So You Need a Last-Minute Christmas Gift
A few actually good ideas
‘Twas the day before Christmas and if you’re anything like me, you’re still scrambling for some last-minute gifts. I do this every single year. Will I ever learn to plan ahead? I hope not! The scramble is part of the fun!
As a serially-late-to-Christmas person, I’ve also become at least somewhat adept at giving decent gifts that don’t take SO much planning, and I thought I’d share my last-minute gift list with you. I’m a big fan of “give experiences not things” so this (short) list trends in that direction, but there are a few things on here, too — some of my favorite things that are easy-ish to procure.
I hope you’re all having a very happy holiday season, whatever you do or don’t celebrate.
Give a retreat. Ok we’re gonna get the self-promotion out of the way in the first two suggestions, so skip ahead to the second half of #2 if that annoys you. But a retreat makes a great holiday gift, and there are all kinds: Retreats around particular interests, modes of exercise, creative practices, and so on. I host writing + yoga retreats in interesting places around the world (this year: Kenya, Norway, Greece, Tuscany), in which both the yoga and the writing courses are optional if you just want to come for one or the other. Both are also all-levels if you’re new to either writing or yoga. All kinds of writers come on these retreats, from professional writers to people mostly looking to explore or deepen a non-professional writing practice (and most participants are not professional writers, just people who like to write and want to hone that skill). They’re also really really fun, pretty relaxing, and an excellent place to meet others. Come! Truly, you won’t regret it. Or if my retreats don’t sound appealing, google around for some others; the whole experience of taking yourself on a retreat is pretty magical, whatever the retreat is (but I maintain mine are among the best!).
Give a subscription. To this newsletter perhaps? Just click the button below for 20% off an annual subscription, which you can gift to yourself or a loved one. This publication is 100% reader-supported, so all of your subscriptions really do matter. And paid subscribers will also have access to this year’s Writing Practice posts, which are daily writing prompts and weekly brief writing lessons / reflections sent throughout the month of January. (You’ll get a separate email about that next week).
Or if a subscription to this newsletter isn’t your thing, no problem! There are so many other fun subscriptions to gift. Journalism is in crisis so I am very much a proponent of gifting someone a subscription to a great newspaper or magazine so that our industry can sustain itself. I personally subscribe to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the Economist, the New Yorker, and a bunch of Substacks. But there are a ton of non-news subscriptions too. This oyster subscription box from Hama Hama in Washington State (10/10 the best oysters in the US) would be a pretty sweet (if actually salty) Christmas surprise. Want to send something actually sweet? Salt & Straw Creamery in Portland will send five pints of ice cream every month to somebody’s lucky loved one. Not gonna lie this box of curated Japanese snacks looks absurdly awesome. I also love the idea of a history-by-mail subscription, and a picture book subscription for a kid.
Give a (good) grocery store gift. If there’s a bougie-ish grocery store near you, Christmas gifting just got easier. For stocking stuffers: Luxardo cherries; dark chocolate bars in pretty wrappers; a pretty jar of honey or jam; the weirdest hot sauce you can find; Maldon salt (bonus: add a little ceramic dish and even a tiny spoon); fancy tea or coffee. Or if you need a larger gift, I love a nice variation on a theme. For example, “Cheeseboard”: An assortment of cheeses, a jar of olives, a small jar of honey, some quince paste, a box of nice crackers. Or “Cocktail”: Luxardo cherries, fancy tonic, some lines, honey sticks, bitters (maybe stop by the liquor store for bourbon + vermouth or gin as well; you can make this “cocktails” general or “cocktail” as in one specifically). Or “Italian”: A really nice olive oil, a really nice balsamic, fancy pasta, good parmesan, a bag of espresso beans. Etc etc, you get it: Pick a theme, select related items, choosing primarily for aesthetics.
Gift a pleasurable experience. Everyone loves a massage gift certificate. If you want to go bigger, what about a night in a nice hotel in the city in which the person lives / lives closest to? Treating yourself to a fancy evening of either going out + crashing in a hotel or just bed-rotting and ordering room service all night is pretty excellent. A restaurant gift certificate is also really nice, or one to a place the person frequents: Their gym, their wine store, their local bookshop. My mom often sends my husband and I gift cards to our favorite local wine shop, and we use them and love them and then toast to her. On my 30th birthday my best girlfriends got me a gift card that paid for a month of my yoga studio membership. I remember these gifts because they were so thoughtful, and were for places I frequented and I loved. Where does your loved one spend their time / money — or where would they want to spend their time / money if they were indulging in something special?
Gift a learning experience. Has your loved one been wanting to try a new activity (skiing? yoga? tai kwon do? playing the violin? ballet?)? Gift them a lesson. Last year I gifted myself French lessons and it was so so so great to use my brain in a different way, and I am going to go back again this year. This year my husband and I gifted a loved one a tai chi lesson, which I think is very cool (what a thing to learn!). What does your loved one want to learn how to do? What a gift to give them an expanded and challenged mind and / or body.
Inspired? Excited? I just wrapped up the physical presents that I bought (some of them purchased a whole week ago!) and placed them under my decked-out Christmas Fig. My Christmas Jazz Spotify list is blasting. A Christmas-tree-scented candle has been lit. I’m ready — and I’m signing off for the next 48 hours. See you on the other side, and a very very happy today and tomorrow, whether you’re waiting for Santa or eating Chinese food or doing something else entirely. I hope you feel warm, I hope you are well-fed, and I hope your heart is full. I appreciate you reading, and I appreciate you.
xx Jill