Christmas present buying - for the one who has it all?

[Hoof'n it]

So do you have if these people to buy for?

I have my Dad who just buys what he wants when he wants - I guess with in reason!

What do you buy when a person needs or wants nothing?

[boots-aregard]

These folks are very difficult. And, let me begin by saying, I don't buy gifts hardly ever anymore.

But here are some strategies I felt good about in the past:

1. The "you can never have enough" strategy. My DH buys his own wine, and usually, I take no notice. But I can (and have) saved an empty bottle of a couple he especially liked, and got 6 more. If he liked it once, he'll like it again.

2. The gotta haves that penny-pinchers hate. My father is allergic to nylon in socks, but he's also a penny pincher. He adores real wool socks, but those can be hard to find and when you do find them, they are expensive! He has come to rely on Xmas and birthdays to keep him in expensive socks that he REALLY appreciates but won't spend the money on himself. (He'll only buy cotton).

3. The activity. I have someone in my family who was impossible to buy for, but I knew she was going to be re-doing her garden. So, I pledged two full days of work -- a whole weekend, and bugged her until she took me up on it. For this to work, I think it needs to be fairly specific, not just those "coupons" that we suggest kids make. A coupon for 1 hour of work or 2 hours of babysitting or whatever. It needs to be "I will help you hang your pictures on January 14th, from 10 am until whenever we're finished."

4. The bragging rights. If you give your mother something she can do with a friend -- a lunch at a fancy restaurant for 2, a night at the opera for 2, a box at the ballet, whatever -- she gets to brag all night that her wonderful child is providing the entertainment to the friend who accompanies her. (This is not the kind of gift my dad appreciated, but my mother? LOVED it. Different strokes for different folks.)

Tell us what you come up with.

[PaulaO]

I would buy them nothing. First though I would have "the talk" about not exchanging gifts to make sure the person realizes you are serious. Then I would follow through and buy nothing. At some point in life, spending time with the people,you care about is way more valuable than any present. And if you don't care about them, then you don't have to feel guilty about not buying a gift.

[Inamo]

Can you get him an experience for something he wouldn't ordinarily do but would enjoy. For example flying birds of prey, a driving experience or something.

[silk]

Experiences tend to suit people who have material things already. My ex and his family got things for his dad and brother-in-law like an afternoon at an archery place, clay bird shooting, rafting or something on the Kaituna river (sp?). They often got multi-person gifts that meant the dad and his dad (the granddad) could both take place, with my ex, the brother in law, and sometimes BILs dad too.

It kind of depends what he's interested in... outdoorsy things... artsy things... opera or cinema or performances... concerts...

[piedmontfields]

My people in this category like when I make fat donations in their name to their favorite charities (which are different from my favorites!).

[ironbessflint]

I like "experiences" for gifts, and I try come up with something we can do together. I've given concert, theater or sporting event tickets multiple times, both for my dad and I and my mom and I to go. I also have an 8 year old niece, and give her things like a "girls day out" when we go shopping, to the movies, get our nails done, or "sleepovers" with appropriate movie, snacks, and sleeping bag.

[Rockabilly]

What I usually do is adopt an elephant for a year for someone who is hard to buy for. The Elephant Sanctuary is in Hohenwald, Tennessee just a hop and a skip from me. Then they get updates throughout the year on "their" elephant. They have cameras so you can watch the elephants.

[Tabby]

I used to get my mom tickets to stars on ice and then go with her. She really just wanted to spend time with me and this was something we both enjoyed and they came through my city every year.

[Canyon]

As my parents got older, they were trying their best to give away possessions; they definitely didn’t want more “things”. Really, what they wanted was the gift of my time spent with them.

[SnowHorse]

I'm not well off by a long shot, but I really don't need anything, and I don't want material (store bought) things either.

If my daughter wanted to give me something there are just two things on my wish list - time to spend with her, or something she drew/painted.

So if you can spend time with him or give him arts/crafts you made, I'm fairly sure your Dad would love it.