A few ways I've found to do this:
- Theater tickets
- Event tickets
- A trip
- Museums memberships
If you're short on time (or energy), gift cards are an easy gift but has a reputation...not as a thoughtful gift.
Dyson is the mainstay, but if that's more of an investment than you're looking to make, there are lots of other air purifier options.
Try some Lake Pajamas. They make a great gift, and you can even get a matching robe.
Have a cocktail lover to gift for? Upgrade his tumbler game
(in a tasteful way that your mother-in-law will approve of).
There's probably nothing more cliche than books for dad. But they can be such a good gift, even, dare I say, the perfect present? So why not spice things up a bit?