The short answer
The best gift ideas for someone who has everything don’t add to the pile. Choose food or drink they’ll use up, an experience or day out, a better version of something they use every day, or help with a job they keep putting off. Look at their week, not their shelves, and give something they’d enjoy but would never buy for themselves.
If you’re stuck on gift ideas for someone who has everything, stop looking at their shelves and look at their week instead. What do they eat, drink and use up? What would they love to do but never get round to booking? What’s worn out that they’ll never replace, and which job have they been putting off for years? Each answer makes a better present than another thing to find space for.
Why they’re so hard to buy for
People who have everything usually got it the simple way: they buy what they want, when they want it. If they needed a new jumper, they bought one in October. So the obvious presents are already on the shelf, and anything less obvious risks becoming clutter.
When they say they want “nothing”, they rarely mean it literally. It usually means “no clutter, no fuss, and please don’t spend much on me”. So the real question isn’t what to buy someone who has everything. It’s what they’d enjoy using up, doing or sharing.
Ollie’s tipTell me what fills their week and what already fills their cupboards. Somewhere between the two, there’s always a gap.
Gifts that get used up
Consumables are the safest gifts for someone who has everything: enjoyed, then gone. Choose the best version of something they already love, not a novelty.
Early-harvest olive oil in a big tin
Grassy, peppery oil from a single grove, in a tin that lasts until spring. Used nightly, missed when it’s gone.
A crate of kiln-dried logs
Properly dry wood lights first time and burns hot and clean. A winter of cosy evenings, delivered to the door.
Letterpress notecards and a book of stamps
Thick cotton card, printed by hand, with the postage already sorted. Every one gets written and sent.
A whole truckle of farmhouse cheddar
A small waxed wheel from a single dairy: the star of the Boxing Day board, and gone by New Year.
Cider from a single orchard
Pressed from old apple varieties with names like Kingston Black, and gone by the end of the summer.
Experiences and time together
An experience takes up no space and leaves a story instead of a thing. Chan and Mogilner (2017, Journal of Consumer Research) found that experiential gifts strengthen the relationship between giver and recipient more than material gifts, because of the emotions felt when the experience is enjoyed, even when it isn’t enjoyed together. There’s more on what the research says about giving in our guide.
An evening at a dark-sky observatory
An astronomer, a proper telescope and no streetlights. The Moon’s craters up close never get old.
A day learning dry-stone walling
Outdoors, muddy and oddly calming. They’ll point out “their” stretch of wall for years.
An hour with a falconer
A hawk landing on their gloved hand is not something anyone forgets.
A day out, planned end to end
Train tickets, a gallery, a table for lunch. The present is the planning: all they do is turn up.
Lunch once a month, for a year
Twelve dates in the diary, your treat. Time together is the one thing they can’t buy more of.
Upgrades they’d never make themselves
Almost everyone has an everyday thing that’s past its best: the bread knife that squashes the loaf, the wallet split at the seams. They won’t replace it while it still works. Do it for them with the best version you can find, and they’ll notice every day.
A serrated bread knife with a walnut handle
Glides through a crusty loaf instead of flattening it. Theirs has been sawing away since the nineties.
A hand-turned wooden pepper mill
Turned from a single piece of beech or walnut, with a ceramic grinder that adjusts from fine to coarse. Theirs probably sticks.
Heavyweight cotton bath towels
Thick, soft and properly absorbent: the upgrade nobody buys until the old ones are see-through.
A waxed-canvas tote with leather handles
Shrugs off rain, carries a week’s shopping and looks better with every scuff.
A hand-stitched leather card holder
Slim enough for a front pocket and stitched to last. Their wallet is currently held together by habit.
Shopping for a man or a woman who has everything? The approach doesn’t change: start with what they do, not with what men or women are supposed to like. If it’s your father, our gift ideas for dad have plenty more.
The gift of help
Everyone has a job they’ve been putting off for years. Taking it off their hands is a present they’ll feel every time they walk past. Pay for it, or do it yourself.
- Old photos, digitised. The shoebox of prints, slides or camcorder tapes in the loft, scanned and shared with the family.
- The bike in the shed, serviced. New brake pads and a chain that doesn’t squeak, ready for the first sunny weekend.
- Their favourite boots, resoled. A good cobbler can give well-made shoes a second life. Take them in and collect them.
- A gardener for a day. To tame the hedge, clear the ivy or dig the bed they keep talking about.
- A day of your time. Clear the garage together, build the flat-pack wardrobe or set up their new phone properly.
