Unique Gifts: 8 Weird, Clever and Unforgettable Gift Ideas

Buying a gift for someone should be easy. Somehow it usually isn’t.

Most people already have enough mugs, shirts, candles, and gift cards. And the person who says they “don’t need anything” is generally the hardest person to shop for. So maybe the answer isn’t another normal gift.

Some of the best presents are weird, unnecessary, slightly ridiculous, or just specific enough that the person immediately knows why you bought it for them. And sometimes it isn’t a product at all. A weekend away, something you build yourself, or even a bizarre plant can work better than another thing that ends up forgotten in a drawer.

Incredible Things has spent years discovering products, places, and ideas that fall well outside the ordinary. So rather than another predictable gift guide, we pulled together some of our favorite ideas for giving someone something they’ll actually remember.

1. Put Their Face on Their Morning Toast

Anyone can give someone a toaster. Giving them a toaster that puts their own face on the bread is considerably more interesting.

Selfie toasters and other image toasters use specially designed heating elements, plates, or stamps to create faces, logos, and other designs on toast. It’s the kind of kitchen gadget that nobody needs – which is precisely what makes it such a good novelty gift.

It could work particularly well for someone who loves unusual kitchen gadgets, inside jokes, or personalized gifts. .

Read: This Toaster Toasts Your Selfie Onto Bread

2. Give a Pet Lover Something Completely Over the Top

Some people love their pets. Other people apparently believe their pets should live better than most humans.

If you’re shopping for someone firmly in the second group, the world of luxury pet accessories gets wonderfully absurd. Designer carriers, extravagant beds, expensive collars, elaborate pet furniture, and other accessories can turn shopping for a dog or cat into something resembling a trip through a luxury department store.

You certainly don’t need to spend a fortune. The fun may simply be finding one extravagant item that perfectly matches the personality of the pet – and its owner.

Read: 14 Ridiculously Expensive Pet Products

3. Give the Person With Everything Glitter Poop Pills

There are thoughtful gifts. There are practical gifts. And then some gifts make you wonder how anyone came up with the idea in the first place. The infamous gold-and-glitter poop pills belong firmly in that third category.

While not meant for actual consumption, they became one of those wonderfully ridiculous products that seem almost engineered to be given as a gag gift. 

It’s hard to imagine anyone putting “make my poop sparkle” on a birthday wish list, which also means there’s a good chance the recipient won’t see this one coming. This is not the gift for everyone. For the right friend, however, it may be hard to top.

Read: This Gold Pill Makes You Poop Glitter

4. Build Them a Bookcase Instead of Buying Them Something

Not every unusual gift has to come from the internet.

If you’re buying for someone who genuinely loves books, building them a bookcase could be better than buying another object to sit on one. And it doesn’t have to turn into a full woodworking documentary.

You could build a simple shelf, fix up an old bookcase, add some paint or lighting, or go all in with built-in shelves if you actually know what you’re doing.

The nice part is that it can be made around the person. Their books, their room, the awkward bit of wall they’ve never figured out what to do with.

Our bookcase ideas range from fairly realistic DIY projects to designs that may require considerably more confidence with power tools. Either way, for the right person, the fact that you made it may matter more than what it cost.

Read: 20 Brilliant Bookcases

5. Give Them a Trip to One of the Biggest Pools in the World

There is no rule saying a gift has to fit inside a box.

For someone who loves travel, warm weather, or simply floating in an enormous body of water with a drink nearby, consider turning a birthday or anniversary present into a trip built around one of the biggest swimming pools in the world.

We’re not talking about upgrading to the hotel with the slightly nicer pool.

Some of the world’s largest man-made lagoons and swimming pools are destinations unto themselves. Planning a vacation around seeing one turns the gift into an experience and gives the recipient something to anticipate long before the trip actually begins.

You can even reveal the gift with a pair of sunglasses, a swimsuit, or some other inexpensive clue before explaining where you’re actually taking them. That’s a much harder present to forget than another sweater.

Read: Biggest Pool in the World

6. Give a Plant That Looks Like a Monkey

Flowers are one of the most traditional gifts imaginable. A flower that appears to have a tiny monkey face staring out of it is another matter entirely.

The monkey orchid is one of nature’s stranger creations and a great example of how an ordinary gift category can become something genuinely unusual.

For the serious orchid enthusiast or experienced plant collector, finding a legitimate monkey orchid could make for a fascinating gift. But this one comes with an important qualifier: it isn’t the kind of houseplant you casually put on a sunny windowsill and water when you remember.

That may actually make it more appealing to the right recipient. Plant enthusiasts tend to appreciate something unusual enough to present a challenge.

For everyone else, consider this inspiration to look beyond roses and supermarket houseplants when shopping for the gardener in your life.

Read: The Monkey Orchid Looks Like a Monkey

7. Give Them a Weekend at One of America’s Largest Casinos

For the person who would rather receive an experience than another possession, make the gift an entire weekend.

A trip built around visiting one of the largest casinos in America can include much more than gambling. Major casino resorts can combine hotels, restaurants, entertainment, nightlife and other attractions into one destination.

That makes this especially useful as a gift for couples.

Instead of buying your spouse another object, book the hotel, plan dinner and turn the present into a weekend away. Or make it a group gift and plan a trip with friends for a birthday, bachelor party or milestone celebration.

Las Vegas is the obvious choice, but it isn’t the only one. Some of America’s largest casino gaming floors are far removed from the Las Vegas Strip. That alone can turn the trip into something the recipient wasn’t expecting.

Read: Largest Casino in America

8. Give Them a Toothbrush That Feels Like a Piece of Future Tech

There is always one person who has to own the newest piece of technology. You know the type.

They bought a smartwatch before anyone knew why watches needed computers. Their house has more connected devices than electrical outlets. And if a company puts advanced technology into something that previously worked perfectly well without it, they’re probably interested.

That makes an unusually sophisticated toothbrush a surprisingly good fit for the tech obsessive on your list. It is the kind of gift that turns one of the most routine parts of the day into something that feels futuristic.

Unique gifts are supposed to provoke some version of: “Wait. They actually make this?” This certainly qualifies.

Read: Dyson CameraJet Toothbrush

The Best Unique Gift Might Not Be a Thing

That may be the common thread connecting the best gifts.

They don’t necessarily have to be expensive, practical, or even particularly sensible. They just need to demonstrate that you know the person you’re giving them to.

For one person, that’s a ridiculous kitchen gadget. For another, it’s an orchid that looks like a monkey.

A book lover might appreciate something you build yourself. A traveler might prefer a weekend away to anything you could wrap. And there is apparently someone out there who is going to be absolutely delighted by glitter poop pills.

The point isn’t to find the weirdest gift possible simply for the sake of being weird.

It’s to find the unusual thing, project or experience that makes you immediately think: That’s perfect for them. And those are usually the gifts people remember.