I love all the gift giving guides on the Internet, but it's now three shopping days until Christmas and, sorry, but you are not going to get that special-order monogrammed ruffled blanket or limited edition print from Iceland shipped to you by the 25th. It ain't happening.
Here's a For Realz Last Minute Gift Guide. Without having to enter a Wal-Mart. You're welcome.
The Grocery Store Holiday Collection
I've been known to holiday shop at the grocery store and I can attest that there are plenty of great gifts at the market, particularly if you have a higher-end grocery store nearby. The most obvious grocery store gift is wine. Pick up some nice bottles for the wine drinkers in your life. Move over to the next aisle and pick up bottles of scotch or 12-packs of good beer for the men in your life. Not everybody drinks alcohol, so move on to the candy aisle and put together a sampling of the best chocolates the store carries. Get some tea in a pretty tin for Grandma and a holiday plant for auntie.
Don't ignore the checkout area! Magazines are a great gift--roll them up, tie with a ribbon, then send in the card for a year subscription for the recipient (don't forget to send in the card! Seriously! Fill it out and drop it in the post pronto!). Also near the checkout, gift cards (the obvious). My grocery store carries gift cards to about 200 places, from Applebees to Zappos. And, finally, CHEESE: the perfect gift (but only if you can keep it refrigerated).
See also: Trader Joes.
The You're-Stuck-in-Your-Office-Until-Christmas-Eve Gift
Groupon! Find the city the recipient lives in and buy them one of the Deals of the Day. You're sure to get a great price and you can print on the spot (or have the gift emailed directly to the person). If the person lives in a city not on the list (like poor me), find some deals on the list that work nationally--$25 for $50 at Art.com, $12 for $25 worth of cookies, $13 for a subscription to ESPN magazine. Or give a Groupon gift card. Bam, done.
Gifts of Hope
Still shopping for that dang person who has everything? Maybe, since they actually have everything, they would prefer that you spread the love (and money) around. There's a great piece in the New York Times about charitable gift giving, with a listing of some great charities that you can make donations to on behalf of your recipient. As Kristof points out in the article, "one of the paradoxes of living in a wealthy country is that we accumulate tremendous purchasing power, yet it’s harder and harder for us to give friends and family presents that are meaningful." There are a million charities to make meaningful donations to, so just choose one that represents the interests of your recipient. My favorites? Kiva, The William J. Clinton Foundation, and (Red).
Happy (last minute) shopping!
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