There is nothing wrong with not being able to come up with anything; maybe you are one of those lucky people who has everything she wants and needs. :-)

But, if you really feel like you should come up with a few ideas for your family and friends, here are some suggestions that might help you:

What are your interests?

Hobbies?

Do you like travel? Books? Puzzles? Gardening? Pets?

Maybe you'd rather receive gift cards so that you can pick out something for yourself after the holidays are over.

Do you do volunteer work?

Would you rather have an experience (such as a cooking class or tickets to a play) vs material things?

Maybe you'd rather have the gift of time. Something like a lunch date with people you don't see as often as you'd like.

Do you have a favorite charity(ies) that you support? Perhaps a donation in your name would be something you'd like.

Think outside the box. A friend of mine just sent me her wish list and on it she had listed sharp cheese, so I'm going to put together a basket full of samples of different types of sharp cheese along with some crackers, olives and a few other yet to be determined goodies.

Does anyone in your circle make something special that you'd like? My friend who wants the cheese is very good at fishing for salmon and trout. Her husband smokes the fish and I have asked for a package of their smoked fish. It is so very good and far superior to anything I can buy in a store.

Hope that helps a little. Best of luck coming up with something to tell your family! :-)

Probably not helpful, but my sister and I give each other the gift of not having to shop for each other.

I would have a hard time making a list for myself. I don't want any more stuff and if something is needed I just buy it. But if I HAD to make a list, I could name 20 books I'd love to have copies of. Maybe some keepers but mostly I could read and pass them along. I use the library almost exclusively, but I wouldn't mind supporting local bookstores (i'd specify no amazon books) and authors by purchasing their books.

I am the same way. If I have to have something to suggest for a gift, I will often make it a lunch or dinner out, and have also been known to consider a trip ( of any duration- could be an afternoon visit or it could be a vacation) that we probably would take anyway-a gift.

As for reading, I am the same as Oly. I have to say DH got me a kindle quite a few years ago and that has been the best. I didn't even want it. Having it now for so long, I think it's one of the best inventions ever made. (and I use the library exclusively as well. )

If you are a reader of any sort and don't have a kindle, give it some consideration.

I am frequently in that situation, and my two sons do want ideas. Sometime there are things I can get prettier or improved versions of, like a fun new watchband, or one year I got a stocking stuffer of meaduring spoons with rectangular bowls that fit in my spice jars more easily, and then there’s always tea

One of Oprah's favorite things was the Coravin Wine saver. I bought it for myself, since I am the only one that drinks in my family. I will say it's from SANTA! They are having a good sale.

i try to keep a little list of things I could use so that I have ideas when my children ask. Often these are items that I would just buy myself but I hold off just to so I have suggestions for the kids. So for this year I have - scissors, hand mixer, watch band, family photo,

A few years ago DS set us up with Elfster - an online Secret Santa and gift list. Everyone signs up and then lists a few things that they would like, you can also include a link to the exact item including size and color, etc. A cost limit is set (usually $50) and then names are drawn and you buy for the person whose name you received. Now that my kids are all adults with their own homes it does make gift giving much easier, especially for the siblings. Of course as Mom and Dad we still give other gifts and money.

Think about the things that drive you crazy and that you carp about all the time. It's how I ended up with a new can opener one year. Now that may not sound like a fun gift, but I loved it as I needed it but never remembered to buy it for myself...and the old one sounded like it was in self-destruct mode every time it ran! So it's not just the positives that make good gifts, but those that eliminate the negatives too.

What about things like:

quality flip flops

handbags

cozy throws

Beaded coin purse

Bombas socks

Silk scarf

Wool scarf

Mittens or gloves

Hat

When we were in Canada in Oct., I looked at a lot of beautiful cashmere winter hats with fur pompoms. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on a stupid hat and I am not even a hat person. But I kept thinking about them, so I’ve asked Santa for one. And matching gloves while he’s at it.

And a tennis bracelet, please.

I'm sitting in the middle of a snow storm, 13F, not like I'd be out trail running, so I'm shopping online.

I like:

* poufs/ottomans(Kirklands has some nice ones & a 30% off sale)

*24k solid gold chain

*Saffron bulbs, special breed of crocus, for the garden

*kitchen garden herbs to grow fresh for picking, Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley

As an adult, it irritated me to no end when my dad would go shopping at Brook's Brothers, then tell my sister and I to go look in the guest room closet and pick out our gifts from him. This went on for over a decade. We reimbursed him, of course, but where is the fun in that?! He was the man that had everything he needed and wanted, and more. Like us, if he wanted something, he bought it himself. I also stopped exchanging Christmas gifts with my sister when she started telling me what she wanted and asked me to do the same. What's the point?

I like to find gifts that fit the person, something they might not buy for themselves. Yet, I do NOT like surprises and do not want gifts.

"I like to find gifts that fit the person, something they might not buy for themselves."

