We all have them–people who, when it comes to Christmas shopping (or any gift-giving occasion) your stomach turns, because the person is so hard to shop for! You may not know the person very well, or maybe you ask the person what he/she wants for a Christmas gift and the person clams up. We call this person Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For.

For someone that is hard to Christmas shop for, first you have to think about everything you know about them. Quite literally, make a list about your hard to shop for friend (or, as in some cases like a “secret Santa” at work, your “acquaintance”).

List everything that you can think of about Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For, no matter how silly it seems. Start with the basics and then go into more detail:

Does this person have a hobby?

Does this person collect anything?

Have you ever seen this person enjoying anything, whether it be a food, a beverage or some kind of book, game or toy?

Have you ever heard Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For mention something that is very important in his/her life?

What does Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For do for a living? What kinds of supplies might they need to do their job better?

Does the person watch movies? Do they have a DVD player or a VCR?

Do they listen to music?

What style of clothes does the person wear?

Does Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For wear the same basic outfit every day? (i.e. pocket tee and jeans)

Is there a favorite sports team that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For likes?

Does Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For smoke?

Does this person ever go out anywhere? To the movies? Bowling? Library? Bar?

If you really don’t know Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For at all, you may have to resort to asking someone who does know the person. Grill them with all the questions mentioned above, and then some. If the person doesn’t know much about your Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For, they will probably at least know if the person is a real “Man’s Man” or a “Girly Girl”. Finding this out either way will be helpful in purchasing at least a generic gift.

Usually you can think of something that you’ve seen Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For doing that could be made into at least some kind of a Christmas gift. By now, you may already have a Christmas gift in mind for Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For. Or maybe you don’t. Now is where you have to be a bit creative with all of the information you’ve come up with and make a great gift.

Going down the line of questions you’ve listed and answered, we’ll try to find the perfect Christmas gift.

Does this person have a hobby?

This is probably an obvious one. Maybe you always buy the person stuff for their hobby and are sick of buying them Christmas gifts for their hobby. However, the true hobbyist really does love getting stuff for their hobby. Just make sure that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For is still “into” their hobby before buying them hobby items.

Does this person collect anything?

Another pretty obvious one, but collectors are collectors because they love to collect. There is a danger zone, however. Some people are really not all that into collecting things, and have somehow gotten “roped into” being collectors because they happened to have or even just receive one or two of something and it was assumed that they were going to start “collecting”. That kind of thing gets out of control pretty fast, so make sure you confidentially ask Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For if they really do enjoy collecting these things before going out and buying the item.

Have you ever seen this person enjoying anything, whether it be a food, a beverage or some kind of book, game or toy?

Remember, anything can be a Christmas gift. It doesn’t have to be what everyone’s idea of a “gift” is. If you know that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For loves a certain brand of potato chips or beer, indulge them in a case of it. It’s certainly something that they would appreciate! If you know that the person has a favourite author, it’s not advisable to buy them the newest book by that author (someone else has already had that idea, or they bought the book for themselves probably) but it is a great idea to go to the book store and ask the clerk what books rival the books that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For usually read. Also, adults are just big kids, and if you see them playing with a game or a toy, keep that in mind. You can usually find something similar in their interests.

Have you ever heard Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For mention something that is very important in his/her life?

This could be anything from a pet to a child to a charitable organization or church. For many, the best gift is a donation in their name to their favorite charity. You can donate to the charity and give them a card with a note inside (you can even print something nice off the computer in a fancy font) that says, “A donation has been made in your name to ____.” You could give to their church, also. If it is a pet that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For holds dear to their heart, there’s nothing wrong with finding a recipe for home-made dog biscuits, layering the dry ingredients in a nice canning jar and giving the recipe to Mr. or Mrs. Hard to shop for, as something fun to do for the dog. If it’s a child, you could always purchase a gift certificate for Christmas, to a fun kids place like Chuck E. Cheese or some other local kids place for Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For to do with the special child in their life.

What does Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For do for a living? What kinds of supplies might they need to do their job better?

If Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For work as an office person, office gifts are great. You can buy him or her some very nice pens and some pencils, a big packet of sticky notes, a paperweight, a pen/pencil holder (or have your kids make one out of a coffee-can and some fabric and crafts) and a special coffee mug just for work. If Mr. or Mrs. Hard to Shop For work in a more labouring facility, they very often are required to wear special shoes which can be expensive, or need certain tools just for the job they do.

