I recently read that Ina Garten likes to give “disappearing gifts.” By this, she means consumable gifts that don’t take up room in the recipient’s home (maybe just some room in their stomachs). She noted that material gifts often come with an unintentional burden on the recipient to find space to use, store, or display an item. The easiest way avoid that? Give someone something that isn’t a permanent thing at all! Here are 30 ideas for gifts that won’t take up any space at all – from experiences and edible delights, to subscriptions or charitable ideas packed with meaning. Also, if you’re running late on gift planning, so many of these would be ready right on time for the holidays!
We’re definitely not against physical gifts – we’re giving several this year! But since downsizing to a smaller home, we think about the whole “where will this thing live in our house” more often than we did in a larger house. And I think that thought process has shaped us to become more intentional about what we bring into our home… and what we give others. Thankfully, there are plenty of intangible gifts that are just as fun, unique, and thoughtful as physical ones… maybe even more so!
30 Gifts That Don’t Take Up Space
Feel free to think of this generalized list below as a jumping-off point. We’ll include more specific examples in other sections, but sometimes just seeing the outlined categories below can get your wheels turning. You might even say they help you think outside of the box (I’m sorry, that was almost *too punny* – and I don’t say that often). The majority of non-physical gifts fall into these five buckets:
- Food & Drink
- Experiences
- Services
- Subscriptions & Memberships
- Charitable Donations
Food & Drink Gift Ideas
Yes, food and drinks are technically physical items, but the point is that once they’re consumed, they disappear! Plus, these are great options because it’s hard to fail (everybody eats!) and easy to be unique and thoughtful.
1. Prepared Food
Anything from gift baskets (wine, cheese, fruit) to treats (donuts, chocolate) to full meals is on the table (I’m sorry, yet another pun). Send a favorite item of yours, or a new spin on something that your recipient already loves.
Examples: Spoonful of Comfort or International Snack Box
2. Baking Kits
Turn a culinary gift into an experience by sending a cooking or baking kit. This is especially great for kids or families who love to do that sort of activity together. You can even bring it over and make it with them.
Examples: Make Your Own Rainbow Bagels or DIY Fortune Cookie Kit
3. Beverages
Give someone a tried-and-true favorite or fun new flavor of wine, coffee, tea, beer, or soda. You can really adjust these to your budget, making them great for stocking stuffers, host gifts, neighbor treats, and more.
Examples: Tea Drops Sampler Kit, Alcohol-Infusion Kit, or Coffees of the World Discovery Kit
4. Sauces & Spices
Another budget-flexible option is sauces (hot sauce, BBQ sauce, pasta sauce), spices (seasonings, rubs, fancy salts), and even syrups.
Examples: Burger Spices Set or Hot Sauce Sampler Kit
5. Restaurant Experiences
This could be a simple gift card or date night to a favorite restaurant (or a new one to try), but could also mean calling around to see if there are special chef tastings or events available.
6. Fast Food & Delivery
Think gift cards to a favorite drive-thru or fast casual place (believe it or not, we know someone who loves a Culver’s gift card more than anything else) – or even a gift card to Door Dash, Instacart, or some other food delivery service. You can also use one of those to order something fresh that shows up at your recipient’s door.
7. Meal Kit Subscriptions
Did you know most meal kit delivery services like Hello Fresh and Green Chef offer gift cards? These are great to help an existing customer extend their subscription or give someone new a chance to try them out.
Experience Gift Ideas
After consumables, experiential gifts are probably the most popular form of non-material gifts. While these might be hard to “package” or “unwrap,” we love them because they create opportunities for rest, adventure, learning, and quality time.
8. Event Tickets
Think concerts, plays, and sporting events… or even just the local movie theater. Many of these might be a splurge, but services like Ticketmaster and Live Nation offer gift cards. Every year we do a big group gift to John’s mom for the Broadway tour that comes through her town.
9. Pampering
Book an appointment or get a gift card for a local spa or salon (services like massages, hair styling, or manicures can be so enjoyable – you know which friends and family members love these). Also consider in-home services for an out-of-the-ordinary treat.
10. Tours
Book a guided tour, like a sightseeing tour, walking historical tours, food tours, ghost tours, etc. You can book these either in your recipient’s own town (many of us never do these “touristy” things where we live) or in a town that you know the recipient is traveling to soon. We gave John’s parents a gift card for a local food tour last year and they loved it! Check out sites like Eventbrite, TripAdvisor, or Airbnb Experiences for ideas & bookings.
11. Classes
Cooking, dancing, crafting, or even learning an instrument – these can be great gifts for someone who enjoys any of those hobbies or passions. These could be a one-off event (like a ceramics lesson or candle-making class) or a recurring occasion (like a series of painting classes). If there’s nothing in person in your area, consider a site like Outschool (for kids) or Masterclass (for adults).
12. Adventures
Are there rentals for bikes, boats, ATVs, jet skis, snowmobiles, or kayaks that could make for a fun, physical outing that your recipient may not think to try on their own? Book an appointment, get a gift card, or write a coupon for a future excursion together.
