2024 Gift Guide: The Best Gift Ideas For Everyone on Your List

The special people on your holiday list deserve the perfect gift. 

Our gift guide can help you find Christmas, birthday, or anniversary gifts. While we focus on Christmas, as it’s the major gift-giving holiday for most people, these gift ideas will work for any special occasion. 

2024 Gift Guide: Find the Perfect Gift for Everyone on your List!

Sorry to break it to you, but there’s no one perfect gift that will please everyone. 

The perfect gift is personalized and speaks to the person receiving it. It makes them feel special because you know them so well that you know exactly what to get them. 

Since we can’t know everyone individually, we’ve divided our gift guide into categories based on personality types and board areas of general interest.

Identify your special someone’s personality type and consider a gift geared towards them!

Hey folks! Transparency Disclosure- Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. That means I’ll receive a small commission if you decide to click on it and buy something. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you anything extra!

Gifts for the Adventurer

Adventurers crave experiences. If you have someone with a lust for adventure in your life, get them something they can do!

A trip makes a perfect gift for the intrepid traveler. Book tickets to their top bucket list destination, or arrange a weekend getaway. They will be thrilled to go someplace new!

If a trip isn’t in the cards, consider gifting tickets to a special event, like a concert, sporting event, or theme park. Most cities offer CityPASS tickets that allow people to access the top attractions for a fraction of the cost. 

If you live near a large city, this might be an excellent option for the adventurer on your Christmas list!

If you want something they can open up on Christmas morning, gift them items they can use on their next adventure. 

Grab new boots for hikers, a luggage set for frequent fliers, or a roadside emergency kit for travelers obsessed with the open road. 

Gift Ideas for Gamers

Score your favorite gamers the hottest new video games this holiday season. Consider Alan Wake 2 for Xbox lovers, Final Fantasy Dawntrail for PlayStation gamers, or Legend of Zelda Echos of Wisdom for Nintendo Switch users.

Get the serious gamer in your life a new console or a high-tech gaming PC if they don’t already have one. 

 

With gamers, you can never go wrong with new accessories. Headsets, gaming chairs, microphones, and webcams make fantastic gifts. If they’re a streamer, consider a capture card or other streaming accessories. 

Check out our full list of gift ideas for gamers for more inspiration. 

Gift Guide for Super Fans

Superfans make gift-giving easy. 

Identify their fandom and get them anything related to it. As a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I’d appreciate any Buffy-themed gift – from t-shirts to mugs to action figures!

The super fans on your list might celebrate shows, sports, games, or movies. They would love a present related to their favorite thing. 

Give your super sports fan a new jersey, your TV show fan a book related to the show, and your movie fan a limited-edition poster. Find handmade fan art on Etsy.

The endless possibilities make shopping for a super fan a breeze. 

Great Gift Ideas for Endless Learners 

We all have a special someone with an insatiable love of knowledge. Fill that need by helping them explore their favorite subjects. 

If they love science, look into books on astrophysics, anthropology, or new technologies. Gift armchair historians a book about their favorite time period.  The learner in your life will love getting books on their favorite topics.

Access to an online learning platform like Coursera is also a lovely gift for knowledge seekers. With this platform, they can take classes on various topics from accredited universities like Northwestern and the University of Illinois and earn certificates in many subjects. 

Udemy offers a variety of great classes for hobbyists. With courses in everything from coding to photography, self-development to data science, there is sure to be a course that your learner will love. 

The gift of knowledge will last forever. 

Special Gifts for Hipsters

The Hipster in your life doesn’t want something trendy from Amazon. Show them you know them well and give them a different kind of present. 

Try custom apparel from Teepublic that showcases their favorite things. Gifts from print-on-demand sites support small creators over large corporations, and the hipster in your life will appreciate the effort to think outside the box. 

They might also appreciate something nostalgic, like a print or figure from one of their favorite childhood shows or a band shirt from a 90s rock or grunge band. 

Gift Ideas for Jocks

The best thing to get the jock in your life is Sports Gear! Get equipment to help them play their favorite game, like rackets, bats, gloves, or even shoes designed explicitly for field play. 

Another great gift idea for the sports lover in your life is something that commemorates their favorite team.  You can’t go wrong with jerseys, pint glasses, dish towels, or anything with their team’s emblem. 

One of the best gifts I ever received was a cat bed made with Chicago Bear’s fabric. It was handmade, too, which made it extra special. 

New Age Gift Ideas

The term “new age” can encompass many different things, so it might be hard to identify what the new agers on your list might like.

Candles can be a big hit for most new agers. Since they are perishable, most people who are into anything esoteric probably use many of them throughout the year. Crystals, meditation aids, incense, and yoga gear could also make lovely gifts. 

If you know your esoteric friend well, consider gifting them something that speaks to them on a spiritual level, like guidebooks or tarot cards. However, tread carefully. A well-meaning book on the wrong topic could be taken offensively, so be sure you know what they are into before giving them something spiritual. 

Gifts for Homesteaders

Even the homesteader who has it all could use more jars. These versatile tools get used quickly when you can and juice all your fruits and vegetables. 

If the homesteader in your life doesn’t have it all, consider getting them a new composter or some garden tools. 

They might also be interested in plants, seeds, or gardening tools. 