Does the person watch movies? Do they have a DVD player or a VCR?

No matter who you are buying a Christmas present for, one thing is almost guaranteed. Everyone likes movies. The hard part of buying movies for Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For is that you don’t necessarily know what “kind” of movies they like. If the person you are buying a Christmas gift for is a “man’s man”, it’s probably safe to buy a DVD like, “Die Hard” or “Rocky”. If the person is a really girly-girl, something like, “Steel Magnolias” or “Sleepless in Seattle” are great choices. For someone that is a conservative person, you might consider a more classic Disney movie like, “Old Yeller”. Keep in mind that most people have DVD players today, but some people still have VHS, so find this out if at all possible. Of course for the person that you just can’t seem to figure out, you can always buy a gift certificate for the local movie theatre. Make sure to put enough on the gift card that allows Mr. Or Mrs. Hard To Buy For to take a date and get some refreshments!

Do they listen to music?

Most people listen to some kind of music, even if it’s just the radio in the car. Depending on how much you wanted to spend, you could buy the person a gift card to the local music store, or, if you know their favourite artists, buy them a CD by that group. Much like buying books for someone for Christmas, most music stores have clerks that at least know an artist that is comparable to the artist that Mr. or Mrs. Hard to Shop For likes.

What style of clothes does the person wear?

You can tell a lot about a person by the kinds of clothes they wear. This is helpful because #1, if you REALLY have a sense of what kinds of clothes Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For likes, you can buy similar clothes. However, it’s also great for figuring out the type of gift the person would like. Someone who wears very punk clothes, for example, you could probably find a gift at the local Hot Topic (if there is one in your area) or you could buy online at their website. On the other hand, when buying for an older woman, you might be better off to shop at a smaller, “knick-knacky” kind of place.

Does Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For wear the same basic outfit every day? (i.e. t-shirt and jeans)

If Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For does wear the same outfit every day, then it really wouldn’t hurt to get them another pair of similar pants or a new set of Tee-shirts. Cheap and easy. And it’s surely something that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For would really appreciate. Just remember to be mindful of the size….

Is there a favourite sports team that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For likes?

Of course this one sounds obvious, but the sports lover LOVES their team, and usually adores getting sports paraphernalia. Anything with their favourite team logo on it–a cup, playing cards, a hat, a jacket, a shirt, a lot of companies make specialized games (like chess, etc.) with just the sports logos on them, too.

Does Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For smoke?

Smokers love lighters! They really do. Those nice wind resistant lighters are great gifts for a smoker. And if you know the brand they smoke, it’s a great gift to buy a carton of cigarettes for them. Cigarettes are expensive, and you know they’d use it.

Does this person ever go out anywhere? To the movies? Bowling? Library? Bar?

These little facts about Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For give you small hints about what kind of person they are, and what they like to do. If you think long enough about the things that Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For likes to do, you can usually come up with a gift that is associated with that. If the person goes to the movies, as mentioned earlier, get Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For a gift certificate for couple of movie tickets and some spending money. If Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For likes to bowl, a gift certificate for their favourite bowling alley or (if you have the dough to blow) a nice monogrammed bowling ball or a set of nice bowling shoes. For the person who visits the library, you can guess they probably love books, so you could buy a gift certificate for the book store, or donate money to the local library on their behalf. For the barfly, find out the preferred bar of Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For and take them out on “drink night” at that bar. Most bars have some kind of night where they have specials all night. A lot of people like to buy beer beforehand and drink at home and then go out. You could buy a gift certificate for a taxi or limo and let them booze it up and travel safely.

The bottom line is that when shopping for Mr. or Mrs. Hard to Shop for, be creative, and remember that any little thing about that person, from how they dress to where they work could be a clue to a great Christmas present. If you’re totally stumped, for women, candles are a nice gift, and for men, ties are a nice gift. No matter what, at some point every man has to wear a tie, and almost all women like their house to smell good. And if you just don’t think any of these ideas sound good, you could always give Mr. or Mrs. Hard To Shop For one of those Visa Gift Cards, sometimes available at the bank, otherwise you can purchase them online at the Visa website.