You forgot, procrastinated or life happened. Christmas arrives Sunday and you’ve got little to no gifts. Thank goodness for technology. Thanks to the web, last minute shoppers everywhere can buy awesome gifts and avoid coming across as lazy and inconsiderate.
Even though it’s the very last minute, you can still put some thought into the gift. For example, there are some gaming suggestions below, but not all gamers are alike.
As economist Dan Ariely notes in his recent article on gift-giving “Instead of picking a book from your sister’s Amazon wish list, or giving her what you think she should read, go to a bookstore and try to think like her.”
With that in mind, here’s a list of truly last minute gifts:
LivingSocial deals
LivingSocial doesn’t just have one local deal a day. It also has a bunch of deals for many cities as well as travel deals, etc. Simply browse the gifts page, choose one and buy it. LivingSocial will email it to your gift recipient.
KangoGift
KangoGift allows you to purchase a gift with your cell phone and the recipient gets the gift through text or email. Gifts include things like a cupcake, fitness sessions, or simply a price amount such as $10 or $25. The giftee goes to the store to redeem the gift. Merchants include Lush, Cow & Crumb, BudiBar and Fandango.
Ancestry.com gift membership
The holidays are really about connection with family. For family members interested in genealogy, a gift membership to Ancestry.com is perfect.
Explore US roots
6 months – $89
12 months – $159
Explore world roots
6 months – $169
12 months – 299
RedBox gift card
Gift cards are available for $5 each and can be delivered via email and Facebook.
Individual Kindle books and Amazonmp3.com music
You can gift specific books and Amazonmp3.com songs and albums. Just look for the gift button option under the “Add to Cart” button on the product’s page.
Amazon gift card – works for Kindle, Amazonmp3.com and Amazon’s Android Appstore
A gift card allows the user to choose what they want to buy. And thankfully, Amazon’s digital content can be consumed on a wide variety of devices (aka think outside the Kindle). Kindle books can be read on Kindle apps for computers, mobile phones and tablets – and of course the Kindle itself. Mp3 songs can be listened to on mp3 players as well as most smartphones. And there’s an Android Appstore.
An Amazon gift card allows you to gift any of these digital content immediately. (Of course, the recipient can use it to buy stuff to be shipped to them, too.)
Find Amazon gift cards here.
iTunes apps, music, tv shows and movies
Individual digital content items such as apps, music, tv shows, and movies can be gifted from the comfort of your computer screen. Heck, you could probably even buy the gift while sitting around with the family watching cheesy Christmas movies and football tonight.
If you want to gift an app, make sure the recipient has the proper device to use the app, such as an iPod Touch, iPhone, or an iPad. However, movies and tv shows can be watched on any computer that can run iTunes, including Windows computers. Also, while audiobooks are available for gifting, regular books are not.
If you’re not sure which specific piece of media to get then…
iTunes Gift Card
Available for purchase are $10, $20, $30, $40 and $50 amounts and can be sent through email. The recipient then, of course, gets to decide what they want to buy, which is sometimes a safer bet.
Audible.com gift subscriptions and audiobooks
For those who prefer to “read” their books by listening to them, a gift subscription to Audible.com is ideal. Options include:
3 months – $45
6 months – $90
12 months – $150
Also, Audible.com allows you to gift audiobooks as digital media files. The gift recipient can then listen to the book on most mp3 players, smartphones and the Kindle.
Lynda.com subscription
A great site for anyone who wants to improve their computer skills. Everything from basic computer skills to programming to art and animation. Courses are taught via a series of video lessons. Users can learn at their own pace, including pausing and rewinding when necessary.
1 month – $25.00
3 months – $75.00
6 months – $150.00
12 months – $250.00
12 months premium – includes exercise files – $375.00
Safari Books Online Subscription
A subscription to over 18,000 technology, creative and business titles.
