So with Christmas almost here I have been doing a bunch of shopping for everyone. But every single year my in laws are by far the hardest to shop for.
The have enough money where they pretty much get themselves anything they could possibly want or need lol. Plus they never give us any ideas or suggestions.
My husband is zero help (he is just as bad lol)
My father in law has a few hobbies like gardening and model planes but he has a huge amount of planes and we have given him them twice already! And gardening he pretty much has tons of stuff for his garden and again buys what he wants/needs already. Plus we don't know enough to get him anything specific for it.
Last year my MiL told us he wanted a tool thing and then he ended up buying himself one, we got him one and my brother in law got him one....
My MiL really has no real hobbies. She isn't really into books or movies or any crafts or much of anything. She spends time with the grandkids (not ours we don't have kids yet) and then gambles and shops! She literally has everything.
And when we do get her something she never ever uses it lol. She is nice & seems happy when she opens it but I don't think she likes it. A few years we have gotten her stuff like really nice and cute pajama and robe/slipper set. She never uses it. We got her a digital picture frame, a hands free soap thing, and a food saver vacuum thing. Never uses any of it lol! Her kitchen is tiny so she doesn't really have room or needs new kitchen stuff. We have gotten her some pretty glass frogs a few times which I think she liked but they have little room for more stuff like that and it usually gets packed away and then they complain about clutter.
Jewelery is out because she buys stuff already and the stuff she buys is so far out of our price range lol
I think we only gave her one gift she liked and it was a handheld slot game but I think the grandkids play with it more often then her.
I know it is the thought that counts and I have amazing in laws. But they always give us the best gifts and so I feel meh about giving her just like a candle and bath stuff that seems like a crappy gift you give to a third cousin or something lol. Plus we don't have a ton of money to spend so it makes it worse.
I know you said they don't have much room in their kitchen, but what about a high end staple item, like a high quality chef's knife or pan? Do they drink? How about a beer/wine of the month club sort of thing?
Anything involving photos and/or that takes time. This year, we "borrowed" a few recipe cards from my mom's house that my grandma and great-grandma had written, scanned them, cleaned up the images, and are having them printed onto kitchen towels (http://www.zazzle.com/cr/design/pt-d...f_kitchentowel). A practical gift, but one with sentimental value, too, that doesn't take up too much room. You can make a photo album of your entire extended family, including all of the grandkids. You could even get her a deck of cards printed with photos of her and her husband on the back (http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/playing-cards).
For the people who have everything, I find it's nice to give them something that takes time to create...they may shop all the time, but may not spend the time to make something customized and sentimental like that.
An engraved picture frame from someplace like Things Remembered, try and dig up an old pic of their family or them as a young couple and put it in the frame.
For the MIL maybe a gift certificate for a massage or some other treat like a mani/pedi she might not normall do, not because she can't afford it but because she just wouldn't normally do it. (if that's her thing at all)
Does the FIL play golf or anything? You could buy a round at a local country club.
Gift card to their favorite restaurant and movie tickets if they wouldn't normally go on a date night type thing.
I like the beer/wine of the month idea, they are a million of those: fruit of the month, coffee of the month, and I recently saw someone post there's a yogurt of the month club lol.
If they do drink you could go the route of an engraved wine glass, beer mug, or other alcohol specific cup/glass. Or a really nice coffee mug.
If they're into the family stuff, you can order mugs and things like that with collage pictures of all of the family (walgreens.com does them, and I'm sure a ton of others do).
You could do like and "evolution of the family" something or other with pics of their kids growing up, and now as adults, wedding pics, and include the grandkids in the most recent pics.
I gave my inlaws a gift donation to Best Friends animal shelter. They love animals, so it is a really good one and they got a magazine included as part of the donation.
I always do the same thing. I buy a trip to a local (within 4 driving hours) bed and breakfast. I don't have the money to do it myself, but my brothers and I chip in. My brother does the same with his in laws.
I go to local farms and shops and get "Ohio" things that are special and local and put them in a basket with a dishtowel. It's nice, inexpensive, and there's good jam to go on toast in the mornings
My aunt got her parents a book printed with all their old family photos. It looks like a big coffee table book, and it says "The story of so and so" on the front and then the pictures are arranged chronologically with captions. Maybe something sentimental like that?
I too have no idea what to buy my inlaws and my boyfriend has poo pooed my photobook idea.
My son found old, I mean very old home movies that his grandparents ( now deceased) had. He digitalized them and put them on a DVD and we had a fun night watching old movies, we were stars in some of them. He didn't do it as a Christmas gift but to preserve them, I think it is a great Christmas gift. Baby pictures, school photos, kids activities, anything family related.
I've settled into making food gifts for almost everyone. It doesn't cost much, I can package them up in pretty gift bags with ribbons and bells and whatever (no craftiness necessary - just load on sparkly or colorful decorations!), and I don't feel guilty giving people more STUFF to fill their houses with.
The first year I did it, I wasn't sure what reaction I'd get, but people LOVED it and started requesting certain items each year.
Usually it's junk food (homemade marshmallows, cake pops, balsamic-maple pecans, caramel corn, etc) but there are healthier options if you feel bad giving people that stuff, haha. Soup mixes in jars, spice blends, dehydrated fruit, jerky, etc.
This is the thing I HATE about Christmas (otherwise, I love it!) the feeling that you *have* to buy gifts for people who don't want or need anything. Why?? Just give them some fresh flowers and a nice bottle of booze, wine, gormet beer, etc. Life is too short to stress out over stuff like this, IMO. Good luck. I practice what I preach these days!
Shopping for in laws
