The best gifts for the hard-to-please

An assortment of gifts for people who have everything including a disposable camera, a fancy pen, a bird feeder, an ice cream scoop, and a collapsible popcorn popper.

NYT Wirecutter

By this point, you’ve (hopefully) knocked off most people from your gift list. But if you’ve reserved the hardest for last — those who thwart every gift-giving effort by buying whatever they need or claiming they don’t want anything — we have some ideas.

Perhaps the pickiest person on your list might like an oak-framed clock or some immensely cool baseball caps? Or maybe a perfect box of chocolates or a big ol’ tub of English sea salt — they’ve gotta eat, right?

If you can’t find a gift for them on this list, well, maybe there isn’t one→

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Some of our favorite can’t-go-wrong gifts

A Shark CryoGlow LED Face Mask glowing red underneath, connected to a remote.

A splurge-worthy red-light mask

It fits comfortably, feels wonderful on the eyes, and would likely thrill any skin-care obsessive→

A woman wearing Ororo Women's Classic Heated Vest

They may already own a vest and a heated blanket, but do they have a heated vest?

It can keep your giftee warm through dog walks, tailgates, and beyond→

An image of a person stirring a jar of peanut butter with the Grandpa Witmer's Natural Peanut Butter.

A very handy peanut butter stirrer doodad

This crank cleanly stirs natural peanut butter or tahini without spilling an oily mess all over the counter→

The Bokksu Gift Bokksu Snack box next to snacks included in the box on display in front of a light blue background

This delightful Japanese snack box

Adventurous snackers might love this box of Japanese treats like salty-sweet crackers and freeze-dried white strawberries. Plus, it’s currently on sale→

Your daily deal: Luxuriously soft pajamas

Women's Long Sleeve HannaSoft™ Pajama Set in the print Tree Ribbons on Pink.

Hanna Andersson

Our experts have long recommended many Hanna Andersson pajamas, but we especially like this buttery-soft, pleasantly thick set around the holidays because of their festive patterns (hello, cutie penguins and reindeer).

This PJ set we love is more than half off right now→

One last thing: Our most popular gifts of 2025

Some figurines made of Blockaroo Magnetic Foam Building Blocks, a Nakiri chef's knife, and a black and white gingham Baggu Small Cloud Carry-On collaged on front of a blue and yellow background.

Source photos by NYT Wirecutter, Baggu, Blockaroo

If you’re truly stumped, follow the crowd: These are the 100 most popular gifts, according to you, dear readers, that we’ve recommended this year — including some classic gold earrings, a trendy yet practical tote, and Italian clogs.

The gifts that resonated with readers most this year→

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