13. Fitness
Get a gift card for a local spin, yoga, or pilates studio – maybe a place they go regularly, or a spot they might have fun trying out. You could also book an appointment with a personal trainer or other fitness expert if you think they’d enjoy that or have mentioned wanting to try it.
14. Time Together
It sounds cheesy, but people always enjoy quality time with loved ones. So planning an outing, event, or activity with your recipient could be as simple as bingeing a show at your home or theirs (gather all of their favorite snacks). You can even plan a weekend getaway to a local hotel or nearby town you think would be fun to explore.
Service Gift Ideas
Similar to experiences, think about services you could give (via gift card, booking appointments, or do-it-yourself!) that might be a treat for your recipient. These can really alleviate stress in someone’s life (especially if they’re a busy parent to young kids or an aging homeowner). They might seem like a weird choice, but it can really relieve a burden for someone you love, and help them finally get that nagging thing done.
15. Car Wash or Detailing
Lots of car wash companies offer gift cards or membership packages, or you could book an at-home detailing for a special service that requires no work on the recipient’s part.
16. House or Yard Cleaning
Book an appointment with a house cleaner or landscape company to tidy up the home, mow the grass, or cross off an annoying chore like blowing leaves, mulching in the spring, or even hanging lights around the holidays!
17. Photo Session
Hire a photographer to take family photos, headshots, or even photos of your recipient’s home design projects. You can also do one of those retro photo sessions at a department store with your family or give that to someone you love! Ten points if they’re people who will do something amazing like matching cat sweaters.
18. Consultations
Would your recipient enjoy one-on-one time with an expert like a personal stylist or color consultant. I loved having “my colors done” by Created Colorful (I yapped about them enough that they gave me a coupon code, which is YHL20 to get $20 off a color consult). Or maybe you know someone who would love a virtual design or front landscaping plan? Heck, you could even get a psychic or tarot card reading if they’d be into it! I would LOVE receiving that.
19. Babysitting
Whether you’re offering to do it yourself or hire someone, giving someone a day or evening off to spend however they like is such a great and thoughtful gift. Sites like Care.com even offer gift cards!
Subscription Gift Ideas
We’ve already talked about meal kit services, but there are plenty of other subscriptions and memberships that will stretch your gift for days, months, or even the whole year!
20. Museum & Park Memberships
This is a favorite in our extended family. We’ve given memberships to tons of different museums (art, history, science, children’s) and park systems (state parks, national parks, etc) over the years. This is a great way to support a local spot that offers so much value (rehabilitating animals, preserving nature, etc) too!
22. Reading Subscriptions
We love to give someone a subsciption to a newspaper, magazine, news app, e-book service (like Kindle), or even a favorite creator’s Substack. John took forever to upgrade to the paid New York Times Games and now he’s obsessed with it. Just think if someone had gifted it to him sooner!
Charitable Gift Ideas
Donating to a charity that reflects your recipient’s passions or interests can be an incredibly thoughtful gift. For instance, we often find a local animal shelter or rescue organization for a cat-loving family member. But here are some more specific examples:
24. Charitable Gift Cards
Sites like TisBest and CharityOnTop let you purchase a gift card and then your recipient chooses the charity they want to support with it. These could even make great stocking stuffers!
26. Volunteer
Give the “gift of time,” specifically yours, spent supporting a cause important to your recipient. Maybe even invite them to join you! This could be at an animal shelter, food bank, senior living facility, or even a walk or 5K benefiting a cause close to their heart.
Other Non-Physical Gift Ideas
To round out our list, here are a final handful of ideas that didn’t fit as nicely into a category above. Some weird, some sentimental, all without that “burden of space.”
27. Celebrity Cameo
Cameo is a website where you can order personalized video greetings from celebrities, creators, comedians, athletes, and more. For example, John once got me a birthday greeting from Real Housewife Countess LuAnn (for $40 ages ago!) and we still talk about it. There was singing and a reference to her falling into a bush. There are a surprising number of celebs on it now!
28. Storyworth
We’ve gifted Storyworth subscriptions a couple of times over the years and it has always been a special & memorable gift. It sends the recipient weekly email prompts like “What was your first job?” and “How did you meet your spouse?” So by the end of the year, you’ve helped capture their life story. You can even order a printed book with photos when you’re done! This is a great gift for grandparents!
29. Digitizing Old Photos & Videos
Speaking of memories, you can help someone declutter their old photo albums of VHS videos by purchasing a digitization gift set from a site like LegacyBox or iMemories. This is one of those things many of us need nudging to get done. In fact, we’re hoping to complete this in 2026!
30. Gas, Grocery, or Phone Gift Cards
Helping cover essential living expenses might be just the gift someone needs this holiday season. Maybe it alleviates stress in their life or frees up some funds for them to treat themselves to something special.
31. Thoughtful Letters
Take time to write a substantive note to someone. Or get your whole family to write a collection of them for a grandparent, teacher, etc. Tell them what you admire about them, how they’ve impacted your year or life, or recount an important memory of the two of you together.
Need More Gift Ideas?
And of course, if you want some additional gift suggestions, here are a few posts that will help you out:
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