Last-Minute Christmas Gifts That Still Make It in Time
By the Giftruly editorsUpdated 18 hand-picked ideas
It's December 18. A cousin has announced she's bringing her new boyfriend to Christmas dinner, the sweater you ordered for your dad is "delayed in transit," and you've just remembered the neighbors who feed your cat every summer. All of these can still be solved, but each day that passes changes where the answer comes from.
This page is organized by how much time is left. Check the shipping cutoffs first. With about a week to go, order in-stock things with a firm delivery date. With two to five days, pick gifts up in person or use same-day options. On Christmas Eve, give something that arrives by email or on paper. If you're stuck on what to get rather than when, the gift finder can suggest ideas from a sentence about the person; then check which of them you can still get. With more time in hand, start from the main Christmas gifts guide instead.
Know exactly who it's for?
Tell Truly about them in a sentence. You'll get ideas picked for them, each with a reason why.
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Check the cutoffs first
Every carrier publishes holiday deadlines, and they come earlier than most people expect. For 2026, USPS lists December 17 for Ground Advantage, December 18 for Priority Mail and December 19 for Priority Mail Express, for addresses in the contiguous US. Check the USPS holiday shipping page for Alaska, Hawaii and military addresses, and the UPS and FedEx sites for theirs. Online stores set their own order deadlines too, usually a day or two before the carrier's.
Mail to another country needs far more time, so for anyone abroad, skip the parcel and go straight to the gifts that need no shipping. And treat every cutoff as a best estimate. If a gift really matters, aim a couple of days before the last date.
About a week left: order what's in stock
Six to nine days out, online shopping still works if you're strict. Choose widely stocked items sold and shipped by a large retailer, with a delivery date shown at checkout. Skip anything personalized, made to order or sent by a small seller from far away.
- 1
Kindle Paperwhite
~$160
Tick the "this is a gift" option at checkout so the e-reader isn't registered to your own Amazon account, which would mix your books and settings with theirs. Then send a couple of ebooks separately as Kindle gifts to their email, and it's ready to read on Christmas Day. A glare-free, waterproof reader with weeks of battery life is a big present for anyone who reads in bed or at the beach.
- 2
AeroPress Original Coffee Maker
~$40
Pair it with a bag of beans bought in person from a local roaster, since the press itself is the only part that needs shipping. It's a light, almost unbreakable plastic press that makes a smooth, strong cup in a minute or two, and many stores carry it. A good late order for a coffee drinker who already owns a machine.
- 3
LEGO Classic Creative Brick Box
~$35
Toy stores and big-box stores tend to stock it right through December, so it's a reliable fallback when the toy on a child's list has sold out. A big tub of mixed bricks with no instructions suits a wide age range, from about four to ten, and a niece or nephew can build with it all afternoon.
- 4
Ticket to Ride Board Game
~$50
Buying for a whole family at the last minute? One good game beats four rushed individual presents. In this railway game, players claim routes across a map; most families learn it in one round and keep playing for years. It's easy to find in stock, and it arrives in a sturdy box.
Two to five days: pick it up today
Once standard shipping is a gamble, change tactics. In many areas, Amazon Prime one-day and same-day delivery still covers eligible items; check the date for your address before relying on it. Big chains such as Target, Walmart and Best Buy let you buy online and collect in store, often the same day. Pharmacy photo counters can print photos the same day, and many make simple photo gifts quickly. Each pick below is also easy to find on a store shelf.
Shop early in the day, and check hours: many stores close early on December 24.
- 5~$15
Live Poinsettia Plant
Supermarkets and garden centers sell them all December. Ideal for a host or neighbor, and ready to give without wrapping.
Plant LoversHomebodiescozy - 6~$22
Hand Cream Gift Set for Dry Skin
Boxed hand-cream sets fill pharmacy shelves in December, and Amazon has them with fast delivery too. Welcome in any winter.
Self-Care Loverspractical - 7~$25
Luxury Bath Bomb Gift Set
Check they have a bathtub first. Beauty counters and pharmacies stock boxed sets right up to the 24th.
Self-Care Loversconsumable - 8~$40
Sherlock Holmes Complete Novels and Stories Box Set
Most bookstores keep it on the classics shelf. A reader can start it on the 26th and still be going in February.
True Crime FansBook Loverssentimental - 9~$40
Cordless Tire Inflator
Auto parts and hardware stores carry it. Cold weather drops tire pressure, so a driver will use it before January ends.
Car LoversCyclistspractical
Christmas Eve: delivered by email
On the last day, the gifts that work best live on a screen or a sheet of paper. Many experiences, memberships and gift cards can be bought online and delivered by email or printed at home within minutes. A donation in someone's name to a cause they care about also works, and most charities send a card or certificate you can print.
Print the confirmation, fold it into a nice card and write a line about why you chose it. An envelope under the tree is still something to open.
