Christmas Gifts for Someone Who Has Everything

Nothing works for this person because everything you buy them becomes another object in a house that is already full. So buy something that disappears. Food and drink is the one gift category that cannot duplicate what they own, because by February it is gone and all that is left is that you thought of them.

Route one: things that get used up

The test is simple. Will it be finished, and will finishing it be a good afternoon? A bottle worth opening and a shelf of things they will actually eat leaves no residue in a house that has run out of room.

• Luxury Finest with Veuve Cliquot Champagne Hamper, $289.95. For the person who would never buy this bottle for a Tuesday, which is exactly why someone else has to.
• Luxury Finest with Whisky Hamper, $269.95. A bottle that gets poured slowly over a year rather than opened in one night.
• Luxury Finest with Gin Hamper, $249.95. For a household that entertains, where the gift keeps working every time someone drops in.
• Taste Australia Gourmet Hamper, $199.95. The one to send overseas-bound family or anyone homesick, because the point of it is where the food comes from.
• Gourmet Emporium Hamper, $169.95. The alcohol-free version of the same idea, and the safe answer when you do not know whether they drink.

Hampers containing alcohol are sold to over-18s only. Enjoy responsibly.

Route two: the upgrade they will not buy themselves

This is the sharper move. People who have everything have the everyday version of everything. They own olive oil. They do not own a single-estate early harvest oil, because $50 for a bottle of oil is not a purchase most people make for themselves, and the difference is tastable on a plate of tomatoes.

• Belazu Crete Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $49.95. A single-origin Cretan oil, for the pantry that has a tin of blended oil in it.
• eat.art Salts of the Earth Giftset, $49.95. Four finishing salts. They own table salt. This is not table salt.
• eat.art Butchers Block 8 Tube Giftset, $49.95. Eight rubs for the person who does the barbecue and has been given tongs three years running.
• Bread Knife, Olive Wood in Wooden Box, $59.95. The one object on this page, and it earns the exception: it replaces a thing they already own with a better one, rather than adding a new thing.

Route three: admit it is a voucher

Sometimes the honest answer is that you do not know this person well enough to choose for them, and a guessed gift is worse than no gift. A digital gift voucher arrives in an inbox, carries your message, and lets them pick the thing they actually wanted. It is also the answer when you have run out of time.

The reason to say that out loud on a page trying to sell you a hamper is that it is true, and a page that only ever has one answer is not worth reading.

How to choose between the three

Ask what the person complains about. Someone who complains about clutter wants the consumable. Someone who cooks and talks about ingredients wants the upgrade. Someone you cannot read at all wants the voucher, and would rather have it than a candle.

One more thing worth knowing: for this recipient, presentation does more work than usual, because the gift itself is deliberately modest in size. Every hamper is hand packed in Geelong, finished with a ribbon, sent in an insulated shipper box and carries a free personalised gift card.

Questions people ask

What do you get someone who says they do not want anything?

Take them at their word and send something that does not stay. Food, drink, or a voucher. The people who mean it are usually the ones with no space left, not the ones being polite.

What is a good gift for a man who has everything?

A spirits hamper if he drinks, a rub or salt set if he cooks outdoors, and a single very good ingredient if he cooks indoors. The common thread is that all three get consumed.

Is a gift voucher a lazy present?

Only if you send it with no message. Sent with a specific note about why you chose this shop for them, it reads as considered rather than rushed.

What if they already have a full pantry?

Then buy the thing that gets opened at Christmas rather than stored: a bottle, a board's worth of savoury things, or a set they will finish over the break.

How late can I order?

Orders placed before 12pm on a weekday are dispatched the same day from our Corio, VIC warehouse, tracked with Australia Post. In December, check the Christmas delivery cut-off dates.

Pick the one that disappears

Start with the luxury hampers range if it is a significant gift, or narrow by the bottle: champagne and sparkling hampers and spirit hampers. If they cook, the hampers for foodies page goes deeper on producers. If they are your parents, Christmas presents for mum and dad is the version written for that specific problem, and hampers for elderly parents covers the harder version of it.