*This post was updated on November 14. 2019
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We all have those people in our lives. We really want to give him or her a gift, but frankly, we really don’t know him or her that well. Maybe they live in another state, maybe you’ve both grown so busy or maybe you’re just simply not that close.

Holiday Gift Guide for the Person you Don’t Know Very Well

I’m talking about your brother-in-law, sister-in-law, coworker, neighbor, you name it. And if you’re anything like me, you stress about getting them the perfect gift. I always want my gifts to be practical, exciting, and something the recipient will truly enjoy. So I thought I’d create a gift guide just for that occasion.

For the fit girl/exercise nut/yoga enthusiast:

Ok so maybe you don’t know exactly what kind of exercising they do. And even if you did, you certainly don’t know what kind of equipment they already have. And you can forget about guessing their clothing size, right? So why not some fun accessories?

Maybe try a pack of cute hair ties or an athletic head band. Plus, you could never go wrong with a cute, yet functional water bottle. Especially a hydro flask or swell bottle.

For the coffee lover:

In my opinion, you can never ever ever go wrong with coffee. Ok so maybe you can. Some people just don’t like it. I will never understand that! But if you do happen to know that the person likes coffee, pick out some fancy, gourmet grounds. And yes, I recommend getting grounds in case this person doesn’t have a coffee grinder. Hint hint: the Christmas Blend from Starbucks is always a good choice. Of course you could just do a Starbucks gift card, but that’s sorta boring.

For the college student:

A lot of us have a college student to buy for. Whether it’s a niece or nephew, cousin or someone related to your significant other, you don’t always know them very well either. One thing that most college students would find very useful is a laundry bundle with detergent, dryer sheets, fabric softener, and quarters!

Healthy snacks are always welcome. Go for some granola bars they can eat quick on the go or some healthy, non-buttered, microwave popcorn to snack on during late night study sessions.

Gift cards are welcomed as well. Go for restaurants, groceries and gas. They will love you forever, I promise!

For the brother-in-law, neighbor or another man you don’t know well:

How about a food basket? Think manly. Sausage and cheese. Or maybe a jumbo candy bar. What man doesn’t love this stuff?? Try something from hickoryfarms.com like this Beef Hearty Hickory Gift Box.

For the sister-in-law, neighbor, or another woman you don’t know well:

You certainly don’t know her sizes and maybe you’re not even familiar with her style. And you don’t even know if her ears are pierced (it’s happened to me). Get her some personalized stationary! If the girl you’re buying for wouldn’t absolutely love personalized cards or stationary, there must be something wrong. And it’s very practical!

Another idea would be a journal. Now I know not everyone loves to journal like I do, but I think most women would really enjoy receiving a special journal to be able to write (or doodle) anything she wants in. This one is especially cool because it’s made from recycled, rip resistant stone paper!

For anyone and everyone:

You can almost never go wrong with a scarf, beanie or head band ear warmer. Especially if the person you’re buying for lives where it gets pretty cold. You can never have too many, in my opinion. Or how about a blanket? You can pick out some fabric and make a tie blanket or just buy one of those cozy fleece ones you can find just about anywhere in a fun color.

Speaking of homemade gifts, bake some cookies or make some Christmas candy and hand deliver it on a fun holiday plate.

And last but not least, everybody knows the perfect cop-out gift would be cash or a gift card, but I encourage you to be creative with your gift card choices. Show that you’ve actually thought about it. Some ideas include…

• Barnes and Noble for the book lover 
• Etsy for the small shop supporter 
• fanatics.com for the sports enthusiast

So now you have my gift ideas for someone you don’t know very well. I hope this helps!

What else would you add to my gift guide? Who are you buying for that could use something from here?

Thanks for reading!