1 month – $42.99
3 months – $109.50
6 months – $219.00
12 months – $438.00
Gift cards
Tons of sites offer gift cards that can be delivered through email. Best Buy, Newegg, O.co (aka Overstock.com), Zappos.com,ThinkGeek.com, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma, Game Stop and many many more can help you out last minute. Just think of what your gift recipient likes and find a store to match.
Netflix subscription
Netflix offers gift subscriptions for its streaming-only service. You can give 1 month for $7.99, 2 months for $15.98, 3 months for 23.97, 6 months for $47.94, or 1 year for $95.58.
Hulu Plus subscription
Similar to Netflix’s streaming service, with the excellent exception of being able to watch many current seasons. However, Hulu doesn’t have nearly the catalogue that Netflix has. The two compliment each other well, actually. So gifting both is a possibility without being redundant.
GameFly subscription
This is like Netflix’s DVD service except with Video Games. Considering video games, even pre-owned ones, are very expensive, this is a great way for gamers to play games or try out games at a reduced cost.
Subscription options include 1 game at a time and 2 games at a time. For one game/one month, it’s $15.95 and $22.95 for two games/one month. Compare that with titles such as Batman: Arkham City and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, which run $59 for PlayStation to own.
OnLive.com Games and Game Subscriptions
This is similar to Netflix’s streaming service, except again with video games. The games can be played on the computer (great if your giftee doesn’t have a console but does have a laptop), and internet-connected mobile devices. The catalogue isn’t quite as good as GameFly, but it’s still a cool gift for gamers.
There are two options for last minute gifting:
1 game from New Releases $49.99
1 game from Family-Friendly titles – $19.99
1 month – $9.99
3 months – $27.99
6 months – $52.99
12 months – $99.99
Steam
Steam allows gamers to play a ton of games, including console games, on their computer (as opposed to an XBox or PlayStation).
To gift a game, add to cart and then there will be an option to give the purchase as a gift. Steam is having a huge sale, so your last minute butt will get a good deal.
Minecraft
One of the hottest games of 2011 makes a great last minute gift. The is a downloadable game, just make sure your recipient’s computer has the technical requirements to handle the game (found on Minecraft’s website).
To purchase the game as a gift, you’ll need to register to the site, but the store does offer gift codes.
Flickr Pro
Flickr offers subscriptions that give users unlimited storage for their photo uploads, ad-free browsing and hd playback for videos. $24.95 for a one-year membership or $47.99 for a two-year membership.
Last.fm subscription
For $3 a month, a Last.fm subscription includes ad-free internet radio that can be played on a mobile app and XBox Live.
1 month, 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month subscriptions are available.
Pandora membership
Another internet radio site, a $36 membership to Pandora One gives the giftee a 1 year subscription to Pandora, which means they can listen to the Internet radio site ad-free. Additionally, the quality of the audio is higher.
Comixology (Digital Comics)
I hesitate to put this on the list. Most comic book fans still love getting print versions of their favorite comics.
There are two scenarios (off the top of my head) in which digital comics could be an option:
1. Hard to find comics. These are usually more expensive in print and fly off the shelves quickly at the local comic store. A digital version can at least offer good reading or continuity of story while the comic fan continues to hunt down the title.
2. Titles that look kinda, sorta interesting. Everyone’s budgets are limited and sometimes comic book fans have series that they want to check out but aren’t sure they want to pull the trigger on because they’d rather save the funds for their favorites.
Don’t be offended if later the giftee does buy the comic in print form. Think of it as a compliment – that you helped the recipient discover a comic they love.
To gift a comic on Comixology, you’ll need to become a registered user.
New York Times Digital Subscription
Give full access to the New York Times.
12 Weeks
NYTimes.com and Smartphone Apps – $30
NYTimes.com and Tablet App – $40
All Digital Access – $70
26 Weeks
NYTimes.com and Smartphone Apps – $65
NYTimes.com and Tablet App – $85
All Digital Access – $150
