*Disclosure: Some of the below links are affiliate links, but they are all products I highly recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.*
Is your partner, best friend, colleague or parent one of those people who always say “don’t buy me anything” when it’s nearing a special occasion or holiday? What they probably mean is – don’t buy me a candle that I will never ever use and will gather dust on the corner of my cabinet until the end of time.
Understandably so. If you receive something impractical or mediocre from someone who means a lot to you, you’re likely not going to throw it away (yet). You’ll store it somewhere, but every time you look at it, you’ll try think of an occasion when you’d finally use it.
On the other hand, some people might actually prefer experiences over stuff. They either have all the material they wish to have already, or their love language is more about receiving experiences than physical gifts
My belief is that everyone loves a good gift – be it something you can physically touch or not. The important thing to keep in mind when trying to find a good gift is asking the question “what would they want” instead of “what would l want”, assuming they like they same thing as you do.
With that said, here are 12 non-physical gift ideas to get you inspired. Some are suited for big days like birthdays and anniversaries, while others are suited for “small random gifting moments” that will brighten up your receiver’s day for sure, especially in these times!
1. Online courses
If your gift receiver is someone who loves learning new things or specifically said they would be interested in learning about a new subject or even exploring a new career, there might be no better gift than gifting an online course.
There used to be (and still is) a stigma against online course, especially in regards to “getting a proper job”. But having tried courses on Udemy myself for the first time while in quarantine, I can personally say online courses might even be my preferable choice when it comes to skills advancement from now on! A month after I finished my UX design course, I managed to find a company to work on a project with, at first on a voluntary basis, but now on a paid, freelance capacity.
Here is another thing I LOVE about online courses: During classes – online or real life ones, I always zone out in the middle of a class (maaaybe because of my ADHD) and miss 5 minutes of what the tutor is saying. But in an online class – I could hit rewind and watch the same segment again. It’s brilliant.
If your gift recipient is interested in gaining a new skill or personal development, be it video editing, UX design (this is the course I took), learning about stocks investing, sourdough baking or dog training, there is an online class for it on Udemy. In any case, this a low-investment way of testing the waters for a new interest!
To find the right courses, search for what your recipient might be interested in, read the reviews, ratings, and watch the promo trailers to determine if the class is right for them.
2. Handmade card
Okay, this is technically “stuff”. But if here me out on this idea.
There are plenty of handmade gift card kits on sites like Etsy, but my absolute favourite is this gift card kit made of recycled paper with wildflower seeds embedded in the pulp.
Let me explain how it works – the cards come to you, you hand write whatever you want to say, and the receiver could “plant” the card and flowers will grow from it! Germination happens in about a week. These cards are a clever way to symbolize how your relationship with this person can blossom and flourish into something beautiful.
3. Cook a meal or bake something
Nothing says love like delighting through the stomach. But this is not just about bringing someone to a nice restaurant or buying expensive chocolates for them, this is about spending the time to plan, buy the ingredients and actually make the meal or cake. This shows Effort with a capitalized E, especially if the receiver knows you’re not someone who normally cooks or bakes.
To find good recipes, google is your friend. I usually choose which recipes to follow based on ratings, regardless of what website the recipe is on. Having said that, I find that Jamie Oliver’s site is pretty fool-proof for simple western style cooking and same goes for Christine’s Recipes for Chinese cooking.
For those who prefer baking, try get creative with the the packaging and or cake ornaments. I love how this cake decorator uses succulents to prettify their cake!
4. Life coaching or therapy
This goes without saying that you can ONLY gift this if you are pretty close to the receiver and know that they have been thinking about participating in coaching or therapy already. Or else, they would take complete offence to this gift. Can you imagine if you gifted your stressed-out boss a therapy session?
That being said, if you know that a loved one has been interested, maybe they might just need a little push from you. There is still a stigma (some parts of the world more than others) against seeking therapy or coaching, but I am personally a huge advocate for it. If we are fine with getting a trainer to help us achieve our physical goals, why is it not so for our mental goals? In fact, I would argue that training for our latter is even more important to live a healthy, happy life. Your loved one might be hesitant or procrastinating on seeking help or guidance, and a little help from you might just be what they need.
Please note that life coaching and therapy are also two pretty different things for achieving goals, this post on Zencare explains it perfectly. I highly suggest getting recommendations from friends for good coaches or therapists. Even then, it’s all about the “fit” between the coach and the client. You have to be prepared that the professional you found for your loved one might not be the one they use in the long run, but this is a step in the right direction!
5. Book a trip / staycation
If the receiver enjoys traveling and checking out new places, what better gift is there than a trip abroad? This isn’t a simple option for the current times, but depending on where you are located, you can do a variation on the traditional vacation abroad.
You could book an Airbnb up the coast or in a nature sanctuary for a weekend trip, or you could book a spot at a hotel for a staycation. This works for a variety of occasions. For a partner, this could be a romantic getaway. For a close friend or family member, you could ask other close friends or family to join as well for a fun weekend celebration.