Foodie Gift Guide

Food lovers don’t want that curated meat gift set from Pepperidge Farms. Instead, get them food gifts for their refined palates. A trendy new cookbook or a reservation at the local gastropub would make excellent gifts. 

You can also get foodie gifts that will enhance their experiences with their favorites. Consider specialized gifts for tea, beer, or gourmet food lovers. There are specific gifts for most specialized tastes, so consider the foods they are most obsessed with before deciding. 

Food gifts can also be personalized. If you are a great cook, you can make them something new that they will love from your kitchen. 

Just please try to avoid the fruit cake. 

Sentimental Gift Ideas

Sentimental folks love gifts that you put a lot of thought into. If you are crafty, create something unique for them. If you aren’t crafty, make them a photo album or get a framed photo of the two of you together – that will brighten their day!

Sentimental people will also appreciate nostalgic gifts just as much as the hipsters. If you can’t put something together, get them something that will remind them of you in a different way.

 A toy from their childhood or memorabilia from an event you shared would make ideal gift ideas. 

Gifts for Creatives

Gift the creatives in your life items they can use in their crafts. 

The sewer/crocheter may love new fabrics or threads. Painters can always use more canvases and paints. 

Creative folks may also enjoy getting new notebooks or stationery for their journaling needs. 

We’ve put together a massive list of gifts for artists – you’re sure to find something the creative person in your life will enjoy. 

Shop Gifts for Creatives and Artists

 

For the Busy Parent

The best gift you can give a busy parent is a night off! Offer to take the kids for an evening so they can do something for them. You can get the parents a certificate for a spa day so they can pamper themselves while knowing their kids are in good hands.

If you aren’t into watching kids, think about gifts that will make the parents' lives easier. Maybe they could use a new Keurig to make their morning coffee ritual easier or a crockpot to make dinner easier. The options are endless!

Tread carefully though. Don’t get them things that would make their lives harder, or put undue expectations on them. Avoid cleaning supplies, and only get gadgets that they’d enjoy using. 

Gift Ideas for Kids

Children like anything they can open up, but I prefer to give them fun yet educational gifts. 

Amazon offers a wide range of children’s microscopes, telescopes, and experiment kits to nurture their love of learning.

Get the future engineers' Erector sets, Legos, or Lincoln logs; the future doctors' medical playsets; the future botanist a chia pet. These gifts can lead to hours of enjoyment, and the kids don’t even realize they are learning something. 

When choosing gifts for kids, do not be intimidated if you have to buy for a disabled child. Most of the time, they like many of the same things non-disabled children like. If unsure, browse this list of the best sensory toys, developed by a special education teacher.  

What is a Good Gift to Give Someone Who Has Everything?

If you don’t know what to get someone because you don’t know their style or they seem to have it all, you can’t go wrong with a gift card (unless you are super close to them!).

You can get them a gift card to their favorite store, a general Visa, or an Amazon gift card. 

For something more personal or tangible, consider getting them something handmade or digital on Etsy. Etsy provides unique, handcrafted gift items and digital printables of nearly anything you can imagine. 

I sell creative writing prompts and a massive guide to finding your passion in my shop, and I guarantee these would be unique gift ideas. However, you can find anything on Etsy, from woodworking designs to handmade scarves and toys to journal prompts. 

What is a Good Gift For Anyone?

Let's say you don't know who exactly you're buying a gift for, either because you are part of a Secret Santa gift exchange or you will play a fun white elephant game. What types of things can you get that everyone will enjoy?

Fun food gift sets can make fabulous generalized gifts. Anything edible is always a good choice when you don't know what people would want. Other great options are gift cards (Starbucks is always a big hit!) and scratch-off lottery tickets. 

If you know your audience doesn't abstain, a bottle of wine makes a great gift. Be careful, though. You wouldn't want to bring an alcohol-containing gift to a party where folks don't enjoy indulging.

More Ideas - Use the 5-Gift Rule

The five-gift rule for Christmas gifts helps you narrow down gift ideas. 

The five-gift rule tells you to get the person something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. The fifth idea is a bonus and can be something to do, something handmade, or even something to share. 

Gift Ideas For Women vs. Gift Ideas for Men

You likely noticed a distinct lack of gendered gift ideas in our holiday gift guide. 

Neither gender is a monolith. Not all women wish for pampering, Sephora makeup, scented candles, and bath bombs, and men don’t all love watches, gadgets, and power tools.  

Separating gift guides by gender or family position isn't helpful because these identifiers don't tell you what a person actually likes. 

Our gift-giving guide celebrates people for who they are and what they love, not for whatever labels they hold. 

What Gifts Should You Never Give?

I hesitate to say that there's something you should never give. Some folks are likely out there who enjoy getting gag gifts and cleaning supplies for Christmas. 

However, unless you know the person and know they will appreciate it, there are some things you should avoid. The aforementioned cleaning supplies are a big one. Nobody wants a new mop for Christmas. 

Most people also don't want underwear, socks, everyday food, or a fragrance they did not choose. Skincare products are also a poor choice unless you know the person's preference.

As always, though, there will be exceptions. Spouses, parents, and children can get away with giving these items as gifts. 

Gift Ideas For Everyone

Hopefully, this gift-giving guide gave you some epic gift ideas for everyone on your list. Make this holiday epic by giving your loved ones something they will genuinely enjoy!

Happy Holidays!