You know the feeling: The holidays are breathing down your neck, your gift bag is still empty and you can’t stop imagining your loved ones’ disappointed faces when you show up to the holiday party without any presents. But even at the last minute, you can pull off an artful gifting maneuver, surprising the people you care about with gifts that feel thoughtful, clever and perfectly planned.
The trick? Aiming for the unexpected, leaning into offbeat experiences, springing for personalized touches and seizing on clever ideas that make it look like you’ve been planning for months — even if you just started five minutes ago.
Don’t bore them with gift cards
According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, 45% of shoppers take the easy way out, opting for gift cards and effectively letting recipients choose their own gifts. This means there’s plenty of room to impress if you know the secrets of last-minute shopping. By focusing on what they’ll love and being a bit creative, you can find hidden gems that show you went above and beyond to find the perfect gift for them. Even with the clock ticking, there’s still time to make someone’s holiday special.
Experiences that stick with them
A physical gift can be great, but the right experience often leaves a bigger impression, creating a memory that can last a lifetime. Even with limited time, there are plenty of options you can book online or create with minimal effort.
For indoorsy types who love a bit of pampering, sound bath therapy offers a unique wellness treatment. It’s a meditative experience in which you’re immersed in soothing sound vibrations produced by instruments like crystal singing bowls, gongs, chimes or tuning forks. It’s a deeply relaxing environment that promotes physical, mental and emotional well-being.
For more outdoorsy people, book them into a survival skills workshop or rock climbing lesson. If they’re really adventurous, find them a bungee jumping, skydiving or wing-walking experience — but maybe check with their cardiologist first.
Speaking of good scares, history buffs will enjoy ghost tours. They’re a great way to show people a different side of a city and teach them some history at the same time. Salem, Massachusetts’ Black Cat Ghostly Night Tour delves into the town’s infamous witch trials and other eerie events. In San Francisco, The Haunt offers hands-on paranormal investigation tours that take guests through some of the city’s most haunted locations and provides them with paranormal activity detection tools, such as EMF detectors and spirit boxes, to investigate abandoned buildings with tragic histories.
Gifts for animal lovers
Everyone knows it’s a bad idea to surprise anyone with a pet as a gift, but services like BorrowMyDoggy in the U.K. or local animal shelters often let you gift short-term, low-commitment pet experiences. It’s perfect for dog lovers who live in no-pet apartments or just want some cuddle time with a furry friend.
The Bronx Zoo and other zoos across the country offer virtual meet-and-greet sessions with animals like penguins, cheetahs, porcupines and even sloths. You can book time to interact online with zookeepers and get a close-up view of the animals.
If you have a friend who hates doing yard work, you could surprise them with a goat rental package — yes, goat rental! — for lawn care. Or spring for a session or two of goat yoga.
Personalized gifts with a creative twist
With modern technology, personalized gifts no longer take weeks or months to make. One standout option is commissioning an AI-generated portrait through a platform like Artbreeder where you can get a unique, artistic and often surreal image that is guaranteed to surprise.
Another thoughtful option is a custom comic book that tells a story about your recipient’s life or an inside joke you share. With sites like MakeBeliefsComix, you can quickly create a fun and extremely personal one-of-a-kind gift.
For the music lover in your life, curate a custom playlist that tells a story or captures a moment — it’s the modern version of a mix tape. Pair it with a handwritten note explaining your song choices for an extra personal touch.
For the adventurous foodie
Gift baskets filled with jam and chocolate are boring, but any ice cream lover could get excited about a make-your-own ice cream kit, especially if it includes mix-ins like caramel sauce, sprinkles and crushed cookies. If you want to go the extra mile, include some liquid nitrogen for a cool, science-themed twist — just make sure it comes with good instructions.
For home cooks, a cooking class is always a great option. Check out sites like ClassBento or Cozymeal for both in-person and online classes. If there’s a food your loved one always orders in restaurants, it’s a good bet they’ll enjoy learning to make it at home. For example, if they love spicy Chinese food, they might want to learn how to make dan dan noodles from scratch. An aspiring baker would surely appreciate a puff pastry or macarons class.
For the adventurous foodie, look for an urban foraging class where they can learn to locate, identify and harvest food in and around their town. A knife-sharpening class is unexpected, but it’s both practical and oddly satisfying. Many classes even include a professionally sharpened knife for the recipient to take home.
The art of last-minute gifting
Last-minute shopping doesn’t have to be stressful — or boring. Whether you’re giving an unforgettable experience, a quirky treasure or a thoughtful personalized item, the key is focusing on what your recipient will love rather than how far ahead you planned — or didn’t. Sometimes it’s those spur-of-the-moment ideas that end up being the most memorable. So, take a deep breath, think outside the box and embrace the sneaky art of giving gifts that look like they took months to plan, even if you literally just thought of them.
Robin Donovan is the author of more than 40 cookbooks and the founder and creator of All Ways Delicious, a food site loaded with easy recipes for the best dishes from around the world. Her writing and recipes have been featured in major media outlets including MSN, Buzzfeed, Cooking Light, PopSugar, Chicago Sun-Times, Fitness, Parade, San Jose Mercury News and many others.