Finding gifts for even your best friends can be tough during the holiday season, but looking for best last-minute gift ideas is infinitely more stressful. No need to panic—we have you covered with great suggestions for every type of person in your life, whether you’re looking for funny gifts or the latest gadgets. From the best board games for your favorite game night hosts to the best daily planner for your most organized family members, we’ve rounded up our favorite last-minute gift ideas to create extra special memories this holiday season.
– Best for Fans of Game Night: Ultimate Catch Phrase
– Best for Cheese Lovers: House Ur Home Cheese Board
– Best for the Organized: Smart Planner Pro
– Best for the Friend Who Has It All: TheraBox Self Care Subscription Box
– Best for Wine Connoisseurs: VoChill Personal Wine Chiller
— Best for Nap-Lovers: Bedsure Cooling Blanket for Hot Sleepers
– Best for the Outward Bound: Explora Travel Gear MultiTool
– Best for Yogis: Healthyoga Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat
– Best for Movie Buffs: ELEPHAS Mini Projector
– Best for the Zen: Vamoar Essential Oil Diffuser
– Best for Coffee Drinkers: Ember Heated Coffee Mug
– Best for History Buffs: Popular Photography’s The Most Iconic Photographs in History
Best for Fans of Game Night: Ultimate Catch Phrase
Key Selling Point: The fast-paced gameplay keeps players on their toes and gets the whole group laughing.
For friends and family who love a game night, it’s time to add Catch Phrase into the repertoire. This funny gift is best played with three or more people. Players try to get their team members to guess the word or phrase that pops up on the screen from categories including Around the World, Fun Games, On the Air, Snack Time, and The Great Outdoors in any way possible, without ever actually saying the chosen word or phrase. Believe me, this is when the laughs and fun ensue. The 15-second timer and final buzz add a sense of urgency that can only be understood once you’ve played the game. Among our selections for the best last-minute gift ideas, it’s our pick for the best board game because it keeps players engaged and is made for anyone aged 12 and older.
Best for Cheese Lovers: House Ur Home Cheese Board
Key Selling Point: With four slide-out trays and accessories, this charcuterie board will make any cheese lover grin from ear to ear.
The House Ur Home Cheese Board is the perfect gift for anyone who loves to host dinner parties, picnics, or just loves cheese. The transformer of cheese boards, it can be used as a simple board or expanded to take advantage of the four trays. That way, there’s ample space for crackers, cheese, meats, fruits, nuts, olives, and anything and everything else you see fit. In addition to the 100 percent bamboo board, this set also includes four stainless-steel and bamboo knives, two ceramic bowls and plates, three slate labels, two markers, a wine opener, and two server forks.
Best for the Organized: Smart Planner Pro
Key Selling Point: Personal organizer, goal setter, habit tracker, and gratitude lister all-in-one.
The Smart Planner Pro isn’t your run-of-the-mill daily organizer. For those in your life who like to keep track of their time, this planner will certainly fit the bill with monthly calendars and daily schedules. But it also comes with designated sections for setting and tracking goals and habits, creating to-do lists, jotting down notes, and recording gratitude affirmations. Four sheets of stickers allow you to mark down birthdays, meetings, days off, coffee dates, and more.
This vegan-friendly pad is our pick for the best daily planner because it was thoughtfully designed to help set and achieve goals while still managing the day-to-day. A year will not be enough time spent with this planner, so it includes 52 weeks and 13-month undated layouts to keep the positivity flowing, even if you forget to use it for a day.
Best for the Friend Who Has It All: TheraBox Self Care Subscription Box
Key Selling Point: Monthly self-care packages are the gift that keeps on giving. This one comes with skincare, hair products, and shower goodies.
For the friend or family member who has it all, a subscription box is a solid last-minute gift idea. As someone who has been on the receiving end of this type of gift, I can attest to the fact that it is really exciting getting a box of new products to try month after month. In this particular set, the giftee can expect six to eight full-sized wellness items such as natural and organic bath soaps, bath bombs, body lotions, skincare, mindfulness activity ideas, and other self-care products in each box. The box theme and product changes monthly (for example, November 2020’s theme was “Cozy,” and the box came with a scarf, hair serum, a felt letter board, and more). Plus, the first box you gift is discounted.
Best for Wine Connoisseurs: VoChill Personal Wine Chiller
Key Selling Point: This stylish one-glass chiller ensures you never take a sip of lukewarm wine again.
Fans of white and rosé wines know there’s nothing worse than taking a sip of warm wine. Enter the VoChill Personal Wine Chiller, the perfect gift for the wine lover in your life. The wine chiller is separated into two pieces—the chill cradle and the stand—so you can place the chill cradle in the freezer between uses. When you’re ready to enjoy a properly cooled glass of wine, you just place your favorite stemmed glassware in the chiller. You can expect wine to be actively chilled for over an hour inside and up to 45 minutes in shaded outdoor heat. This chiller also works for red wine lovers who typically enjoy their wine at room temperature. By cooling red wine by just one degree, your giftee may never go back.
Best for Nap Lovers: Bedsure Cooling Blanket for Hot Sleepers
Key Selling Point: Cool to the touch, this bamboo and nylon viscose blanket is breathable, making it a great choice for those who sleep hot, yet still want something draped over them.
