they remember physical items. On top of that, your recipient usually has the option to include someone else of their choosing in the experience.
If you know the person’s tastes, you can get them tickets to a concert or a stage production. If not, you could consider getting them a gift card to a restaurant in your city.
Get Something You Like
If you’ve gotten this far and you’re still having some trouble, your options are probably dwindling. If that’s the case, and you still want to move forward with getting them a gift, consider getting them something that you personally like. Ordinarily, this is bad gift-giving advice; giving someone something you like means neglecting their interests. But if you’ve legitimately tried to understand their interests, this may work as a last-ditch effort.
If you have a favorite book, movie, wine, hobby, or something similar, consider getting them a copy. They’ll likely appreciate the gesture, and if not, you’ll at least have a good conversation starter—and potentially, a way to bond over the new material.
Holiday shopping can be stressful, especially when you aren’t sure what to get certain people on your shopping list. But these strategies can make it easier to find something adequate for those hard-to-shop-for people in your life. If you’re reading this early in the season, try not to delay your decisions too much. The earlier you start shopping, the more time you’ll have to generate ideas, and the more options you’ll have in what to buy. Be prepared, and don’t hesitate to take risks if you’re not sure what to get.