Here is a list of Christmas gift ideas (to suit all budgets) to help with this problem. If you think of any other ideas, please comment below or contact me.

Gifts for animal lovers

Ecosphere^®

An Ecosphere is a sealed glass ball containing filtered sea water, micro-organisms, bacteria, algae, and tiny shrimp in a stable miniature ecosystem.

There are a range of sizes and shapes (e.g., sphere, waterdrop, pod, and candle) available.

Bird food, feeders, baths, and houses

Any bird lover will enjoy watching birds having a refreshing bath or fighting over seeds hung in containers around the garden. Any of the above items may even attract a new species of bird to the garden! For those new to bird watching, you could also give an accompanying bird identification book.

Pet treats

People’s pets are often considered part of the family. So making a pet happy with a delicious treat or a new toy will make the owners happy too.

Romantic gifts

A unique, self-designed diamond ring

Amazon have an easy to use “Create Your Own Ring” tool. The tool enables you to create a unique diamond ring by allowing you to choose the diamond shape, carat, cut, and color, and setting style, and metal. Make sure you also enter the desired ring size! If you unsure of the exact ring size you need, it may be safer to go for a slightly larger ring because it is often easier and cheaper to reduce the size of a ring than it is to increase it.

A framed photo of you and your loved one

A framed photograph of you and your loved one, perhaps taken during a special trip, is bound to be received well!

Edible gifts

Homemade cookies or candy

Food gifts are always a good option for people who already everything they need. They are also ideal for people who have limited space at home and so don’t want to accumulate clutter. Homemade treats will be especially appreciated as they show that you have put thought and time into the gift. Consider putting the treats in a festive container, such as a pretty jar or tin.

Themed food hamper

These can be made or bought ready made. See the how to make a Christmas hamper page for more information.

Gift jar

Layer all of the (dry) ingredients you need to make a delicious treat (e.g., biscuits or a cake) in a clean jar. Tightly screw the lid closed and, using a festive ribbon, attach a tag with instructions.

Gift cards/vouchers

Cinema, theme park, store, or restaurant gift card

Giving a gift card/voucher for one of the above instead of money will force the recipient to use the “money” for something special, rather than on everyday necessities. Cinemas and theme parks may alternatively offer open dated tickets that can be given as gifts. Make sure to check the length of the gift card or ticket’s validity though.

Amazon gift card/certificate

You can choose to have these emailed or posted to the recipient. Alternatively, you can print the gift card out yourself to give in person. Amazon.com offers the possibility to send the gift card to a Facebook friend via a Wall post.

Giving an experience

Gift experiences

These come in a wide variety of themes, including spa treatments, photo shoots, overnight hotel stays, cookery workshops, and flying lessons.

Subscriptions as a gift

Magazine subscription

Give the gift of knowledge by giving a magazine subscription for Christmas. If you only want to give one year’s worth of magazines, make sure to check whether you need to cancel or transfer the subscription after one year.

DVD rental subscription

There are many DVD rental websites that offer mail-based subscriptions. This means that the recipient receives and returns the DVDs by mail instead of having to visit a particular store in person.

Gifts for keen travellers

Travel guide

If you know of any vacations the recipient has planned, consider buying a relevant destination guide book. If they have been to the place before, you may want to buy a newly released book so that they are unlikely to already have it.

Travel essentials

Consider giving travel supplies, such as a world electrical adaptor, eye mask, ear plugs, mini travel toiletries, or even a suitcase, to anyone you know who has a holiday or long trip planned. You could buy several and make an attractive travel hamper.

Gifts for nature lovers

A house or garden plant

If taken care of correctly, a plant for in- or outdoors will most likely give the receiver pleasure for many weeks, months, or even years! If the receiver is a very busy person, consider buying a cactus.

Bulbs or seeds for planting in the garden

Buying someone perennial plant seeds or bulbs will mean that they will enjoy your gift for many years to come!

Miscellaneous gifts

A newly released DVD, CD, or book

Your recipent is unlikely to have a DVD, CD, or book that has just been released.

A unique Christmas decoration

A unique Christmas decoration will be brought out each year and enjoyed time after time.

Photo frame

Something that everyone can have more than one of is a photo frame! Try to think of the style of the recipient’s home before buying one. You can leave the frame empty or insert a scenic picture or personal photo. With a larger frame, you could make a collage of special photos.

A special souvenir bought whilst on vacation

Even someone who has everything is unlikely to have items similar to souvenirs bought whilst away on vacation.

Gift hampers normally contain fancy groceries or toiletries that follow a certain theme. For instance, you often see Italian-themed hampers. These might contain Italian cheese, wine, pasta, biscotti di Prato, panettone, etc. Food- and toiletry-based hampers are ideal gifts for people who have limited space because all of the items will be used up.

