The Man Who Has Everything

It’s never easy finding gifts for the man who has everything, since the man who has everything has, well, everything.  You know the type, professional job, nice car, good family, a few hobbies; probably an all-around good fellow, but not very easy to buy gifts for.  The biggest problem is that if he really wants something he’ll probably just go out and buy it himself.  Therefore, anything he really wants he probably already has, and just about everything that he doesn’t have he probably doesn’t want very badly.  This puts you, the gift-giver, in a pretty sticky situation.

“Well, I have to get him something,” you rationalize.  You walk into a store, maybe even The Sharper Image where they seem to have all sorts of gifts for the man who has everything; personalized golf tees, fighting robots, glow in the dark keyboards.  You pick out an amazing, expensive little keychain that comes with 32 features including its own panic button and tell yourself it’s the perfect gift.  Of course, it’s not.  The man who has everything has probably seen the super keychain before and decided not to buy it since he would never use it in a million years.  Of course, he doesn’t tell you this when you give him the gift.  He’s gracious and thanks you profusely before shoving the keychain into a drawer and hoping that you don’t mention that he never uses it.

So what are you supposed to do?  Well, since the man who has everything hasn’t had a chance to buy anything he hasn’t seen yet, try to find something that is along his tastes, but is particularly difficult to find.  For example, if you’re on a trip to a wine region, and you know that he likes Chardonnay, pick up a few bottles from a small winery that he probably hasn’t heard of before.  If he’s a football fan, pick up a piece of vintage memorabilia on Ebay that he wouldn’t be able to find otherwise.  Don’t take the easy route of just grabbing some useless gift in the store that is labeled “for the man who has everything,” since it’s usually something neither you nor he would want.  If you put some thought into the gift, it’s likely that he’ll appreciate it more, even if it’s less expensive that the super keychain or monogrammed golf tees.  Pay attention to what he likes and what he can’t find, and your gift for the man who has everything is sure to be a hit.