8 Great Gift Ideas for Parents (& Other People Who Are Hard to Please)

I’m always stumped as to what to give my parents for Christmas — not so much because they’re hard to please but because I always want to give them the BEST gift ever. (I’m weirdly competitive that way.)

I’m sure there are special people on your list as well that you never know quite what to get for one reason or another — so here are some unique gift ideas that are actually much more affordable than you’d think.

1. Scottish Land & Titles

Honestly, if this doesn’t beat out all the other presents this Christmas, I’ll eat …umm… haggis.  Eww.

At OutofThisWorldGifts.com, you can obtain your parents (or anyone else) legal usage of the Scottish titles of Laird and/or Lady by purchasing part-ownership of the Kincavel Estate.

The ‘Laird of Kincavel’ Gift Pack contains:

• Laird of Kincavel gift announcement certificate
• Local map of the area and FAQ’s
• Welcome letter
• Information about the Estate & surrounding Area
• Map of Scotland showing location of the Kincavel Estate
• A little History of Scotland book
• Freepost Registration Card

Once your recipient sends in the Registration Card, he/she will receive a personalised Land Deed with a unique plot number.

2. Name a Star

I think we’ve all seen this gift on a show or movie at some point .. but have you ever actually given it? Hmmmph. Well, there you go. The Standard Name a Star Package from NameAStar.net includes:

• Certificate of Registration
• Star charts marked with the location of your star on either a Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere chart, depending on your location.
• A star chart showing the constellation in which your star is located along with the celestial address of your star.
• A star chart showing a close-up view of what you would see if a telescope is centered on your Star.
• A Glossary of Astronomical and Mythological Terms plus descriptions of he Constellation names, what they represent, and who or what they were named for.

3. An Acre of Land on Venus
 

Yeah, that’s right. An acre on VENUS. As in the PLANET.  Incidentally you can also grab an acre on Mars and the Moon. No kidding. All these out of This World 1-Acre Packages consist of Lot Deeds, plus:

• The Site Map showing where the property is located
• The Venusian/Martian/Lunar Constitution and Bill of Rights
• A transcript of the Declaration of Ownership. This is the document filed with the governments of the USA and Russia (then the USSR) along with the United Nations General Assembly in 1980.   
• A document with details of the Mineral Rights to your land
• Postage Paid Registration Card

4. Send a Message to Space

SentForever transmits any personal message you want to send into deep space. Once your message starts traveling, it will continue for the rest of eternity. The standard message includes a Certificate of Transmission to be sent by post to the recipient of your message, with a a personal tracking number that allows him/her to track the journey of the message through outer-space.

5. Name a Box of Chocolates

Choose a personalised selection of sumptuous chocolates, name it after someone and get it registered on the ‘Chocolate Foundation’ database!  Your recipient will receive a box of 10 luxury chocolates to your precise specification - there are 40 high quality delicious handmade chocolates to choose from, with a description and a photo of each.

The ‘Name a Box of Chocolates’ Gift Pack contains:

•  ’Chocolate Foundation’ Chocoholics Certificate
• Full colour brochure of 40+ chocs to choose from
• Brief history of Chocolate
• Chocolate Recipes
• ‘Chocolate Heaven’ book by Heather Morris
• 100g bar of Organic Chocolate Soap handmade by Faith in Nature
• Registration Card to inform us of the selection of chocolates you/the recipient would like to receive

6. “It Happened Here” Necklace
 
I think this is a really sweet and sentimental gift. Triggerhappy’s Narrative Cartography series features a tag made from recycled bits of silver and inscribed with the latitude and longitude coordinates of a location that’s significant to you and/or the wearer. Aa secret password comes with each one-of-a-kind necklace, inviting the wearer to share the story behind the location on an interactive Google Map.

7. Name a Rose
 
My mother-in-law would totally love this. Show a loved one just how special she is by naming a unique pack of rose seeds after her.  The “Name a Rose” gift tin from GettingPersonal.co.uk includes a Personalised A5 Official Certificate with the name and unique Reference Number of  the new Rose, along with the seeds which she can actually plant and cherish forever.

Also included in the Name A Rose tin:

•  Sleek Presentation Gift Box
•  Welcome Letter
•  Unique Pack of seeds with corresponding database number.
•  How to grow and care for your rose leaflet including tips from planting to Rose bush care.
•  Beautiful A3 double sided Rose calendar poster.
•  A History of the Rose information card

8. Newspaper From The Day You Were Born

A newspaper from the day you were born makes for one of the most sentimental gifts ever! At Future Memories, you can order an authentic, well-preserved edition of an original newspaper bearing a specific date. The paper is not a reproduction (or just the front page) but the actual edition.

Any other unusual gift ideas? Feel free to share them in the comments section. (We need all the leads we can get!)