Ask for hard drugs. :D Kidding, of course. Gift giving really is often more about satisfying the giver's compulsion to do something for you. It's so that they

Ask for hard drugs. :D Kidding, of course. Gift giving really is often more about satisfying the giver's compulsion to do something for you. It's so that they can feel good. The other suggestion about a charitable donation is good here, because there's a low bar for effort and they get the satisfaction. I'm like you, but mostly because I buy for myself anything I want and don't hope that others will do for me. I'm also a screwball, so when people probe me for gift ideas, I challenge them. I'd tell them things like: Learn a new language. Do that thing you've always been meaning to do. Go after that X you've always wanted.