Tins of…anything. The contents may be appreciated, but chances are the tins themselves are not. Save some metal from the recycling (or dump) this year and package your goodies in something else. (Maybe a paper bag?)

Coffee mugs. Unless you know the person is a coffee drinker that’s always running short on mugs, there is a limit to the number of mugs someone can use. (I suspect this is especially true for teachers.)

Scented anything (bath oils, perfumes, lotions) if you don’t know exactly which specific brands and scents the recipient loves — or even whether they enjoy those types of things at all. Otherwise, nothing screams “last minute gift” or “I had no idea what to get you” like a random bottle of perfume.

Gifts that are bought just for the sake of having something physical to give. Remember, the idea behind gift giving is to find something that the receiver would like, enjoy, and/or use — not to show up with a random gift. If you want them to have something to unwrap, but think they would enjoy a gift certificate or tickets to an event, wrap up the paper item instead.