If this isn’t last minute, I don’t know what is! It is 2 days before Christmas (which also happens to be my father’s birthday), you’re trying to clean your house and you are still missing a gift on your list. Welcome to my life every single year. This November, I thought I was getting ahead on holiday shopping, until I remembered that my sister’s birthday was in November so I was not, in fact, getting ahead of anything. Lovely.

At this point, it is too late to reasonably get things shipped and the best case scenario is coming up with something affordable that also seems creative and thoughtful despite the fact you are totally doing it at the very last minute. I’m here to help. Below, check out some of my best ideas for fun gifts you can pull together on the fly.

Tickets
Giving the gift of an experience is not only great for last minute gifting, it’s just a good gift in general. You can buy tickets online and print the confirmation to gift. Pair this with a really well-written card for the full effect. DON’T SLEEP ON THIS IDEA. I have done this with tickets to Longwood Gardens, tickets to musicals and plays, and passes to sporting events.

Make it even better…
Buy matching outfits to unwrap the day of to announce the surprise. This makes you prepped for photo opps and makes the presentation of the gift more exciting.

Charity
This year, we decided as a family to reign it in in terms of gifting. I think this is super responsible because, in reality, things can get so excessive and it just doesn’t make sense. The holidays should be fun, not stressful! A direction I considered going in this year is that of gifting charitable acts. I think that this is so thoughtful, and is a great gift. Pick a cause that is near and dear to the recipients heart, and let them know you care by helping to move the needle. Some great organizations to keep an eye out for are your local Junior League Chapter, WHYY, any type of PTO that you feel really supports students in your area, and so much more!

Make it even better…
Pair this gift with a small token that represents that charity. For example, if you made a gift to WHYY in honor of the recipient, you could pair it with a CD that they might like, or a new pair of earbuds.

Baskets
Having done several silent auctions in the past couple of years, I am no stranger to crafting a creative gift basket. These are SO fun as long as you remember to keep a budget, otherwise it can get majorly out of hand. If you’re going the basket route, pick a theme that ties in to the recipient. For example, this is the season when hostess gifts seem to be the most requested. This is also a super easy basket to put together. If you live near a Marshalls, TJMaxx, or Ross – GO THERE. Keep an eye out for cocktail ingredients, unique straws or stirrers, crystal glasses, decanters, cheese boards, etc. You can always pop by your local grocery store to throw in some cute party snacks to top it off.

Make it even better…
Don’t just lean towards the easy stuff like movies and cooking, pick something really special for the recipient. A car care kit, spa package, cocktail making (complete with all the artisanal ingredients!), there are so many good ideas, so really give it some thought!

Food
There are very few people that don’t enjoy a good meal. I’m not talking about just buying an Olive Garden gift card, I’m talking about a real meal at a place where you can have an amazing experience. In Philadelphia, Andrew and I loved going to Bibou and it is such an amazing experience to gift because it isn’t something that people would normally choose to spend on.

Make it even better…
Set the reservation, pick out the outfit, and get the whole experience completely settled. It is so nice to be able to have a whole day or experience fully planned out by someone else so that all you have to do is relax. Adding in the outfit that they should wear, even just the jewelry, is a nice touch that ups the whole experience that much more.

At the end of the day, if you really are in a pinch for gifting, sometimes the best thing to do is just come clean. The holidays can be busy and stressful, and everyone is understanding about that. It’s better to give something more thought and attention to get it right than rush out and buy just anything.