If you are on the adventurous side, try camping! First time ever? Read my guide on 12 tips for beginner campers.
6. Spa day
This could be incorporated into 5, but no one could say no to a spa day. Have a day where you are just focused on self-care and relaxing while someone else takes care of you and massages away any tight muscles or stress.
7. Day of adventure
This thoughtful gift could be customized in so many ways. Tell whoever you are planning to gift this to to meet you at a certain time and to have the rest of the day freed up, then surprise them with whatever you have planned. Better still, try be observant beforehand of anything they mentioned they wanted to try do or are interested in, be it a rock climbing lesson or a cooking class. The receiver would for sure appreciate the effort involved and the adventure ahead!
8. Kindle (and/or Kindle books gift card)
I kind of understand a Kindle could be considered “stuff”, BUT once you have one – you wouldn’t need to buy a physical book for the next 1000+ times! What I love about both the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Oasis is that they both have a special display screen technology so that it looks more like paper than an LCD screen. That means it’s better for your eyes than a computer or phone screen!
Some people might feel nostalgic about being able to leaf through paper while reading a book. I get it! I love that feeling too. Some hardcover coffee table books don’t even have digital versions! But there are many benefits to using a Kindle:
- Convenience. Instead of lugging around a brick of a bok, you could bring along hundreds of books wherever you go, in your purse, in your fannypack, whenever you go
- Highlights. I love highlighting books. Whether it is a particularly well-phrased opinion in a self-help book or a poetic line in a novel, I like to highlight it and recall it when I need. If you highlight on your Kindle, you could easily recall your highlights in your Amazon count wherever you can access internet.
- Less impact on the environment. Less paper, less impact.
I gifted a Kindle Paperwhite to my mother once, which she loved, and I also gave her a Kindle gift card to buy books. Both are great gifts for someone who loves to read and learn!
9. Video / photo collage
It’s time to dig into the deep corners of that iCloud drive. A video collage of memorable moments is especially great for anniversaries and farewells, but could work for birthdays. This could give the receiver a walk down memory lane and could be something special they keep for life.
Take some time to find the best pictures from hard drives and physical albums (for pre-smart phone days), string these digital memories together with iMovie, put a sound track to it (if you guys have a song, this is the time to use it), and voila! You got your special video collage gift.
10. Membership
Memberhips are great gifts if you know your receiver has certain strong interests. That could come in the form of memberships at museums, zoos, sports clubs, gyms, favourite stores or even a Patreon subscription, if you know your receiver loves a certain artist/creator. This gift is very specific to each person so pay attention to what they get excited about doing normally!
Disclaimer: please don’t gift your other half a gym membership if they didn’t mention they are interested in exercising or getting fit. I won’t be responsible for any domestic drama.
11. DNA test
A DNA test is a really good gift especially for someone who is very interested in health and wellness. Depending on the test you take, you could check your ancestry, risks of diseases and your unique health and nutrition profile.
Getting your genome sequenced is the latest in the world of personalized health. What is personalized health? Let’s take the simple example of body temperature. A “normal” body temperature is considered as 98.6°F / 37°C, but actually, everyone’s normal body temperature is unique to them, because the above number we are familiar with is taken from a global average. You can imagine how some people could fall on extreme sides of the spectrum and might seem abnormal, when their normal might just be different from the global average.
23andMe is especially known for finding out about ancestry, while CircleDNA, self-proclaimed “the most comprehensive DNA test in the world” is known for providing, well, a comprehensive overview of your health. This includes information regarding your lifestyle (whether you are a light or deep sleeper, your ideal sleep duration, stress tolerance level), your nutritional needs (whether you need more vitamins), and your health risks (whether you are predisposed to certain types of cancer or Alzheimer’s).
The tests could reveal fascinating and valuable information about you. Personally I would jump at taking a DNA test, but I would also take the results with a grain of salt as I personally believe think DNA testing will continue to improve.
This is a fun gift especially for someone who is health conscious!
12. Stocks
This might sound like the least romantic gift out of all of the ones I mentioned but listen, if say, you gave Tesla stocks instead of a Macbook to someone in mid 2019, they could have bought 6 Macbooks by now.
This is especially a great gift if the receiver already has an interest in the stock market and loves investing. Also a great gift if the receiver is a big fan of the company you wish to buy them stocks of!
So that is my roundup of 12 non-things gift ideas for special people in your life. Got anything else that has worked? Let me know!
Disclosure: Some of the above links may be affiliate links, meaning I earn a small percentage of sales made via those links, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra! I never choose products based on whether a sale could be made and I remain honest in my review. But if you discover products here and think they’re worth getting, then getting these products through my links could support my work in a small way 🙂
Disclaimer: These are my personal recommendations and I am not responsible for any dissatisfaction, disappointment, relationship drama nor financial losses that might result from executing on any of the above mentioned ideas. Hope you understand!