Birthday Gifts for a Son Who Has Everything

When your son has everything, the usual shopping list stops working. He already owns the gadgets, and if he wanted something badly, he bought it last month. The best birthday gifts for a son who has everything are experiences, time, things that get used up, or things that could only come from his family. Here are 12 of them, and our top pick is a song about him, because it is almost certainly the one thing he does not own.

Hear what a Songbond song sounds like

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 birthday gifts for a son who has everything

1. A song about him ($39.90). You cannot buy it in a shop, and he cannot buy it for himself. Share his story, his nickname and the moments that made you proud, and Songbond turns them into an original song within 24 hours.
2. A driving day at a race track. A few hours behind the wheel of a sports car with an instructor beside him. Usually $200 to $500.
3. A rare bottle he would not buy himself. A whisky, wine or aged rum a notch above his usual shelf. Usually $80 to $200. Add a note about when to open it.
4. A lesson with a real pro. A golf lesson, a day with a fly-fishing guide or an afternoon with a barbecue pitmaster. Usually $100 to $300.
5. A tasting menu at a restaurant he has been curious about. Book the table for him and his partner, and pay ahead so the bill never comes. Usually $150 to $400 for two.
6. His favorite old thing, restored. The leather jacket, the baseball glove, the guitar with a cracked neck. A good repair shop can bring it back. Usually $50 to $200.
7. His family tree, researched and printed. A family history service, or a patient relative, can trace the names back several generations. Usually $50 to $150 for a printed tree.
8. His grandfather's watch, with the story. If a family watch is sitting in a drawer, have it serviced and give it to him now, with a note about who wore it. A service usually costs $100 to $300.
9. A monthly coffee or olive oil club. Things that get used up never add to the clutter. Usually $25 to $60 a month.
10. A tree planted or a donation made in his name. Choose a cause tied to him: his old school, a local park, the shelter where he found his dog.
11. A behind-the-scenes tour. A stadium, a recording studio or a car factory, the kind of place he has only seen from the outside. Usually $50 to $150.
12. A night in a cabin with no signal. An overnight off the grid for a son who never puts his phone down. Usually $150 to $350 a night.

How to choose when he has it all

Ask yourself what he complains about having too little of. For most busy sons, the answer is time, quiet or a reason to see his friends. Things that get used up are safe, because they never duplicate what he owns. And a family piece beats a new one every time.

• If he loves speed and skill: the track day, the lesson with a pro or the tour.
• If he loves food and drink: the tasting menu, the rare bottle or the coffee club.
• If he values family: the watch, the family tree or the song.

Ask the people around him first

The fastest way to find a gift for a son who has everything is to ask the people who see him every week. His partner knows what he has been eyeing and what he sent back. His friends know the trip he keeps talking about. If he has children, they know exactly what dad keeps saying he needs. Send two or three of them the same short question: what has he mentioned wanting but never bought. You will usually get the same answer twice, and that answer is your gift.

Give him something he does not have

Make a birthday song for your son. Share his stories, and his song is ready within 24 hours. Short on time? Express delivery gets it to you in about an hour, with nothing to ship.

Also in the Journal: milestone birthday song ideas and songs mothers and sons share.