Last weekend I visited a local mall along with two of my friends to check out the holiday gift selection available and to feel that extra holiday spirit with the holiday pop up shops and decorations that the malls entice you with! Quickly, we realized that this idea of heading to the mall two Saturdays before Christmas was not our greatest plan as every store was packed with lines out to doors and the holiday pop ups required waits and it was one cluster f after the next. Essentially, it didn’t do a lot of holiday cheer and more of a feeling of being totally overwhelmed by the holidays. I can pretty much sum up our experience in 1 word — -UGH! Every store was absolutely packed, and parking was a nightmare. We could barely move around the mall, much less find the perfect items for our ever growing list of people to purchase gifts for. We gave up after about an hour and headed to the closest bar to find the perfect cocktail, easing our tired feet and hoping to be struck by inspiration for the rest of the gifts left on our list.
You know how it goes; the usual suspects on our list that are easy to buy for, their gifts are already purchased and on their way (point and click, right?), but inevitably the list grows throughout the season and sometimes we just delay/ procrastinate on those who are hard to shop for. We get invited to a party and need a fabulous hostess gift; we forgot our new hairdresser and have no idea what she likes yet; and maybe we have our new special someone’s parents to think about (not the case for us two but for our friends this is a big one). Now gifts for all of these situations will have to be purchased soon and, if you’re like me, you have absolutely NO desire to head to the mall for any reason, especially uninspired gift purchasing. So, we have gathered a list of some last minute Christmas gift ideas for you!
Our best advice for looking for these gifts is to head to super cute local gift or wine shops in your area. Not only will they have a selection of unique gifts to choose from, but they are usually very helpful and are happy you are shopping with them. Plus, these stores often see much less foot traffic, meaning you won’t have to fight mall crowds, and you won’t have to worry that they won’t ship in time for Christmas!
Ten Last Minute Gift Ideas
- A elegant Christmas ornament that they can put on their tree year after year.
- A charcuterie board and holiday cheese spreaders.
- A set of beautiful wine glasses with a nice bottle of wine. If they have something festive to put the wine in- that will make it feel more thoughtful and less of a last minute gift idea. We’ve seen some cute Santa wine bags.
- A curated gift box. Check out our fun gift ideas to see the various curated gift boxes that you can order online and send to your loved one!
- Your favorite book! Did you read a book this year that you loved? Grab the book as a gift idea!
- A journal for them to use in the upcoming year. Writing can be a great form of self-care and what better gift than a self-care gift, right?! To make this particular gift feel less of a last minute gift idea and more of a thoughtful, special and personalized gift idea– leave a note on the inside letting them know how special they are to you, or simply a thank you for all they do.
- Grab a few cozy items for a lazy day in, like a cozy blanket, fuzzy socks, hot cocoa, and a fun mug. Again, these are some of those self-care gift ideas that we mentioned in our self-care gifts for women that are always appreciated and a good idea to gift your loved one!
- Gift cards are always a hit! If they are a big coffee drinker consider gifting them a gift card to their coffee place of choice and if they are a food and live nearby – consider purchasing them a gift card to a local restaurant.
- Stuff for game night! Your favorite game, popcorn, popcorn box, cocktail guide, and a couple of glasses for the drinks. We love the idea of this because game nights are so entertaining, fun and also are one of those go to self-care tips we love for a family night in!
- Pictures- If you are great at taking photos or you just happen to have an amazing photo of you and the person who you have yet to find a gift idea for- consider getting that photo printed out and purchasing a nice picture frame for a last minute but meaningful gift idea. You can also get them printed onto a canvas and a lot of stores still offer day of pickup! Look at your local stores to see which one offers day of pick up so that you have a special gift in time 🙂