- Our favorite10
Experience Gift Card (Cooking Class, Spa, Adventure)
~$100
Check what's available near where they live before buying, then write a suggested month in the card so the voucher doesn't sit in a drawer. The recipient picks the experience, such as a cooking class, a spa day or an outdoor activity, which makes it the strongest last-minute present here: it looks forward to a day out in the new year.
- 11
Amazon eGift Card
~$50
Sent by email or text in minutes, it reaches someone on the other side of the country before dinner. For a person abroad, buy it from their own country's Amazon site, since a card from one store can't be spent on another. For a teenager or a relative whose taste you can't predict, add a sentence saying what you hope they'll spend it on. Generic as it is, a personal message keeps it from feeling like an afterthought.
- 12
Masterclass Annual Membership
~$120
Ideal for someone who mentions a hobby they'd like to get better at: cooking, writing, photography, music. A year of online video classes taught by well-known names in each field arrives as an email gift. It's a generous present at around $120, best for a person who will actually sit down and watch.
- 13
Audible Gift Membership
~$149
Commuters, dog walkers and people who spend Saturdays on chores get the most out of it. A gift membership arrives by email with credits for audiobooks of their choice; a year costs around $150, and shorter memberships cost less. Good for readers whose eyes tire in the evening, too.
- 14
Magazine Gift Subscription
~$25
The first issue may not arrive until January, so print the order confirmation or the magazine's cover for the card. A year of a magazine on a subject they love, from gardening to history, suits grandparents especially well, and each issue that lands in the mailbox is a reminder of who sent it.
- 15
Streaming Service Gift Card
~$30
Make sure it's a service they don't already pay for, or the card just pays a bill they had anyway. Codes arrive by email, and physical cards hang at most supermarket checkouts. It's useful the same evening, especially for a grandparent with a new TV or a student home for the break.
An IOU worth keeping
A promise can be a real present when it's specific and you keep it. "Dinner, cooked by me, your choice of menu, in January" will be looked forward to; a vague "I owe you a gift" won't. Write it on a proper certificate or a good card, give it a date, and follow through. Printable templates are easy to find online if you'd rather print one.
16.Blank Gift Certificate Cards ~$9
Write in a dinner, a day out or a job you'll finally do, then sign and date it. Comes with envelopes.
17.Restaurant Gift Card ~$50
Many restaurants sell cards online or at the counter until late on Christmas Eve. Write the place and a month on the IOU.
18.Movie Theater Gift Card ~$25
Tuck one inside a promise to see a film together. For teenagers, a movie theater card on its own is already welcome.
If the gift will arrive after Christmas
Sometimes the right gift simply can't get there in time. Rather than swapping it for something worse in a panic, give a picture of it on the day: print the product page or a photo, put it in a card, and add a line such as "it's on its way, and it was worth waiting for." Most people enjoy the anticipation, and a gift that arrives in the quiet days after Christmas often gets more attention than one lost in the pile on the 25th.
Keep the order confirmation handy. If the delay drags into January, you'll want the tracking details, and it helps to know the retailer's cancellation rules before you need them.
Shop this guide by price
Under $25
$25–$50
Last-minute rules worth keeping
Check the carrier's cutoff and the delivery date at checkout before you choose anything. Fit the gift to the time left.
With under five days to go, buy online and pick up in store, or shop in person. Supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and garden centers all stock good small gifts in the last week.
For anyone far away, send something by email: an experience, a membership or a gift card.
Present digital gifts on paper. A printed card in an envelope still gives them something to open.
Call ahead on December 24. Store hours change, and the shelf you're counting on may already be empty.
Last-minute Christmas shopping, answered
What is the last day to mail Christmas gifts with USPS?
For 2026 the recommended dates depend on the service; they're listed by service in the cutoffs section of this page and on USPS's holiday shipping page. UPS and FedEx publish their own, and online stores usually stop promising Christmas delivery a day or two earlier.
What can I give for Christmas if I have no time to shop?
Something delivered by email: an experience voucher, an Amazon eGift card, an audiobook or online-class membership, a magazine subscription or a donation in their name. Print the confirmation and put it in a card.
Can I still get a gift delivered in two or three days?
Often, yes. In many areas Amazon Prime offers one-day or same-day delivery on eligible items, and stores such as Target, Walmart and Best Buy let you buy online and pick up the same day. Check the date shown for your address before you rely on it.
How do I give a Kindle as a gift without it being linked to my account?
Choose the "this is a gift" option when you order it from Amazon, so it isn't registered to you. Ebooks can then be sent separately as Kindle gifts to the recipient's email.
What should I do if a Christmas gift won't arrive in time?
Give a printed picture of it in a card on the day and explain it's on the way. Most people enjoy the wait, and the gift gets its own moment when it arrives.