Tis the holiday season. Sure, “Christmas isn’t just about the gifts”. But in reality, the presents do play a big part in Christmas celebration. Whether you’ve been invited to a last minute Christmas party, or you got the invite for the party two months before hand, and still managed to leave the gift buying until an hour before the gathering. Maybe you’re on your way to a Christmas party, with a well thought out gifts in hand. You suddenly you realize that you forgot about someone and need to craft something up for that guy, really fast. Whatever the situation may be, you need last minute presents. And you need them fast! You need gifts that are easy to pull off, affordable and can be ready asap!
#1
Cash, But More Thoughtful
Level of Effort: ⅕
Level of Gift Quality: ⅗
Cash is a simple gift. It says I’m giving you the freedom to enjoy any gift you’d like! But I also might not be putting much effort into your gift. I either genuinely thought you’d like money more than something I’d choose or I just grabbed a twenty I found in my pocket. Then put it in a card I got on the way here. Some don’t mind that last message, especially if they add in an extra ten bucks more than everyone else did, they’ll seem extra thoughtful even with the lack of thought put into it. But you don’t need to give out extra money in gifts because they are effortless.
An easy solution to the whole “no effort” thing, is to get a gift card. It shows that you are giving the gift receiver freedom for them to choose whatever they like, while it also shows some effort, since you had to actually be in a store to get the gift card. (Even if you just grabbed it while shopping for yourself.)
If gift cards aren’t your thing, but you still like the idea of gifting cash. You can learn a simple way to fold your bills into origami that looks complicated. But in reality, you could do it on the way to the party, in the car, or even in the bathroom at the party, right before gift exchange time, if you’re really desperate. Don’t forget to tell everyone how difficult, and time consuming it took to do such unique artwork. Really emphasize the remarkable artistic talent it took to pull off such a gift.
#2
Personalized Candle
Level of Effort: ⅖
Level of Gift Quality: ⅗
The one thing that makes a gift, really valuable, is making the gift yourself. This shows that you really care about a person, and that you put a lot of thought and effort into making something special for them. (Even though you didn’t, you probably found the idea on a blog, like this one, when searching for something that only takes 15 minutes to make, as a gift). Now, this is a last minute gift, so you have to find a really easy craft, that you can make with supplies you already have, that actually looks decent and isn’t a hand turkey you drew on construction paper. (Although those under the age of six should take advantage of the fact that they can pass with those crafts!)
Now this one is a bit of a cheat to be called a DIY. Technically you didn’t make the gift itself per-say. You added on to the gift, making it your own! You can grab a scented candle from a local store. Any candle will work. (Bonus points for choosing a scented candle. You can create a big elaborate story about how the scent correlates to the person, and really represents the relationship between you and said person. With the right wording, you can make it really meaningful!)
Candles are great, but the gift should be more personalized to you! Sticker paper is easy to find in many stores. This paper allows you to make any image or word into a sticker. All you have to do is take the peel paper, put it in your printer, and print anything on it just like with any other paper. That simple!
Afterwards, you can cut out your sticker, and place it on the candle, replacing the original labels on the front and lid, with your own. I’d tell you to be creative with what stickers to use, but there really is no time to put any more thought into this gift! So, you can stick on a picture of yourself, a picture of your pet, a candle pun, some cute lettering, or you can just search for cute stickers on Pinterest, and there will be many options. This has got to be one of the easiest gift DIYs!
#3
A Memory Jar
Level of Effort: ⅖
Level of Gift Quality: ⅗- ⅘
This one is a great present for friends. Go around your home and collect small items from times when you’ve hung out with your friend. This could be a movie ticket, a rock from when you went on the beach with your friend, some cute Polaroids of you and your friend or a glow stick from a sleepover. You can even find little toys or trinkets that could represent inside jokes. It could be anything you’ve kept around from times with your friend. Search your room and you’ll be surprised by how many little things you’ve kept over time!
Then grab the nicest piece of paper you can find and a nice pen or marker. Number the items you’ve chosen for the memory jar, write what the item is, and a short description of why the item is there, or what it’s for. You only have to write one or two sentences per item. For example, you could write “#3 Movie Ticket, We went to the movies to watch Frozen 2 and had such a blast. I laughed so hard that soda came out of my nose”.
