In case you haven’t noticed yet, Christmas is in a couple of days. And if you still have Christmas shopping to get done, you might be panicking a bit. I’ve done this more years than I care to admit. I’ve gotten much better with this, but life happens. If you have no idea what to get your loved ones or friends in such short amount of time, today I’m sharing some of my favorite last minute gift ideas. There’s definitely something for everyone.
Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas
For Adults
Personalized photo gifts
Anything with photos of the family or grandkids. I personally love to gift photo calendars or purchase a nice frame to add a picture of the kids. Places like Walmart offer the option to create and edit your photos online and pick up locally the same day.
Museum or theater tickets
Tickets to a local theater or museum make excellent gifts. I purchased tickets to a local show for my parents one Christmas and they absolutely loved it.
DIY or food gifts
Make your best recipe, wrap it up in something festive, add the recipe on a tag and they’ll love you forever. 😉 You can also find great mason jar recipes and other great DIY gift ideas on Pinterest. Make sure to follow me there!
Restaurant gift cards
If you have siblings that are adults this is typically the way to go. Make sure that you pick a restaurant they enjoy or that you have personally tried. If they have kids also offer free babysitting services for the evening.
Movie night in (or out)
Purchase a Redbox gift code and add it to a popcorn tub filled with candies and treats. If you are feeling a bit more generous you can purchase a gift certificate to a local movie theater instead.
TV streaming subscriptions
Amazon Prime, Netflix or Hulu Plus are all great gift ideas. We personally use Amazon Prime in our home. I find that it’s worth it with just the free two-day shipping it includes plus extra perks such as music streaming and the Kindle lending library.
For Teens or College Students
Gift Cards
This is a simple one. Teens and college students love gift cards. Anything from iTunes to gift cards to their favorite clothing stores. If they enjoy reading, a gift card to a local bookstore is also a great choice.
Gas or food
Very similar to gift cards, but it won’t work for everyone. Typically those that are already driving their own vehicle will appreciate a gas card (basically a gift card to a gas station). If they are in college, a gift card to a local grocery store will be make you their favorite aunt, uncle or whatever you happen to be. 🙂
Ear buds
Not sure what the fascination this age group has with ear buds, but I can assure you that you can’t go wrong with this one. Amazon has a great pair by Symphonized NRG Premium.
For Kids
Subscription boxes
There are several subscriptions box services so you’ll have to research what the child likes to narrow things down. Some good ones are Kiwi Crate for crafty kids, Pley for Lego lovers and Citrus Lane for toddlers.
Board games
My kids love board games and it’s not unusual for them to play a game or two after dinner during the week. Some of our family’s personal favorites are Sorry!, Yahtzee and Trouble. If you have to buy a gift for a family that has multiple children, this is definitely the way to go.
Books
Find out what some of their favorite genres are or if they are into a specific book series. My son loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series so when a new book is released near a special occasion, I purchase it for him for his birthday or Christmas. You truly can’t go wrong with books.
Kid venues or classes
Tickets or gift cards to local kid venues are also great gifts. Bowling alleys, skating rinks, laser tag and arcades are all great options. Another option is classes geared towards kids. Some popular ones are pottery, cooking and even art classes. I always say that a gift that offers an experience will give kids memories for a lifetime.
What are some of your last minute gift ideas? Feel free to comment and share with others!
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Excellent list, Jesenia! This is the first year that I’ve been this late getting gifts and I am NOT enjoying it! 🙂 I’m going to go with your personalized photo gift idea for our older neighbor who is a really good family friend. He will be thrilled with a photo album full of different photos of our family and times that we have spent doing things with him.
Another thing that it is pretty easy to do is to give “coupons” that they can redeem for things like a homemade dinner, a car wash, a 1/2 hr. back rub, a day of doing their chores (for your kids) etc. I’ve done this a couple of times and people loved it. I also had a sister-in-law that gave me several of these one year for Christmas and it was my all time favorite gift!
My normal last-minute-I-never-figured-out-what-to-get-you gift is always something home-baked. Depending on what’s available or how crafty I am, it might be prettily wrapped, or just in a thowaway dollar store tin. But, nobody has turned down cookies or fudge yet!