Most of us are knocking out the items on our holiday shopping lists or either procrastinating and waiting until the last minute. Either way, if you didn’t do any Black Friday shopping or found some good deals but didn’t finish up your list, you’re probably saving the difficult people for last.
That’s not a bad strategy, but you have to get gifts for the impossible people on your list sooner or later. For me, the impossible people include my dad or in-laws. My mom is good about telling me what she wants or needs and I just feel like I understand what she likes better.
My dad on the other hand, never mentions anything to me and always says he doesn’t want anything. I feel like I should get him something though since I don’t exchange meaningful gifts with family hardly at all throughout the year.
With my in-laws, I just met them about two years ago so I’m not quite clear on their wants, needs, and values yet but I’m sure they’d appreciate anything.
Kids are easy to buy gifts for in my opinion, but some adults can be impossible. Here are 7 Christmas gift ideas for the impossible people on your list this year.
1. Amazon Prime Membership
Everyone loves Amazon, but not everyone wants to pay for a Prime membership. If you know someone on your list likes to shop online or read e-books, this could be the perfect gift
if they don’t have it already.
An annual Amazon membership is $99 and it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving because for an entire year, the recipient of this gift can enjoy free two-day shipping, exclusive product deals for members, access to video streaming for tons of different movies and T.V. shows, unlimited access to thousands of e-books, music streaming and more. You can also get same day delivery in some zipcodes and selected discounts (like 15% of diapers) if you subscribe.
2. Movie Theater Tickets
For the person who would rather have experiences over things, treat them to a free movie on you. This could also be a great gift for the couple who rarely gets to have a date night.
You can even search for package deals on Groupon so you can get more bang for your buck on this gift.
3. Gas Gift Card
If you’re stumped on what someone might need this year, anyone who drives needs to put gas in their car. Fluctuating fuel prices can be frustrating and drain your wallet.
It would be very thoughtful to purchase a gas gift card for an impossible person on your list or even a gift card for a car wash or an interior cleaning service for their car if you want to get more creative.
This is something that people will definitely put to use sooner or later.
4. Custom Coffee Mug
Know any coffee addicts? You can never have too many coffee mugs especially the ones that have flair. You can make your own cool custom mugs at VistaPrint or order one on Discount Mugs.
If you want to get creative, you can go to a pottery or ceramics shop where you can learn how to make your own mug, then glaze it and customize it. It one is not enough, why not make two?
5. Scented Candle Set
I love quality scented candles, but I never tend to buy any. I see it as a luxury I don’t really need or can’t afford all the time. However, I love receiving candles as gifts.
My husband and I received some nice candles as wedding presents and we’re still using them to this day.
See if stores like Yankee Candle or Bath and Body Works has any sales you can take advantage of this time of year. You can even buy a candle set or make your own set by purchasing a large scented candle and packaging it with a good book and some yummy hot chocolate mix.
6. Streaming Device
Encourage your friends and family to cut the cord next year by purchasing them a streaming device for Christmas. Roku and Chromecast are two of the best streaming devices and they don’t cost much at all. We actually have both in our house and use them all the time. There’s also the Amazon Prime T.V. stick to keep in mind which can be a great gift to go with an Amazon Prime membership.
Since we don’t have cable, we have a subscription to Hulu and Netflix and we stream movies and T.V. shows from our computer or phones straight to our television with our Chromecast device.
With Roku, we can stream movies and television shows right from the Roku device so it works like a built-in app on our T.V. With Roku you can even stream media from other subscriptions like ESPN or HBO go.
Plus, with a streaming device you only pay a one-time charge to purchase the device. Then you can use it as often as you like without having to worry about paying a monthly subscription for it to work.
This gift can help people save tons of money by feeling more confident about giving up their cable subscription without having to say goodbye to their favorite shows and movies.
7. Portable Charger
For the technology-friendly person on your list, consider a portable charger so they can charge their phone and other devices on the go. This is a cool gadget that will come in handy when they least expect it.
It’s also trending this year, so it would be wise to snatch one up before the price increases.
Who are the impossible people on your list? Which one of these gifts sounds like something you might consider?
Chonce is a freelance writer who’s obsessed with frugality and passionate about helping others increase their savings rate, eliminate debt, and work toward financial stability. She chronicles her journey to becoming debt-free on her blog, mydebtepiphany.com.
