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101 Best Gifts for Millennials: Your Ultimate List

Need a gift for the Millennial in your life? We’re here to help you find an awesome and unique gift for anyone born between 1981 and 1996. These are the best gifts for Millennials that they’ll love even more than avocado toast. Side note, it’s also hard to go wrong with sushi gifts since we all pretty much value sushi above all else.

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What Are the Best Gifts for Millennials? -2023 Edition-

Some people think finding gifts for millennials is hard, but I'm here to let you in on a secret: we like almost everything. The financial disaster we grew up in has shown many of us to appreciate everything and a thoughtful gift can make our year.

The right gift can really make a difference for the millennial in your life, especially if they are struggling with money or depression--and so many of us are.

Do We Need Millennial Gifts Besides Participation Trophies? (Hey-oh!)

With money worries and anxiety arguably being the defining characteristics of our generation, you can be certain that any millennial you get a gift for will appreciate your thoughtfulness, because, frankly, we are all broke, stressed, and anxious.

The right gift will lift a millennial's spirits not only during the holidays or on a birthday, but for the whole year to follow. 

Who Is a Millennial?

The Pew Research Center defines a millennial as anyone born between 1981 and 1996. Millennials take their name from the fact that they were the first generation to come of age in the new millennium. We remember childhoods before the internet but came into adulthood during the age of the smartphone. I'm a member of this generation, so I'm too familiar with the good and bad that comes with being a millennial. 

Sadly, the media has developed a nasty habit of calling any young person they disagree with a millennial, which means the average person tends to forget that the oldest Millennials are full-on adults in their early 40s now.

We're not a bunch of aimless kids. We are all of voting age and drinking age, and we're a big part of the American workforce. A Pew study notes that millennials comprise the largest percentage of the U.S. labor force.

And yet, it seems like every other headline in the media is about how millennials are to blame for killing off major US industries, from everything from mayonnaise to Hooters.

What About Nostalgic Gifts for Millennials?

Yes and yes. Millennials, like Gen X, are huge on nostalgia, probably because we grew up at such a turning point in technology. 

We love stuff to do with old memes and childhood memories. I'm talking stuff like these old memes Badger Badger Badger Shirt or Trogdor the Burninator Shirt.

Plus there are loads of non-meme nostalgia gifts like Blockbuster Merch and Stussy S Throw Pillow.

Are There Best Gifts for Millennial Guys Verus Women?

Don't worry too much about delineating by gender. Like Gen Z after us, millennials are worrying less and less about traditional gender roles. Unisex gifts are great and can be anything you say is unisex.

What Are Some Ideas for Gifts for Millennial Couples?

Couples always appreciate new trendy home appliances, gadgets, and gear they can use for outdoor activities together like an upgraded tent or fire pit.

If the couple is currently stationed apart or quarantining, consider long-distance gifts.

Aren't Millennials Just Entitled, Selfish, Freeloaders? 

Okay, well, that's rude.

Haters say the financial woes of the average millennial are due to our wasteful spending habits, with one infamous article blaming our inability to buy houses because we were eating too much avocado toast.

Don't get me wrong--avocado toast is great but it's never personally come between me and my mortgage payment.

Millennials solely aren't to blame for problems with the economy, nor are we entirely to blame for our own financial problems. A recent study from the Federal Reserve proves that millennials have similar spending habits to previous generations.

The difference between millennials and previous generations is simply that they have less money to spend. The Fed's study found that while millennials spend less on housing and food, this is predominantly because they have lower incomes than previous generations, and also because of the higher cost of rent and college/student loan repayments.

We're not broke because we're not working--we're broke because our wages haven't grown at the same pace as inflation, and because the cost of college has become untenable.

Real talk: Being a millennial isn't a cakewalk. A lot of us were hit hard by the 2007-2009 recession just as we were graduating from college, leaving us with financial worries that continue to this day. Older millennials saw their job prospects dry up during the Great Recession, while younger millennials who were still being supported by their families saw their parents lose retirement savings, jobs, or even their homes.

So give us a break.

(And maybe a new coffee maker. We're so tired.)