Ok, I took a chance and bought 4 white quick dry towels. They are being shipped for free because total is > $25. They should be good for helping me dry out delicates (blotting and rolling and then tumbling with no heat).
@abasket, don’t know about OP’s family but my DS has low income (grad student) small living space, and no time or patience for shopping. Anything that adds utility and saves him an errand is a good thing. Those quick dry towels might be just the thing. There really isn’t a gift that would bring him joy, gifting is not his love language, and “things” aren’t his thing. He cooks, so we sometimes give him expensive ingredients (saffron, cardamom) as stocking stuffers because they are consumables that don’t clutter his life.
^ I was just thinking of expensive cooking ingredients. One thing I gave my son one year was good truffle salt. It was a hit. Just add a pinch to a piece of meat and it elevates it.
Heck, I’d be happy if someone gave me good saffron! 
My kids are getting pretty wool socks in their stockings. Things you don’t buy for yourself but you’d really like to buy for yourself are the best gifts.
OP, if he’s not maxing out his retirement accounts, then a Roth IRA contribution mentioned by @doschicos is a great idea. He will appreciate it even more as he gets older.
My minimalist is getting money to blow on her NYE trip. Just some $ she doesn’t need to save or budget for. (It’s a cost-conscious trip but involves a plane flight and airbnb.) She knows and is pretty happy.
This just popped up on my FB: annual subscription to online NYT Cooking. $40. My other kiddo is into cooking.
For the Brooklyn kid, how about a subscription to New Yorker? It’s full of info and reviews on NYC theater, restaurants, bars, etc. plus very interesting articles. I know everything is available online but having that magazine in hand is different. Not to mention those covers…many of them works of art in themselves.
^Great idea, and you can wrap a copy of the magazine to open on Christmas.
At that age, I adored the New Yorker. And didn’t even live there.
We want to give our kid (same kind of kid) a years worth of unlimited car washes at his car wash. He lives in a desert dust area and this will be well appreciated.
Where does this NY kid park his car? If in a garage, maybe pay the car rent?
@CaMom13 I’m thinking about putting vanilla on my list this year!
My minimalist kid sincerely thanked me for the socks and underwear I got him last year! He needed them and hates to shop. Haircut giftcards are another thing I get for my sons. Any consumables that you know he would use like bath/shaving products, coffees/teas, jam, pickles, salsa, etc.?
Do you have a funny photo of him/sibs as young children that you could frame, give to him? If you have any old toys of his like an action figure or stuffed animal he was attached to, you might wrap one up for fun. (Our family likes to give joke/used gifts like this.)
How about a AAA membership, car detailing, a nice ice scraper.
A three day cruise out of NY (Bermuda?). Even very busy kids want to get away sometimes.
It gets harder and harder. I finally have given up on trying to find anything. Have done the socks (the next year as he didn’t tell me about argyles until later), Kindle (bought his own - he regifted the one we sent to me that Christmas instead of returning it), foods reported still there many months later… He still uses the Sonicare toothbrush- he remembers to charge it before visits. It is a great feeling to know your son can live independently and since we are minimalists ourselves we understand about not trying to give junk just for the sake of a physical gift.
Yeah, we pay for their AAA membership and also give funds for use in Backdoor Roth and/or 401k.
Does he drink? A lot of young men who live in NYC are very into craft beer. You could just buy him some high end stuff and/or get him subscription to one of the craft beer services; they send you samples of different craft beers every month. If he’s into wine, there are similar things…or you could just give him some nice wine. If he likes hard liquor, you can always buy some really upscale scotch, etc.
Gift card to one of the grocery stores that deliver–Fresh Direct, Pea Pod, etc. might work.
My D’s all-time favorite gift from me was an annual pass for all the fun group exercise classes at her local gym. She was already a gym member but couldn’t afford the Zumba, Pilates, Barre, strength training, spin classes etc. that she wanted to try. I would never have thought of it if she hadn’t dropped a hint!
My D is pretty minimalist too but loves travel so I have given her plane ticket vouchers in the past. This year I got her concert tickets.