Are you that person who turns the AC down way low so you can weigh down with a winter comforter — even in July? If so, then the Bedsure Cooling Blanket might be the answer to your high electric bills and nagging sense of guilt about your AC unit’s environmental impact. This blanket actually cools your body. Made of a synthetic viscose blend of bamboo fiber and nylon, this fabric is designed to feel like silk, and achieves a Q-max (heat flow into fabric) rating of .4. Now that’s pretty cool.
Available in gray or blue, the blanket’s design is simple, with tightly knitted edges. It’s a great blanket for summer nights camping in the mountains, for beach houses, or for camping out the muggy evenings of summer. Sleep better, dream better, feel better, because good energy levels start with a good night of sleep. If you sleep hot, cool off at night with Bedsure.
Best for the Outward Bound: Explora Travel Gear MultiTool
Key Selling Point: All the right tools in the palm of your hand.
The Explora Travel Gear MultiTool is the perfect gift for the people in your life who are always asking you to go on a hike (they might be on to something there). All adventure-loving folks need a multi-tool, and if it can fit into the palm of your hands, even better. This quality tool combination features all stainless-steel blades and aluminum handles. No matter the obstacle, this multi-tool will come to the rescue with pliers, a wire-and-cable cutter, knife and saw, scissors, screwdriver, bottle-and-tin opener, leather punch, and fish-hook remover. To keep caution at the forefront, there is a safety locking mechanism on all fold out tools. Whoever has this tool is the person I want to go camping with.
Best for Yogis: Healthyoga Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat
Key Selling Point: This eco-friendly yoga mat keeps your body aligned for your best yoga session.
Beginners and advanced yogis alike will find comfort with the Healthyoga Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat. At 6 millimeters thick, this eco-friendly TPE (thermoplastic elastomers) mat offers the right amount of thickness to protect joints against hard surfaces. It also provides optimal grip with its double-layer structure design and double-sided non-slip texture. Pictured on the mat is a body alignment system featuring guiding lines so users can adjust their hands and feet accurately to maintain proper body alignment. Even if your giftee can’t get to an in-person class, they can rest assured knowing this mat will offer some direction.
Best for Movie Buffs: ELEPHAS Mini WiFi Projector
Key Selling Point: This device connects to Androids, iPhones, and Windows 10 machines for a movie night to remember.
Give the gift of memorable movie watching experiences this holiday season. Compatible with a Roku or Fire stick, Chromecast, laptop, PC, DVD player, and PS4/XBox, the ELEPHAS Mini Projector allows your loved ones to watch their favorite films or TV shows in a unique and fun way. Ideal for a home theater, this mini projector is designed with WiFi connection and is compatible with the Android, iPhone, and Windows 10. The giftee can also connect easily through a cable line. Recipients will get a cinematic experience in the comfort of their home with the 200-inch display, built-in stereo speaker, full HD 1080p resolution, and 24-bit true color support.
Best for the Zen: Vamoar Essential Oil Diffuser
Key Selling Point: This is a jack of all trades, functioning as an essential oil diffuser, cool mist humidifier, and a night light.
There is something to be said for delicious scents wafting around your room, so why not let the Vamoar Essential Oil Diffuser do the talking? For those in your life who love a zen vibe, this is our pick for the best essential oil diffuser because it can also be used as a cool mist humidifier and night light. With a 550-milliliter capacity, this can stay running throughout the day with minimal refilling. You can choose from four setting modes: one hour, three hours, six hours, and continuous. Plus, you can control just how much aroma is diffused by picking between two mist options: strong and standard. This set also includes 10 essential oils made from natural and organic therapeutic-grade oils, so they can customize scent based on the effect they’re after.
Best for Coffee Drinkers: Ember Mug 2
Key Selling Point: Choose how hot you want your coffee to be and let this smart mug keep it warm all day.
For the coffee lovers in your life—you know, the ones who need a cup of coffee before they do anything else in the morning—the Ember Mug 2 is the perfect gift. This (very) smart ceramic mug wakes up when hot liquid is poured into it and enters sleep mode when it's empty or after two hours of inactivity. Your loved one can choose their preferred temperature, between 120°F to 145°F, through the companion smartphone app (though it can also be used without the app). This hand-wash-only mug stays perfectly hot for up to one-and-a-half hours on a full charge or all day on the charging coaster. Plus, the LED light at the base alerts you when the coffee is heating up, cooling off, when it’s ready to drink, and when the battery needs to be charged, so all your giftee needs to do is pour and enjoy. (Read the full Ember mug review here.)
Best for History Buffs: Popular Photography’s The Most Iconic Photographs in History
Key Selling Point: From Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation to climate activist Greta Thunberg’s 2019 United Nations speech, Popular Photography highlights over 125 history-changing moments.
They say don’t judge a book by its cover — but in this case, the breathtaking cover photo on this book says it all. Popular Photography’s newest book, The Most Iconic Photographs in History, explores major historical events through the photographs that defined them. Starting as early as the 1800s and traveling through to today, your favorite history buff can learn through the lens of photography. The entries delve into the context behind the pictures and the story behind how each was taken. Whether your loved one is a history nerd or is just fascinated by photography, The Most Iconic Photographs in History will make for a thoughtful and effortless last-minute gift.
The Final Word on the Best Last-Minute Gift Ideas
The key to the best last-minute gift ideas is organization. Making a list of everyone in your life that you plan to buy for as well as their interests will make the shopping experience that much easier. Your loved ones will be thankful that you took the time to find thoughtful or funny gifts that fit them so well, from warming coffee mugs to wine chillers to the best board games.
This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurism’s owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.
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