A trick: shop for a gift with a list of exactly three things
Most gift-shopping is paralysis. A tiny constraint usually fixes it.
One of the better tricks for buying a gift is to make a list of exactly three things you know about the person, then refuse to consider any gift that doesn't connect to one of them.
The list can be anything: a hobby, a recent obsession, a frustration they keep complaining about, a place they grew up, a type of food they love, a thing they used to do as a kid. Three items. Specific. Written down somewhere, even on a napkin.
This works for two reasons. First, it cuts the search space dramatically. Instead of "what does my dad want," you've now got "what's something good related to bread, cycling, or 1970s science fiction." Three searches instead of an infinite one.
Second, it makes the gift feel personal even when the object itself is not unusual. A book about bread baking is a generic gift. A book about bread baking when the recipient has been talking about sourdough for six months is a thoughtful one. Same object, different context.
If you're stuck, this is the cheapest trick in the bag. Three things. Pick the gift from there.