Gifts for Minimalists and People Who Say, 'Don't Get Me Anything'

There's been a cultural shift to declutter our homes, people are spending their hard-earned dollars on experiences instead of stuff — and some people just don't need a physical gift. So what do you buy for someone who says they don't want anything (and means it)? Don't waste money on a gift that will create unwanted clutter and be received with a groan. We've curated a variety of consumable, sustainable, and experiential ideas that will have the minimalist in your life appreciating the gift as much as the thought behind it.

Prices and availability are subject to change.  

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Various prices from Viator

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Viator's experiential gifts include adrenaline-pumping options right on down to something way more chill. Think skydiving or skiing passes, horseback riding, helicopter rides, or guided tours such as food or drink walks, neighborhood bike rides, or architecture boat tours. This is a gift a minimalist can enjoy on their own schedule, and they'll appreciate that.

Related: Experiences Worth Giving as Gifts

Various prices from Virgin Experience Gifts

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Need a gift for a foodie but don't want to buy food? Send them on a food or drink adventure. Whether it's a brewery, distillery, or chocolate factory tour, a cheese and wine tasting, or a city-specific tasting such as deep dish pizzas in Chicago, you're bound to find something delicious and even educational for your minimalist friend. Virgin Experience Gifts offers experiential gifts in several locations across the country in a number of categories, including food and drink.

Related: 25 Gifts Under $25 for Food Lovers

$69-$99 from NoteCube

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Even a minimalist wouldn't get mad at this wonderfully personalized gift. The process is simple: You tell NoteCube about your recipient, and use the site's tools to edit and add notes (typically between 40-60 but NoteCube recommends at least 20). Finally, add some photos and choose a style of NoteCube. When everything is just how you want it, you finalize and pay for your order and it gets shipped.

Related: Photo Tile Face-Off: Mixtiles vs. Shutterfly vs. Mixpix

$250 from Gravity

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Get cozy under the weight of Gravity’s Chunky Knit Blanket, a 10-pound hug hand-knitted from breathable bamboo fleece. Customers rave about the weighted blanket’s warmth and durability, along with the added benefit of improving sleep quality. Choose from four different colors — soft gray, deep forest, sapphire blue, and clay — and, for the ultimate in total relaxation, pair it with Gravity’s new deep tissue massager.

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Various prices from Flaviar

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If the minimalist in your life likes a tipple or two on occasion, Flaviar offers both budding and seasoned spirits enthusiasts a unique sampling experience, with tasting vials of rare and exclusive finds in addition to premium bottles. You can send a 6-month or year-long subscription, giving giftees a solid introduction to a variety of new flavors.

Related: Raise a Glass to These Gifts for Beer Lovers

Various prices from TaskRabbit

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Not only will a TaskRabbit gift card not create any clutter, it'll give your minimalist some extra free time when they have a task they're just not that enthused about. Taskers deployed by this site can help assemble furniture, mount things on walls, do handyman work, and much more.

Related: 75 Gifts That Are Made in America

Various prices from Amazon

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A Zeel gift card buys another experience that is sure to be appreciated. Zeel connects its recipients with licensed and vetted massage therapists who'll come to a home, office, or other location. 

$80 and up from Meyer Bees

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Here’s a sweet and unique way to count down the days until Christmas. Meyer Bees' honey advent calendar kicks off each day with a sampler of raw, all-natural honey, along with honey-related surprises like beeswax candles and honey candy. The sticky samplers showcase a range of flavors and styles from around the country —from raspberry blossom and coffee blossom to creamed honey and honeycomb — and are all accompanied by a fact card to help you become a honey bee savant. Don’t want to commit to the 24-day box? There’s a 12-day calendar available, too.

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Various prices from Amazon

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Did you know that Amazon has gotten into the experiential gift game? On the Explore section of the site, you can find something that'll intrigue just about any minimalist, whether it's something they can do in their own city or while traveling, from a foodie challenge to a virtual wine tasting or a live lesson from a mixologist.