Small but meaningful
Sentimental gifts often land best with people who have everything, because nobody else could give them. Keep them small and personal.
- A letter from an old friend. Track down someone they’ve lost touch with and ask them to write. It’ll be read more than once.
- A jar of memories. Fifty-two folded notes, one for every week of the year, each a moment you’ve shared.
- A ticket, framed. The stub from your first gig, match or show together, mounted with a photo from that night.
- A first, recreated. Cook the meal from your first date or their wedding day, and lay the table properly.
What to buy someone who says they want nothing
Good gifts for people who say they want nothing start with a little detective work:
- Listen for complaints. “This pan’s had it” and “I never get time to…” are gift ideas in disguise.
- Notice what runs out. Their coffee, the marmalade they like, the good hand cream by the sink.
- Ask someone close. Their partner, sibling or best friend will know what they’ve mentioned. That isn’t cheating.
- Offer a choice of two. “A day out or something for the kitchen?” is easier to answer than “what do you want?”
If they really do mean nothing, respect it: something edible, a card and an afternoon of your time is plenty. For more presents that aren’t more stuff, see our clutter-free gift ideas, or read how to choose a gift for anyone tricky.
Ollie’s tipIn my experience, “nothing” rarely means nothing. It usually means nothing they’ll have to find a home for.
Gift ideas for someone who has everything, by budget
| Budget | Ideas |
|---|---|
| Under £20 | A jar of memories, a letter from an old friend, a first recreated at home, a day of your time |
| £20–£50 | Early-harvest olive oil, a truckle of farmhouse cheddar, letterpress notecards and stamps, cider from a single orchard, a hand-turned pepper mill |
| £50–£100 | A crate of kiln-dried logs, heavyweight bath towels, a waxed-canvas tote, an hour with a falconer, their bike serviced |
| £100 and up | A day of dry-stone walling, a gardener for a day, old photos digitised, a year of monthly lunches |
How Ollie helps
Ollie is a personal AI gift finder. Describe the person in a sentence or two, including what they already have and what they’d never use. He works out what kinds of gift would suit them, then searches thousands of independent shops for real products that are in stock, deliver to you and fit your budget, with a reason for each pick. Here’s an example:
My father-in-law, 71. Keeps bees, cooks a mean Sunday roast, owns every gadget going. Nothing with a plug. About £50.
Every gadget, but nothing with a plug? Then let’s skip the gadgets. I’d start with:
- A hand-forged hive tool for his weekly inspections
- Soft goatskin beekeeping gloves to replace his stiff old pair
- Small-batch mustards and horseradish for the Sunday roast
Keep the picks you like and pass on the rest, saying why if you want to: both steer his next search for that person. Mark a gift as bought and he’ll remember it, so he won’t suggest it again next year. You buy from the shop’s own website, and one yearly plan covers everyone on your lists.
Tell Ollie what they already have and what they’d never use, and he’ll find in-stock presents from independent shops that fit your budget.
Try Ollie freeCommon questions
What do you get someone who says they want nothing?
Get them something that disappears or gets used: good food or drink, a day out, help with a job they keep putting off, or a better version of something they use daily. “Nothing” usually means “no clutter and no fuss”, so skip ornaments and novelties. If you’re unsure, ask their partner or a close friend what they’ve mentioned lately.
What do you buy a man who has everything?
Start with his week rather than another gadget. Upgrade something he uses every day, such as a bread knife that actually cuts or a hand-stitched card holder; give him something to do, like a day learning dry-stone walling or an hour with a falconer; or take a job off his hands, such as getting his bike serviced. Food and drink he’ll use up is a safe fallback.
What do you buy a woman who has everything?
The same way you would for anyone: look at what she does, not at what women are supposed to like. A day out planned so all she does is turn up, an evening at a dark-sky observatory, her old photos digitised or a monthly lunch date for a year all work, because they fit her life without adding clutter.
Are experiences better than things for someone who has everything?
Often, yes. An experience takes up no space, can’t duplicate something they already own and leaves a memory rather than an object. Pick one they’ll genuinely enjoy and make it easy: a date agreed, travel sorted, no admin for them. A beautifully made upgrade to something they use every day can be just as welcome, so choose whichever fits the person.
Is a gift card a good present for someone who has everything?
It can be, if it’s for something they’d enjoy but wouldn’t buy themselves, at a place they already love, such as a favourite restaurant or garden centre. Pair it with your time (“dinner’s on me, and I’ll book it”) and it stops feeling like an afterthought. A generic card is easy to forget, and they could have bought anything anyway.