I agree, Allison. There is such joy in finding the perfect gift for someone.

I find it hard to request specific gifts. I can shop for myself but I want a gift to be selected for me by the loved one... but I am easy. I don't care what a gift cost as long as it comes from the heart and was selected with me in mind. Get me a book you think I'd love ... or a special coffee, tea or bourbon you think I should try. Two of my gifts this year are mutual gifts of a sharing a trip.

If I were to be asked what was on my list (I haven't been lol) .. I might share one of the following that at least allows the gifter to make their own selections.

• an e-book (i can't read book books anymore)
• A salt cellar
• Serving board in an interesting wood (you can never have too many!)
• Leather gloves in a funky color .. orange, lime green, silver
• A necklace from one of my favorite NEW designers/artists
• microgreen growing kits that Legomom recommended last week.
• a vietri forestra bianca tree

I also can't think of any thing I would ask for. I just bought myself a new robe from The Company Store's sale, so there goes the only item I wanted.

I think it was funky that started the thread about consumable gifts? I posted a bakery I had visited in upstate NY but that made me realize how many wonderful bakeries there are in our closest city - about an hour and a half away - that I could also source from. (Last year, we gave pies from our local, wonderful, pie shop and they were a huge hit.) Anyway, I wouldn't turn down some extravagant dessert tray or a croissant/bread of the month subscription. I have told family that donations to a couple animal sanctuaries I support would also be a wonderful gift.

Gift cards for services you might not get yourself? Mani, pedi, massage or facial?

A charitable donation was mentioned upthread, and that was my first thought. Is there any organization associated with the Camino de Santiago that is especially meaningful to you?

Skipped down to comment, apologies if this was mentioned already.

What about money/gift cards?

Hubby, son and I started sending money gifts through Paypal for holidays and birthdays and it works well for us.

I know some people think money as a gift is crass &/or unimaginative, but it's the perfect gift, IMO. No wasted time and effort on buying something that will sit in a drawer or closet, or be regifted, and you can save it until you find something you really want without anyone having to try and guess what you want or need.

Hubby knows I like them, so he's often given me gift cards for TJMaxx as well - they can be used at Marshall's and Home Goods too. I use them to get a wide range of items.

THIS:

-I want a gift to be selected for me by the loved one.

-I don't care what a gift cost as long as it comes from the heart and was selected with me in mind.

-When we could no longer think of any gifts we wanted or needed we decided it was time to stop gift giving and increase charitable giving to those who actually are in need.

- I also stopped exchanging Christmas gifts with my sister when she started telling me what she wanted and asked me to do the same. What's the point?

Christmas is aboutso much more than gifts (as least to some). My family stopped Christmas gift giving, but as our family started decreasing in size, we somehow went back to it. It's so much more meaningful now though because we do search for just the right gift for each other. It's never lavish gifts. TBH, we all have more than we need or want. My sweet husband is a wonderful gift giver. I have to be careful of saying I like something, because he will buy it. He puts thoughts in his gifts and I love not knowing what is in the package until I open it. Actually, spontaneous gifts that come at unexpected times are the ones that seem to mean the most to me.

Christmas is about so much more than gifts

I agree!

I enjoy buying for the grands and sending a friend something when I run across something special. We gift money to our adult children and their spouses, they can spend it where needed/wanted, with one thing to open. I think it is also a good idea to gift money to grandchildren so they can learn to save and budget. I just gave almost 3yo DGD2 $5 bill in a Halloween card. It was the first time she had actual money, and was excited to go buy ice cream with "(her) money."

FWIW, I recall there was a social science study about gifts, and it turned out that gifts with the fanciest wrappings rated the lowest satisfaction by recipients, while plain or unwrapped, and spontaneous ones rated highest...

When one of my DDs was little, maybe 3 or 4, my sister gave her a little purse with a few dollar bills in it. She took one out, holding it carefully by the corner between pinched fingers, and said with some disdain ... "these are tickets, these are Daddy's."

Ever since, we call cash "tickets."

Thanks for all of the comments. Sorry that I didn't come back to this thread sooner!

For both of my nearby nephews, when they were about 5, I gave them all the pennies, nickels and dimes that I had tossed into a jar when I thought of it throughout the year. They were ecstatic. It tooks them hours to sort and count it and it added up to about 50.00 each but they felt like they had won a lottery. (And my sister appreciated the time it took them to sort and count it.) They took it to a local grocer who had a coin dump machine. It took 5% but that was given to one of three local charities and they got to choose which one.

I had a pair of hot pink leather gloves many years ago and they were just my favorite.

I also would get more out of of a gift certificate to the nail salon. So, maybe I will tell DH that.

We truly need nothing and probably need to get rid of a lot of stuff.

MIL buys us books, so I need to find some to suggest to her. Usually rock music related books or for me some lifestyle books.