$45 from The Adventure Challenge

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Many minimalists live by the mantra 'value people, not things.' These books contain 50 scratch-off suggestions for fun bonding activities with family, friends, or that special spouse or partner. Each "surprise" adventure comes with an estimated time commitment and cost, usually $20 or less. And each entry includes a place to include a photo and notes, so books become cherished keepsakes even after the challenges are long-completed. There's also a version for solo adventures and a "naughty" edition.

Related: Gifts for Couples That'll Make Them Both Happy

$30 from Amazon

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Many minimalists have an appreciation for design, especially sustainable design. It's part of the reason why they just can't have any kitschy old thing lying around the house. With that in mind, they'll appreciate this bundle of sustainable household items that include an all-purpose cleaner, silicone food savers, wool dryer balls, and compostable Swedish dishcloths. 

$18 from Amazon

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What could be better for a minimalist than a book with a title that literally endorses their lifestyle? This highly rated book by Japanese author Fumio Sasaki might be just what the minimalist in your life needs to take that ethos to the next level — especially if you choose the (cheaper!) Kindle version. 

$9 and up from Etsy

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These candles won't leave anything behind once they've fully burned, and even a minimalist likes a little ambiance now and again, right? Made of beeswax and soy wax, they come in five different styles and quite a few scents (including unscented — yay!). 

$26 from Etsy

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For most people who don't suffer any sort of clutter, their house is sacred (which is why they work so hard to keep it chaos-free). With that in mind, a minimalist will likely love this handmade, stainless steel necklace that keeps the idea of home close to the heart. 

$145 from Our Place

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Even a minimalist can't argue with a pan that is "designed to replace 8 traditional pieces of cookware." With a sturdy aluminum body and a gorgeous ceramic coating — available in 10 colors — it's sure to win over the loved one who says, "Just don't get me anything." 

$3 a month and up from Memento

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Even if your loved one doesn't like a lot of clutter, they won't mind being showered with praise and reminded how much the people in their life love them. Memento takes video clips gathered by you (using their app) and helps you organize and curate them for the lucky recipient. No mess, but lots of (good) fuss. 

Various prices from The Sill

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Even a minimalist has to admit that plants don't create clutter — rather they add vibrancy to a space while also helping remove impurities from the air. Win-win, right? The Sill has a number of lovely live plants available in simple yet gorgeous pots. For something that's virtually impossible to kill, we recommend a pothos or ZZ plant.

$11 from Amazon

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Give the minimalist tea drinker in your life this set of 48 teas encompassing eight different varieties: English breakfast, Earl Grey, decaffeinated breakfast, lemon & orange, pure assam, green tea with jasmine, organic peppermint, and organic chamomile. Reviewers, who give this set an average of 4.7 stars, say it offers "high quality tea for a good price."

Various prices from Laithwaites

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As long as your recipient enjoys the occasional glass, you really can never go wrong giving wine. Laithwaites is popular among Cheapism readers and offers nearly 150 wines to choose from. Send one bottle, six, or a dozen, or you can sign someone up for the wine club. Gift cards are also available.

$99 from Amazon

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Services offering ancestral DNA testing help find where in the world you came from. Gifting a test through a service such as AncestryDNA can reveal generations of history and a loved one's ancestral past and ethnic makeup — and offers a subscription to Ancestry.com, where family trees can be identified from possible genetic matches.

Related: Thoughtful Gifts for Sisters

Various prices from Amazon

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For some, gift cards might feel too impersonal, but you can't underestimate their appeal for people keeping clutter at bay. Gift cards for music and games, local food co-ops or coffee roasters, fine dining at favorite restaurants, educational workshops, Airbnb getaways, and Amazon gift cards can be thoughtfully tailored for the recipient. Amazon's selection of third-party gift cards is huge — and even includes service cards like Uber that mean your minimalist won't have to buy any stuff.

$299 from The Light Phone II

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The world is a busy, messy, and chaotic place, but there are still products out there that try to keep things as simple and uncomplicated as possible — something the minimalist in your life will surely appreciate. The Light Phone II is an unlocked 4G LTE cellphone that eschews the app-happy madness that other phones embody. It will, however, call, text, set alarms, and provide hotspot functionality. The user can also opt to use it as a calculator and music/podcast player.