How to gift someone who doesn’t want anything
Article in 1 Sentence: The best gifts are those that the recipient will use but don’t buy themselves, or wants but doesn’t know that they want it yet
“Oh, I don’t need anything” is the most commonly requested birthday present in the world.
And the predicament is that it’s universally known that you can’t get “nothing”.
So I’ve been on a quest these past few years to determine how to get the perfect gift for someone who doesn’t want anything.
So how do you do it?
By asking the right questions.
Best Questions to Ask
How did I find these big hits? By asking the following questions, which will tease out the following insights
| Questions | What the answer will reveal |
|---|---|
| What was the best purchase that you made this year? And why? | Pay close attention to the “why” and you’ll hear what matters to them. |
| What are your goals for next year? | How you can give a gift that can help the receiver pursue their goal they want to accomplish |
| What goals did you have for this year that you were not able to accomplish? | How you can give a gift that can help the receiver pursue their goal they couldn’t accomplish |
| What’s your latest fascination? | Easy way to help them indulge |
| What are you most excited about next year? | Understand what excites them and determine if you can help them get more excited |
| Are there any new skills or hobbies that you plan on developing? | How you can help jumpstart this skill building OR even do it together |
| Are you planning on traveling anywhere new next year? If so, where? | See if there’s anything you can purchase for them to help prepare them on their trip |
Best Practice Examples
Okay, well let’s say you can’t ask them these questions? Or even after asking these questions, you don’t receive a great response?
I’ve been there, so here are 6 ideas to find the best gifts for people who don’t want anything:
| Gift Idea | Examples |
|---|---|
| Personalized Basic Items | Monogrammed letter set |
| High Quality Daily Use Item | Space Pen ($30 which was used on Apollo 13) |
| Auxiliary to an expensive recent purchase | Are they going on a big a vacation to the Galapagos? Buy them a nice hat for sun protection |
| Activity to do together | Cool classes (learn DJing from Kygo) |
| Starter Kits | Watchmaking Kit |
| Inside jokes that will NOT be junk immediately | Wikishirt (get a Wikipedia article printed on a shirt) |
The quest is far from finished and I’m still in the pursuit of greatness in gift giving.
So if you have any other ideas, I would love to hear it (sign up below)!