The problem with gifting, and I’ve noticed this for several years now, certainly isn’t that there aren’t enough options, and it isn’t even that there are too many options. On the contrary, it’s the fact that everything is so easy to get now that potential gifts necessarily tend to fall into one of three categories: 1. junk. 2. something the recipient already has. 3. something that far exceeds your gifting budget. 

Now that the consumer has access to everything they want online, and can have it arrive at their doorstep sometimes the very day they even think of ordering it, the classic perfect-gift scenario of knowing that someone has expressed an interest in something while at the same time knowing that they don’t have plans to get it for themselves, is becoming rarer and rarer. At the same time, the idea of just going ahead and getting yourself something the moment you think you might want it, combined with the rising cost of consumer goods and the affordability of quality products in general, means that gifting has become more difficult than ever. So while there’s no shortage of drop-shipped plastic under-sink organizers or mass-produced spools of LED light strips, when it comes to things like these, either the recipient will want them and will have likely already ordered them already, or the recipient won’t want them and it will end up in the junk box. Or, if it’s a gift of reasonable quality, or necessity, or rarity, it’s likely also to be prohibitively expensive. 

In other words, your aunt who is really into bread-baking probably has a favorite pair of oven mitts, and the countertop stand mixer she has her eyes on is probably not within your gifting budget. And if she is in need of new oven mitts, she’s probably just going to pop online and have them delivered tomorrow rather than waiting around on the off chance that someone might pick them up for her for the holidays. Convenience is a double-edged sword. One that means that, when it comes to thinking about what gifts to buy, what used to be a somewhat straightforward exercise is suddenly a real head-scratcher. But that doesn’t mean you’re totally out of luck. It just means we all have to fall back on one of the cornerstones of good gift-giving: getting someone something they would enjoy but wouldn’t buy for themselves. 

While that might seem pretty obvious, as we have already seen, it’s far easier said than done. If someone is into tech, you can’t just get them a USB-C cable and call it a day, nor are you likely to want to shell out for a Steam Deck for most of your recipients. And if you get them some cheap desk gadget, it’s just as likely to end up as junk or be something they already have as it is to be something they actually want and don’t have. An obvious solution to this would be to get something that no one can have too much of. This doesn’t necessarily mean that gift cards and cash are the way to go, although they can be good options in a pinch. But, for example, if you have a friend who is really into makeup, Sephora can be expensive. They might already have their favorite pallet, but those things don’t last forever. 

That aunt who loves baking? You don’t want to go out and buy bags of flour necessarily, unless you’re going to be cute about it and get “a dozen flours.” But what you can do is find some unique or exotic ingredients that could be fun to experiment with in baking. If the person you’re trying to get a gift for is really into Harry Potter, for example, they’re definitely going to already have all of the books and movies. And while special editions could be a good avenue to explore, it’s a far safer bet to go another route: try looking into handmade items like candles which are scented with things from the books. That way, if they’re a fan, they’ll get to enjoy the gift on multiple levels, but even on the off chance that they have already purchased this exact scent of this kind of candle from this very seller, then your gift is still useful for when they’ve burned through the one that they bought for themselves. 

And while this advice might not be something that applies to every gifting situation, it can certainly get you out of a bind without breaking the bank. It all boils down to getting something someone wants but doesn’t have or might have but could always use more of. That’s it!