You don’t have to write much because when you are gifting this person the jar, you can read the paper out loud, and add more details that don’t need to be written down, while talking, which saves a lot of time. The delivery of the message is key. Make it sound like a meaningful speech about all the amazing memories with this person. The letter is the easiest step, but the most time consuming. It’s worth it to use the tiniest bit more effort to find two or more pens/markers to change up the color for every item. It’s a really small detail that can make a big difference.
After that, you just need to find a jar to put all the small items in, and tie the list onto the jar with ribbon. Then you have a full memory jar! This is great to show your appreciation for someone, and recall all the amazing times you guys have had together. Now all that’s left is practicing your improve on the way there, so think up some good ideas for the speaking portion! When executed well, this can be an amazing gift!
#4
Candy Stash
Level of Effort: ⅗
Level of Gift Quality: ⅘
A candy stash is a simple yet memorable gift. No crafting involved, yet you really can’t go wrong with gifting candy. You can take a quick stop to the Dollar Store before you go to your Christmas gathering. There, you will find everything you need for this gift, that can be easily put together in the car before arriving. In the store, if you’re on a time crunch, don’t forget that you’re on a mission! A quick trip can take as little as five minutes but be careful not to get distracted by all of the stores wonders, as you have no time to waste!
Head to the candy aisle and grab a bunch of candies that you know the person likes. You probably already know this persons favorite candies. If not, grab one or two items from different candy subcategories. You can never go wrong with a chocolate bar. Also grab an item that’s gummy, a hard candy choice, maybe some marshmallow treats, and don’t forget to grab your all time favorite candy. The person might not like said candy, and will want to share, you never know!
Next, Dollar Stores always have a birthday section. Rather than grab a gift bag, grab a gift box. Buy some colorful tissue paper, you can stuff the box with it once you’re in the car. There, you’ll place the candies in the box neatly so they look presentable. You can stick a card on the box lid, preferably a card with some sort of sweet theme on the front, to give them a little hint as to what’s inside and make it more aesthetic. And there you have it, an easy gift that will satisfy any candy lovers! Keep in mind that this gift is best when given to children.
#5
Fun Coupons> “Your Gift is Ordered But Hasn’t Arrived”
Level of Effort: 0/5
Level of Gift Quality: 5/5
If all else fails, and you’re really late on getting gifts, so much so that you might actually be in the bathroom of a Christmas party right now, desperately searching for something you can come up with on the spot, then there’s still something for you. This could be used in even the most desperate of times! You can always scribble up on a little piece of paper, some cute little hearts and write ‘coupon’. This could be a “Clean the house” coupon, a coupon for “An Hour of Foot Massages” for your significant other, or my personal favorite; a fun coupon.
Fun Coupons are an incredible way to tell someone that, instead of a physical gift, you’re taking them out somewhere. This seems really sweet to the person, since you will be spending quality time with them, rather than buy them something materialistic. And this way, you don’t have to show the proof of tickets to the place, or really any information about where you’ll be taking them to. Really, you don’t even have to tell them where you’re taking them to at all! You could call it a surprise! All you need to do, is make the little coupon paper and chose a random date for when the coupon will be used. You can decide what the fun activity will be, or just tell them that it’s a surprise.
Of course, later you will have to come up with something, but it’s perfect for desperate situations. Plus, that’s a problem for your future self! Just don’t let procrastination get the best of you next time! So, after Christmas, you can deal with finding something to do. A smart idea for choosing what the activity will be, is to have them guess what it is. Once you hear something you think you’d be able to do, and would enjoy, act shocked that they guessed right. That’s a guarantee for you both to like the activity!
Fun Coupons are incredible. It’s a genius idea, really. A lot of people say “I bought you a gift, it just hasn’t arrived yet.” This is true in some cases, but in other cases is the most lame excuse ever. A coupon for something fun convinces the person that you have already made arrangements for said activity and had it all planned out! If you aren’t so late with gifting, this would still be a good gift idea, for planned fun, too! It shows you care, and they will have something to look forward to, that sticks out from the rest of the gifts. Fun Coupons are truly the glue to last minute gifting, that is done in the actual last minute! The glue to all Christmas gifting!
Whatever your reasoning for your last minute gifting, you should now be all set. Enjoy your Christmas without worrying about the gifts. Give the greatest gifts as possible (even on a time crunch). So that in return you’ll be getting the best gifts! Make your loved ones feel special with gifts, because even if they were put together quickly, you put effort into reading this blog so you could get them something. It shows you care, which is the only thing that matters! It makes the present aspect of the holiday season seem less materialistic! So enjoy time with your loved ones rather than have to worry about the gifts! Merry Christmas!
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