While there are many stores that sell ready-made, themed gift hampers, there are two reasons why I prefer making my own. Firstly, I find it fun to do! Secondly, if you choose your items carefully, you can normally make a hamper with more content for the same price as a store-bought hamper. Note that online stores often charge a lot for delivery. So unless you are planning to post your homemade hamper, you will also save on delivery costs. The third reason I like to make my own gift hampers is that I can pick and choose items that particularly suit the recipient. So I can make it personal to them. When buying a store-bought hamper, it is sometimes difficult to weigh up which hamper is the most suitable because they normally always have one or two items that you think won’t be used. Having said this, I have seen online stores that allow you to pick items individually. They then make the hamper for you. So this is an option if you don’t mind paying for delivery.

Mini homemade lavender-themed gift hamper containing lavender soap, lavender shower gel, a lavender candle, a nail file, an exfoliating glove, a net sponge, and a Christmas tree ornament made of glittery pine cones.

The first hamper that I made contained all kinds of spicy food, such as spicy table sauces, hot salsa dips, chilli-flavored potato chips, stir-in curry sauces, spicy poppadoms, etc. I chose this theme because the recipient loved hot and spicy foods. I contained the items in a store-bought, fake shopping basket made of chrome.

Another hamper that I have since made contained entirely gluten-free products. I made it for my Mum, as she requires a gluten-free diet. As gluten-free products are sometimes difficult to come by, I collected the products over several months. I made sure to check the “use by” dates as I didn’t want anything to be spoiled before or even just after Christmas. I used a material-lined basket for this hamper.

Most recently, I made a mini hamper containing various lavender-scented toiletries and personal care items. I placed the items, along with a few decorative pine cones, on a Christmas-paper-lined straw plate and covered the lot with cellophane.

Ideas on how to make a Christmas gift hamper

1. Decide roughly how much you would like to spend (optional!).
2. Choose a theme. While hampers normally contain food, you could make a hamper containing just about anything. For instance, if the recipient is a keen gardener, include some seeds, tools, gardening knee pads, bird food, and outdoor accessories. If the recipient is going away somewhere on vacation, consider making a hamper containing a guide to their destination, a suitable phrasebook, and some suitable travel essentials (e.g., adaptor, water filter, mosquito net, mini toiletries, earplugs etc.). Art-lovers may appreciate a hamper containing art supplies and, if they are beginners, an instruction book. Hampers containing toiletries are always a popular option, espeically for ladies. Cranberry based toiletries would be particulary suitable for Christmas. Some food theme suggestions are as follows: chocolate, tea/coffee, cheese and wine, traditional Christmas food, Mexican food, Indian food, Scottish food, etc. The possibilities are endless…
3. Choose a pretty container (or even platter) that you think will be able to hold the right amount of items. If you will need to carry the finished hamper any distance, bear in mind the size and weight that it might be. Try to pick a container that the recipient can use in some way. If possible, pick a container that is in line with your chosen theme. Here are some container ideas: straw basket (these are often light weight), metal serving platter, plant pot, tray, plate, wooden box (of recycled wood would be good), light-weight bird bath, and bag.
4. Start collecting items to put in your hamper. It is best to start early so that you don’t run out of time. By starting early, you will be able to easily purchase a wide range items from various stores. Always check the “use by” dates on food, drink, and toiletry items. If needed, go back to the store at a later date to get products with later “use by” dates. You can always add a relevant non-food item to a food-based hamper. For instance, you could add an Indian cookbook to an Indian food hamper, a mini-fondue set to a chocolate-based hamper, a cheese grater to an Italian-based hamper, etc. One piece of advice I offer from personal experience is to be conscious about how many items you purchase. It is very easy to get carried away and buy loads more than will fit in your container!
5. There are various ways to put your hamper together. For instance, you can put your items in your container and then wrap the whole thing with cellophane. Alternatively, you could wrap your items in one large piece of cellophane before they go into the basket. In both cases, the cellophane can be taped invisibly underneath or gathered at the top and tied with a bow.
6. There are many ways to decorate your hamper. Depending on how you put it together, it may already have a pretty bow holding the cellophane together. You can include decorations within the cellophane, so amongst the items, or on the top on the cellophane. Tinsel, ribbons, mini (shatter-proof) baubles, and holly are some suggestions. Once again, you could use decorations that are linked to the theme. For instance, if it is a French-themed hamper, you might decorate it with a few garlic bulbs tied with a ribbon. Just use your imagination!
7. You may want to wrap the hamper in opaque Christmas paper (in addition to the cellophane) so that the gift remains a surprise!