The Best Last-Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

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Need some last-minute Christmas gift ideas? Check out these ideas that will work for everyone on your Christmas list. Lots of unique ideas!

An estimated 51% of Americans wait until Christmas Eve to buy presents. Some wait because they feel like they are bad at gift-giving and don’t know what to buy and others lose track of time.

I’d say I’m surprised but a quick look at my social media feeds shows me that a lot of my friends are still shopping and stressed out about it.

This kind of stress is why I started this site. I sometimes have some stocking stuffer-type things I want to get last minute but I have all ordered gifts and larger gifts done early. Some years I’m really on it and I’m done before December. Those are the years when I have the best Christmas.

Before I get to the gift ideas I want to encourage you to get my Christmas planner now and subscribe to my newsletter so that next year this doesn’t happen. I’ll help you be prepared ahead of time so you can be one of those hearing about friends stressing out and thinking about how happy you are to be done!

You can tell yourself it will be different next year but without action that is not very likely. Getting reminders from me and having a planner ready to go will set you up for actual success.

What about this year? It’s too late not to be prepared so what can you do to finish up and relieve that stress? Use this list to finish up your shopping. These are items you can get here in time.

Last-Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

First, before I share these last-minute Christmas gift ideas I’d like to invite you to shop The Stress-Free Christmas Market. Many of the shops offer gift cards and other items that are perfect for last-minute gifts while also supporting small businesses.

Fancy Candy- Do you have a local candy shop with unique candy? Pick a few items and package them nicely together for a sweet gift, literally.
A Gift Basket- There are endless ideas for gift baskets. It’s a great way to use smaller gifts to make one big gift. You could even fill one with homemade goodies.
Christmas Recipe Book– Create your own Christmas Recipe Book with some of your favorite recipes plus room for more.
Gift Cards- Gift cards get a bad rap but they can be great. For a coffee-lover, you can get them a gift card to a local coffee shop, give a couple a gift card for a restaurant for a date night, or just try to make it personal. You can also cutely package the gift card .
An Experience Gift- Skip the physical gift and instead write a nice card telling the person you want to take them to do something. This can work for any budget. My family loves these kinds of gifts. You could also wrap tickets if any are involved in the experience.
DIY Coupons- New mom on your list? Offer to bring a meal, do some cleaning, or run errands. For parents, you could offer to babysit one night so they could have a date night. There are a lot of creative ways you could use coupons as gifts.
Amazon Prime Membership- Know someone who isn’t a Prime member but could use that convenience? Gift them a membership.
GlobeIn Subscription Box– This subscription box is beautiful and makes a great gift. It also helps artisans in other countries so it’s like two gifts in one.
Homemade Cookies- Who doesn’t love some homemade Christmas cookies? Make up a couple of batches for people on your Christmas list.
Blue Apron Box- Blue Apron is great for anyone too busy to cook healthy meals or someone trying to learn more about cooking.
Homemade Bath Salts- Ingredients for homemade peppermint bath salts are easy to find, I often get them at Walgreens, and they take just minutes to make.
Craft Classes- Have a crafty friend? Gift them a class from Craftsy.
Love Goodly Box– This subscription box is full of great natural products making it perfect for anyone trying to use more natural items.
Thrive Market Membership– I love this online natural food store. I gifted a friend a membership one year and she loved it.

Now that you have ideas for this year don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter and get your Christmas planner ready to go for next year so you can avoid the last-minute rush.

Also, be sure to check out my tips for preparing now for a better Christmas next year. While you remember the stress of rushing is the best time to prepare for next year.