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Last week I had trouble commenting on some of the WWBC participants whose sites are hosted on Blogger. I will try to comment on your posts again this week! Here’s hoping that issue was solved.
So what do you buy for someone who already has everything they need and isn’t interested in collecting more gadgets? I’m writing this post from the perspective of someone who fits this description. While I’m always appreciative of the gifts people give to me, the truth of the matter is that there aren’t too many physical possessions out there that I need but haven’t already acquired somehow.
Here’s a list of things you could buy, make, or otherwise give to folks like me depending on their tastes. I mostly stuck to food-based stock photos to illustrate my point because apparently there isn’t a lot of demand out there for stock photos about slippery emotions like compliments. Ha!
1. Baked Goods
I’m an average baker, but I certainly wouldn’t know how to make anything that looks like it was made by a professional. It’s always a thrill when someone surprises me with some nicely decorated cupcakes or other treats.
2. Tickets to Artsy Stuff
To give an expensive example, the Hamilton musical is coming to Toronto next year. The tickets for it are far too rich for my tastes, but this would be the sort of thing I’d squeal over if I had a fabulously wealthy fairy godparent.
On a much more economical note, I’d also be thrilled with a general admission ticket to a museum, art gallery, comedy set, concert, or other similar event. I love the feeling of seeing or hearing things that I don’t normally experience in my daily life.
3. A Massage
My parents bought me a one-hour full body massage once or twice when I was in college. It was the nicest thing they could have given me. There’s nothing like the relief of having tense, sore muscles gently relaxed after all of those long months of studying.
It could be a massage from someone I’m really close to or a gift certificate for a professional masseuse. Either one is wonderful in my opinion.
4. Stories, Photos, and Memories
Obviously, this one depends on how well you know the person, but I love it when the older generations in my family pass down new information they’ve discovered about our ancestors or pieces of their childhoods that they haven’t shared yet. There are relatives who died before I was born that I feel like I’ve met because of how much of their lives has been recorded in our oral histories.
It’s also cool when friends randomly share an old photo or funny story from our past.
5. A Personalized Book Recommendation
It always makes me happy when someone tailors their recommendations. That’s not an easy thing to do, but it sure is lovely to receive.
6. Vegan Chocolates
I’m always on the lookout for new types of vegan chocolates or pralines, especially if they’re flavoured with mint, fruit, nuts, or other mix-ins.
7. Herbal Tea
Is it possible to have too much herbal tea or even tea in general? I doubt it.
8. Random, Genuine Compliments
Being surprised with something someone honestly appreciates about you almost feels like the emotional version of a massage. They both make me feel incredibly happy and appreciated.
In order to make this more gift-like, the compliments could be compiled in an email or written on little scraps of paper and put into a fancy jar. Yes, I somehow came up with a physical item that I couldn’t eat but would still enjoy owning. I’d probably use it to store chocolate and other treats in after I’d savoured all of the compliments.
9. Shopping Advice and Support
Fashion isn’t one of those things I spend much time thinking about, but I do admire people who know how to put together an eye-catching wardrobe. It would be super cool to spend a day going through my clothes and shopping with someone who genuinely enjoyed putting nice outfits together.
10. Stargazing
I love astronomy.
This past autumn, I had the chance to do a little stargazing at a local university. The event was put on by faculty and students there, so we got to hear some interesting facts about the stuff we were looking at.
I would be so excited to do this occasionally with someone who was really knowledgable on this topic.
Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question. The image below is the list of upcoming prompts for this blog hop.
LOL… we went in about the same direction. I love your suggestions!
Also, re: having trouble commenting on Blogger blogs… I’m betting you’re on a Mac or iPhone and using the Safari browser. If so, something to do with the last update messed with the ability to comment on Blogger (no clue why). Try using a different browser (like Firefox or Chrome) and see if that helps.
Have a great holiday break and I’ll see you next year 😀
Thank you very much!
And, yes, I have a Mac and an iPhone and I was using the Safari browser. I didn’t know the latest update caused that issue, so thanks for the heads up.
I’ll see you next year, too. 🙂
I like the suggestions. Random, genuine compliments go a long way. Stargazing is a good one, too. I got DH a telescope years ago and he still loves to use it.
Thanks for the suggestions. 🙂
You’re quite welcome. I’m glad your DH is getting so much use out of his telescope. What a thoughtful gift.
This is a great list, and I think tickets and teas are FANTASTIC options. We sometimes have trouble getting out of the house (health issues) and one year my mom gave us a Google Play gift card and a box full of theater-sized snacks and popcorn. We stayed in that New Year’s Eve and had the coziest movie marathon. 🙂
Aww, thanks! That gift card and box full of snacks sounds like an amazing gift. Kudos to your mom for coming up with that one.
What a wonderful list of gift ideas. Thank you for sharing. I tweaked the topic a bit, here’s mine. http://lydiaschoch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/WWBC_List-copy-300×289.jpg
You’re welcome. I’m so glad you liked it. Your list was great, too!
What to buy for the person who doesn’t want things! Fascinating choice of topics, and a great list. We’ve been doing disposable/consumable gifts for several years now – brownies, liquor, and suchlike.
My post is here.
Aww, thanks! Yeah, disposable/consumable gifts are great. I know I can be a tricky person to shop for, so I try to keep a long list of experiences/treats I do want to make things easier on folks who give me stuff.
Great list! I’ve done the baked goods gift in the past several times, and gave some tea as a gift this year. (It was one the person had particularly liked when visiting me, so it seemed a good fit.) I love the idea of art-themed tickets! Either to a show or a museum, both great ideas.
Thank you very much. It’s awesome that you already knew they liked that tea, too!
If you like herbal tea, here’s some of my favorite: Good Earth’s Sweet and Spicy. Great cinnamon flavor. Bigelow’s Perfect Peach, Mint Medley, Orange Spice.
Oh, yum! I’m adding those to my shopping list to see what I can find. It’s always fun to try new herbal teas. 🙂 So thanks.
I love the idea of stargazing! How unique. In that vein, here in the Smoky Mts every fall they raffle off spots to go firefly watching. If you loved stargazing you’d probably enjoy an evening with the lightening bugs. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. Yes, it would be amazing to spend an evening with lightening bugs. What a creative idea!
Thanks for coming by earlier… and I love your lists. I’m always wondering what to get people and I’ve gotten some great ideas!
You’re welcome and thank you for the compliment. Yeah, there were some great ideas this week!
Wonderful post Lydia. Good luck getting those Hamilton tickets. I was going to buy some for myself and my sister until I saw the price and what was still available. Merry Christmas.
Aww, thanks! And, yeah, those tickets are very pricy! I hope that everyone who sees it will enjoy it.
Merry Christmas to you, too.
Ah yes, I’d love a massage – and I love to go out stargazing.
Cool!
These are great ideas. I especially would never have thought of giving more local/lower cost tickets to something (perhaps because I myself am bad at going out and doing things..which I guess is what would make them such great gifts for people like me).
I’m glad that idea resonated with you. 🙂
Brandon Rhodes just ordered a telescope. Now we have one in our extended family that will be fun to look through when we’re together again. Something to look forward to!
Cool!
I can add one more that’s similar to baked goods: melt-and-pour soap. Easy to do, and added scents and colors make it personal. I just finished making a few batches for gifts. (The initial outlay can be a little pricey but things like the digital scale and temperature gun get used for other things.)
What a great idea!