12 Unusual Gifts for Women They’ll Actually Love

About this list: This guide is published by 23andMe and includes our own products, as marked below. Our editorial team selected the other 11 gifts, and we do not receive payment, commission, free products, or other benefits in return from any of those brands. Product details are the responsibility of each brand, images are for illustration only, and prices and availability may vary.

When you’ve got someone specific in mind, a basic candle or spa set can feel like it isn’t personal or thoughtful enough. Those items could be for anyone, anywhere. A standout gift starts with what’s uniquely her, like her hobbies or sense of humor.

If you find yourself staring at a wall of trending jewelry, feeling like nothing is quite right, you’re in luck. We put together a list of 12 unusual gifts for women, with picks for every budget. Whether it’s for a birthday, a holiday, an anniversary, or just because, there’s a gift here she won’t get anywhere else.

Key Takeaways: Unusual Gifts for Women

• Unusual gifts for women prioritize personal fit over price. An under $25 cyanotype set can be just as meaningful as a personalized photoshoot experience.
• The most memorable picks are hard to find anywhere else, including a sourdough culture with roots stretching back 700 years.
• Several gifts on this list keep producing value well past the unwrapping, like a starter she can bake with for years or a book of her own answers she can pass down.
• For a woman curious about where she comes from, a gift dedicated to her own genetic story turns a single afternoon into months of discovery.

Gifts for Women: Unusual vs. Random or Weird

An unusual gift is memorable and something someone can’t pick for themselves. It doesn’t mean that the item is strange or random. 

Unusual gifts for women are:

• Hard to buy: One-of-one, made to order or from a maker who doesn’t stock a shelf full of inventory. 
• Tied to something specific about her: Her name, her family, her handwriting, a place she’s lived or something she already enjoys doing.
• More than just novelty: Unlike gag gifts, the item gets used or appreciated long after it’s received.

Gifts for the Woman Who Has Everything

The hardest person to shop for already has everything; if she wants something, she gets it herself. These are gifts she’d never think to pick up on her own.

Limited-Edition Pottery

Asheville-based pottery company East Fork Pottery releases mugs, bowls, plates, and more featuring seasonal glazes. Its seasonal glazes are released in limited runs alongside its year-round core colors, so if she loves a particular seasonal shade, now is the time to buy it.

Customizable Perfume

Tijon says it has taught over 35,000 people how to create their own signature perfume at home, with a step-by-step workbook and video. The Tijon Perfume Kit comes with 12 oils, glass spray bottles and a Master Perfumer’s workbook to help her curate a scent she can’t pick up at any local store.

A Personalized Photoshoot

A personalized photoshoot is an experience she probably wouldn’t think to sign up for on her own. From solo portrait sessions to a day out with friends, Flytographer offers photoshoots with local photographers in more than 350 destinations worldwide. Although it’s more of an investment, the photos are hers to keep, and the voucher is good for three years.

Gifts That Uncover Her Personal History

The best part of these gifts is what comes after unwrapping it, whether that’s a family recipe she’ll keep coming back to or a 23andMe ancestry kit.

From 23andMe: A 23andMe Premium Ancestry Kit: For the Family Historian

For the woman who wants to know where her family story began, the 23andMe Premium Ancestry kit  maps her DNA across 5,000+ geographic regions and compares it with more than 1,000 ancient and historical individuals, from Hungarian royalty to the Beachy Head Woman of Roman Britain. It’s even better shared. Give kits to a sister, a mother or a daughter, and once they connect through DNA Relatives, they can see the DNA they share and how their family lines fit together. A friend can join in too, since comparing ancestry results side by side makes for a fun conversation, even without a family connection. New historical matches and features are added throughout the year, so there’s more to discover together after the holidays. Other 23andMe gift options include Premium Ancestry + Health kit, which includes all Premium Ancestry features, plus 100+ health reports.

Her Year, Bound in a Book

Each week for a year, Storyworth sends her a question by email or text, and her answers become a hardcover book at the end. She can choose from a library of 500+ questions, such as “What’s the best job you ever had?” and “Who’s been the kindest to you in your life?,” or write her own. It’s a book she can come back to for years and pass down to the next generation.

An Heirloom Cookbook

Family recipes often end up on notecards piled in a drawer or stuffed into a container. Heritage Cookbook turns photos of her family’s handwritten recipe cards into a keepsake cookbook. Recipe card photo pages include space for titles and attributions, and there are 36 page layouts to mix and match. This isn’t a quick-buy; you’ll need to collaborate with family members to gather the recipes, which makes it all the more special.

Gift Ideas for Her Creative Spirit

If she values creative activities and experiences over material items, these gifts deliver.

A Grow-Your-Own Mushroom Kit

Is she a green thumb? This North Spore Spray & Grow Kit lets her grow mushrooms indoors in as little as two weeks. Choose from three certified organic options: blue oyster, pink oyster or lion’s mane. North Spore backs every kit with its 100% guarantee, so if something arrives damaged or doesn’t grow, she can request a replacement within 30 days. Beyond the fun of growing them herself, she can cook with them in her favorite recipes.

A Shibori Dye Kit

Sewing enthusiasts and fiber artists will love this Graham Keegan Indigo & Shibori Natural Dye Kit. Created by natural dyer and teacher, Graham Keegan, the kit comes with naturally derived indigo pigment and most of what she’ll need to design her own piece. The vat stays active for weeks, so she can dye more than just the included bandana.

Sourdough Starter

If she’s been wanting to try her hand at baking with sourdough, a sourdough starter is the gift that keeps on giving. Heirloom Sourdough offers starters from two different cultures: “Sofia,” a 1916 San Francisco culture, or “Zury,” a 700-year-old Swiss culture. Once she gets her own culture going, she can bake with it for years, and even share a piece of it to start someone else’s.

Unusual Gifts for Women Under $25

Price doesn’t determine how memorable a gift is. Plenty of unusual gifts for women under $25 are just as thoughtful as anything with a bigger price tag.

A Microlending Fund

If she’s more into meaningful contributions than material items, buy her a Kiva card. For as little as $25, she can lend funds to entrepreneurs and others who lack access to traditional banking. Borrowers repay the loan as their business grows, and repayment runs around 96%. Because repaid funds can be re-lent, the same dollars can fund loan after loan. If unredeemed after 12 months, the card converts to a donation.

A Cyanotype Set

This Jacquard Cyanotype Chemistry Set uses sunlight to create rich, blue photographs. After brushing on the light-sensitive solution, she can lay leaves, lace or old negatives on top to create one-of-a-kind prints. One set makes about 65 8×10-inch prints on paper or 50 on fabric, giving her plenty of room to experiment. 

A Flavorful Hot Sauce Collection

For the foodies, the SaltSpring Kitchen Co. Hot Sauce Collection keeps things interesting. The line is woman-owned and made with all-natural ingredients. It comes with three medium-heat hot sauces, and she can use them in everything from eggs and tacos to experimental cocktails.

Pick the Unusual Gift She’ll Keep

A great gift isn’t necessarily the most expensive. The most meaningful gifts are the ones she might not buy for herself; they show you paid attention to who she is. These unusual gifts for women do exactly that.

FAQ: Unusual Gifts for Women