What to Buy Someone Who Has Everything

Some people are wonderfully easy to buy for. They have a running list of books they want to read, things they need for the kitchen, or something they have been dropping increasingly unsubtle hints about for months.

And then there are the others.

The people who, when asked what they would like, say, “Honestly, nothing.” The ones who tend to buy something for themselves when they need it. The ones whose homes are already full of beautiful things and who really, genuinely, do not need another candle.

Buying for someone who seems to have everything can feel impossible. But perhaps the problem is that we are asking the wrong question.

Instead of asking, What do they need? it may be better to ask:

What would they never think to buy for themselves?

That is where the interesting gifts usually begin.

Look for character rather than value

It is tempting, when someone is difficult to buy for, to assume that the answer must be something increasingly expensive.

It rarely is.

A gift becomes memorable because there is something particular about it — because it made you think of that person and nobody else.

It might be a slightly eccentric ceramic found in a tiny studio. A beautiful old map of somewhere they love. A piece of jewellery made from a material they have never encountered before. An object made by somebody whose hands are still evident in the finished piece.

The value lies less in what it cost than in the feeling that you found it.

Give them something with a story

The best gifts often have a story attached to them.

Perhaps it comes from a place that matters to them. Perhaps the material has an unusual history. Perhaps it was made using a traditional technique or by an artist whose work you know they would appreciate.

Sometimes the story belongs to the recipient.

For a lifelong birdwatcher, it might be a beautifully illustrated ornithology book or a hand-carved version of a bird they have spent years trying to spot.

For somebody who grew up beside the sea, it could be an old nautical chart or something that quietly recalls that landscape without being obviously seaside.

A personal connection changes an object completely.

Choose something handmade

There is a particular pleasure in giving something that could not have come from a production line.

Handmade things carry tiny differences: the mark of a tool, the grain of the wood, the irregularity of a glaze, a brushstroke that is not quite identical to the one beside it.

That is part of their character.

It also means you can give something to a person who really does own almost everything with reasonable confidence that they do not own this particular one.

A hand-thrown bowl, a woven textile, an original artwork or an unusual piece of jewellery can all work beautifully for precisely this reason.

Our Mambu jewellery, for example, is made using ostrich eggshell — an unexpected material that people often have to look at twice before they work out what it is. That little element of discovery is part of what makes a gift feel special.

Give them something they would never buy themselves

This may be my favourite category of gift.

Not because the object is extravagant, but because it sits in that lovely territory of being completely unnecessary and wonderful to own.

A beautiful chess set. An enormous art book. A handmade mobile suspended over a favourite chair. A ridiculously good picnic blanket. A small original painting.

Or something very small indeed.

We originally made our little Swagga treat bags for people walking their dogs. But something unexpected happened: people started buying them for themselves, whether or not they had a dog.

And it makes sense.

They are smallish, small enough to sit in the palm of your hand, but surprisingly useful. They hook onto a belt loop and can carry keys, charging cords, a few nuts or sweets for a walk, a tiny sewing kit, or all those little things that otherwise end up loose in a pocket or handbag.

Because they are so small, they are actually rather complicated to make. They stand upright, have a leather base, and close with a double-sided ostrich eggshell slider.

It is such a little object, but people pick them up and immediately respond to them.

Perhaps that is exactly why they make such a good gift. They are useful, certainly, but also slightly unexpected, beautifully made and not something most people would ever think to buy for themselves.

Find something that moves

Most things in our homes stay resolutely where we put them.

There is something captivating about the exceptions.

A kinetic sculpture or beautifully balanced mobile responds to the room around it. A passing breeze changes its position. Shadows move across the wall. You notice it differently at different times of day.

It is one of the reasons we have always loved making our WoodWings birds. They are sculptures, certainly, but they are never entirely still. Each is carved and balanced individually, and the slightest movement of air can set it gently in motion.

For someone who appreciates birds, craftsmanship, sculpture — or simply unusual things for the home — that element of surprise can make a particularly memorable gift.

Give an experience — but make it personal

For someone who genuinely does not want another possession, do not give them one.

A wonderful lunch somewhere they have always wanted to go. Tickets to a concert. A pottery lesson. A weekend away. A botanical garden membership.

The important distinction is between an experience and simply handing somebody a generic voucher.

The first says, I know you.

And if you can share the experience with them, all the better.

Upgrade something ordinary

There are people who do not want unusual objects at all. They are practical, restrained and extremely difficult to surprise.

For them, look at the things they already use and find an exceptionally beautiful version.

A wonderful wool blanket. Proper linen napkins. A beautifully made garden tool. A handmade wooden board. A really good fountain pen.

It is not about adding another category of object to their life.

It is about making an ordinary part of it better.

Consider something old

Not every good gift needs to be new.

Vintage and antique pieces have one enormous advantage when you are buying for someone who has everything: there may genuinely be only one.

An old botanical print for a gardener. Vintage binoculars for a bird lover. A piece of studio pottery. An old photograph of their hometown. A beautifully worn wooden box.

These are gifts that invite curiosity.

Do not underestimate humour

A meaningful gift does not have to be solemn.

Sometimes the present somebody remembers most is the one that made them laugh when they opened it.

An eccentric object, an unexpected animal, something that references a long-running family joke — these can become extraordinarily treasured possessions.

Homes need those things too.

Not everything we own needs to demonstrate impeccable taste. Some things should simply make us happy.

Give them something that becomes part of their home

There is a difference between filling a home and building one.

The objects we remember are not necessarily the most valuable ones. They are the things that slowly acquire associations.

The bowl that always comes out when friends visit. The painting bought on a particular holiday. The battered chair inherited from a grandparent. The strange wooden bird somebody gave you years ago that has somehow followed you through three different houses.

Those things become landmarks in our lives.

So if you are buying for somebody who has everything, perhaps do not try to find something bigger, newer or more impressive than everything they already own.

Find something beautiful, curious, useful, funny, handmade or deeply specific to them.

Because when someone has everything, do not look for something they need.

Look for something they will remember.

Find something they will remember

Explore unusual, handmade gifts from Chilli Bush Republic.