Christmas gift ideas for last minute shoppers

Good morning Dinks.  It’s December 22 and if you haven’t got your gifts yet you may be what I like to call a last minute shopper.  I know some people (OK probably most people) think last minute shoppers are all those people out scrambling to find the perfect gift on December 24th, but not me.  If we are within five days of Christmas and you aren’t done your Christmas shopping I consider you to be a last minute shopper – but maybe that’s just the planner in me.

I plan everything in my life to obsession.  This time of year is exceptionally compulsive because I love the holidays.  I like to buy my gifts as early as possible to avoid the crowds but also because I like the look of Christmas.  I love wrapping gifts and staring at them under the tree for at least two weeks leading up to Christmas.  The holidays are extra long in our household because as a Ukrainian Orthodox family we also celebrate The Epiphany on January 6th.  That gives me an extra week or so to stare at the twinkly lights all around our tree.   It’s total Christmas heaven.

If you haven’t had the time to bask in all the holiday glory, no worries.  Here are some gift ideas for last minute shoppers.

When in doubt, go techy.

I don’t want to stereotype and say “for the man in your life” but in my own personal experience I know men love gadgets, electronics and anything with a battery.  Nick works in IT so his passion – other than sports – is anything techy.  If he can turn it on and connect it with Bluetooth my boyfriend will love it.  Some good gift ideas are portable speakers, 3D Blu Ray DVDs and headphones.

Go with Christmas as a theme.

I know this may sound corny and I’m not suggesting you buy an entire Christmas village for someone but gifts such as snow globes and ornaments are great gift ideas for the holiday lover on your list.  If you are going over to someone’s house for dinner bring them a Poinsettia (the big red plant often found at Christmas time in grocery stores) it’s a nice festive alternative to a bouquet of flowers.  I bought Nick and LED Philadelphia Eagles Christmas tree ornament that lights up.  He’s going to love it.

If it smells good, buy it.

It’s no secret us ladies like to smell good.  If it makes anything in my life from my bedroom to my body smell good I want it.  Perfume, body cream, scented candles and room sprays are all good gifts for the girly girl in your life.  If you don’t want to go that route anything that makes the home smell good works too such as a cooking set, bread maker, Christmas cookie set etc.  A “how to” ensemble is nice as is the already made fresh from the bakery option.

Buy something to keep them warm.

This is always a huge hit in my family, my mother gives me pyjamas for Christmas every single year.  Up here in the Northeast it’s cold this time of the year so anything to keep us warm is a good gift idea.  Sweaters, scarves, throw blankets and mittens are great gift ideas.  This year I bought Nick a pair of slippers because his feet are always cold on the hardwoods floors in our new apartment.

Do you have any gift ideas for last minute shoppers?

Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.