Just for Procrastinators: Some Last Minute Holiday Gifts

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Somehow — in between travel, office parties, and life — the holidays have snuck up on you, and you’ve no time left to purchase a gift. That’s okay, thanks to the internet and its own special brand of instant gratification, we’ve got you covered. Every one of these last-minute gifts can be sent via email, and each is awesome.

Think Geek Gift Certificate

Think Geek

Long known as the best place to find curated geek gear, Think Geek offers something for everyone, including immediate delivery of their gift certificates in denominations of $10 – $250.

TripIt

TripIt

For $49, you can give the gift of stress-free traveling to anyone who needs it — and they will thank you every time TripIt notifies them of a canceled flight, a gate change, check-in, or any other information that demands immediate attention while traveling.

Audiobooks.com

audiobooks.com

You can give the gift of access to over 60,000 audiobooks when you give someone the gift of Audiobooks.com. Whether you pick a single month ($14.95), three months ($40.37), six months ($74.75), or 12 months ($149.99), the recipient will get:

  • 1 audiobook credit per month to spend on any of our 60,000+ titles
  • Ability to purchase additional audiobook credits at anytime
  • Exclusive member-only promotions

You can stream or download books to and listen from our Android of iOS mobile device, and with their HTML5 web app, you can listen to audiobooks from almost any other internet capable device — like your laptop, tablet, or desktop.

Netflix

Netflix

If you’ve got a Netflix membership, then you know all about their awesome original series including House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, Jessica Jones, Narcos, along with network television shows and large screen movies. Have you got a friend who doesn’t yet have a Netflix subscription? Available in denominations from $25 – $100, you’re set with a gift that they’ll appreciate. No Netflix and Chill jokes here. Oh, wait.

Amazon Gift Cards

Amazon Gift Certificate

Long the answer for those who need a last-minute gift option, Amazon delivers denominations of nearly any amount directly to your intended’s inbox. Let them purchase exactly what they want from Amazon’s enormous supply of stuff, and you’ll be a hero for making it happen.

Fandango

fandango

Give the gift of big screen entertainment! Fandango’s $25 – $100 gift certificates work at nationwide theaters including Regal, AMC, Cinemark, Carmike and many others (you can go to Fandango.com to find a theater near you).

iTunes

itunes

Loaded with movies, books, audiobooks, videos, apps, and music, Apple iTunes is a one-stop shop for digital gift giving. Email gift certificates are available in any amount between $10 and $100; just about everyone has an iTunes account, so this is a sure bet!

Power Up Box

Power Up Box

Your favorite geek will enjoy opening a special gift box every month that is chock full of goodies like T-shirts (in their size), mugs, and products officially licensed by Marvel, DC Comics, Star Wars, and other companies. You can give a one-month ($19.99 or $29.99), three-month, six-month, or 12-month subscription, and levels include the Deluxe box which includes 4-6 deluxe items, or the Premium box which includes 6-9 premium items. The 12-month plan includes “a BONUS gift plus a savings of $54 for the premium plan and $36 for the deluxe plan!” I’ve got a premium subscription, and I can say that the swag is strong with this one.

Amazon Prime

amazon prime

Amazon Prime is one of the best values out there, because it combines so many great features into one yearly $99 membership fee. Members get free two-day shipping and many times if you opt for slower 5 day shipping, you get credits good toward digital purchases. Amazon prime also offers

  • Unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs
  • Instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video
  • Free unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive
  • Read free books each month through Kindle First and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library

Like Netflix and Hulu, Amazon Prime has original programming, access to television shows and movies, and the list of what’s availble for members is constantly evolving. Amazon does a lot to keep Prime competitive, and as someone who was a member when it was less expensive and saw no problem with the price hike (we use Prime that much in our home), I find that it’s a great value.

BlueSmart Luggage

bluesmart luggage

You might not be able to slip the actual luggage under the tree, but when you purchase from BlueSmart, they’ll provide either a printable card or an email card that will save the day. Why would you want to give BlueSmart? Because this luggage allows you to “control your suitcase from your phone to lock and unlock it, track its location, weigh it, get distance alerts, and much more.” It looks pretty amazing, and at $399 for the carry-on, it’s comparably priced to other premium luggage — even with all those extras.

Hulu

Hulu

Want to give the gift of a huge selection of network television shows, movies, and original programming? Then you should check out Hulu. There are two levels — $7.99/month with ads, and $11.99/month without ads — you can even get access to Showtime thorugh it for $8.99 a month — without any cable subscriptions. That’s a great deal!

Audible

Audible

I love to read, but all too often I am driving or doing some other activity which necessitates using my hands and eyes. Listening to an Audible book allows me to carry on as I listen to excellent performances of the latest best sellers or the classics. You can give the gift of one free book per month for three months ($45), six months ($90), or 12 months ($150); if the recipient already has an Audible membership (like me), these credits will simply be applied to their account in one lump sum — bonus!

Gift Rocket

Gift Rocket

When all else fails, there’s the option of a gift card that allows your suggestion of where you think the recipient might like to spend the gift money, but because the amount deposits directly into the recipient’s PayPal or bank account, you are ultimately leaving it to their discretion. The gift of choice is actually a pretty cool gift in and of itself, don’t you think? Available in amounts all the way up to $1000 (possibly more), this is a fab way to play Santa or Hannukah Harry.

Did we leave something out? Let us know about your favorite last-minute Holiday gift source in the comments! =)

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She started in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie is best known for her device-agnostic approach, deep-dive reviews, and enjoyment of exploring the latest tech, gadgets, and gear.