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Bad news: with Christmas just two-days away, even the fastest gifts will no longer arrive in time. The good news: there are tons of great gifts that don’t require any shipping whatsoever. The classic e-gift card, of course, but more creative endeavors than that, too. Subscriptions, delivery services, celebrity messages, that kind of thing.
InsideHook’s 2024 Gift Guide
You’ve got questions, we’ve got gifts.
We’ve found myriad gifts that will make someone’s holiday bright while totally disguising the fact that you, like last year and the year before and the year before that, may have dropped the ball. No need to thank us, just hurry up and get to gifting before time actually runs out. Below, the best last minute gifts that require no shipping what so ever.
The Best Last Minute No-Ship Gifts
The holidays can be a stressful time. Less so with the gift of Headspace, an app service that offers hundreds of guided meditations, mindfulness tools, soothing soundscapes and pro tips on relaxing and unwinding. Score a yearly subscription (for them or for you) for less than $5 a month.
Dry historical fiction, award-winning coffee table biographies, high-fantasy smut — whatever they’re into, there’s an audiobook for them on Audible. A subscription allows them to score access to a massive library of best-selling books and top podcasts straight from their mobile device.
10 Experiences to Gift to Someone Who Has Everything
Put down the candles and whiskey stones! We’ve got something better.
Give the gift of the open oceans with Boatsetter, an Airbnb-style boat rental service that offers a host of seaworthy vessels – and a veteran captain to chauffer you around — that range from dingys to yachts.
A ClassPass membership is a top-tier gift — the berth of options available on the platform makes its it a thoughtful present for any person who enjoys a workout class, wellness activity, or even deep-tissue massage.
The OG book subscription service will send her 5-7 thoughtfully curated new book recommendations each month. Then all she has to do is choose the book she wants to dive into, read and repeat.
Drizly
Ah, yes, the universal gift. Whether it’s beer, wine or spirits, Drizly delivers alcohol directly to your recipient’s door. All you have to do is enter the their address and browse thousands of available gifts, from Cabernet to Champagne to Coors. Done and done.
Goldbelly
Ever wish you could gift your favorite hometown delicacy? Now you can, whether you’re still in the area or not. Goldbelly is a service that lets you deliver food, even if it’s thousands of miles away, meaning you can support local restaurants and give someone their (or your) favorite food at the same time. Yum!
Cameo
Here’s the deal: Cameo gives you the chance to gift something a bit more intimate than a pair of socks. More than a bit, actually; the service allows you to request personalized messages to your giftee from their favorite stars in the form of customized video messages, live video calls and direct messages. Rates and availability differ depending on the personality in question, but we’re positive you can easily track down someone your aunt/niece/wife loves.
Soothe
Soothe doesn’t offer some revolutionary new massage (sorry to those interested in gifting experimental shiatsu) but rather brings tried-and-true comfort straight to your recipient’s door. Offering daily massages in the luxury of your own home, Soothe allows you to give the gift of a trained, vetted and background-checked professional masseuse, without all the uncomfortable surroundings.
Masterclass
If you somehow missed the Masterclass craze — perhaps you were too busy cultivating your sourdough starter or just couldn’t stand to look up from TikTok — the platform offers lessons on a whole variety of topics, ranging from personal wellness to cooking to astrophysics, led by leaders in the field. Courses vary in length and number of classes, but the pin-point attention to detail, coupled with an easy-to-follow lesson plan, host of resources, and integrated technology (pause and rewind are always your friends) makes this the perfect gift for that forever student. Right now, Masterclass is even offering a special deal of a subscription: a 2-for-1 offer, starting at just $15 a month.
Black Tomato
Shipping cutoffs may be upon us, but it’s still not too late for you to win big come Christmas morning. We’re talking real big. This year, give the gift of a vacation … and one that you’ve already taken the liberty of planning, at that. Black Tomato is a luxury travel company best known for their totally custom (and awesome) itineraries that’ll outfit you with the perfect surprise vacation, from the accommodations right down to the excursions. Albeit just a jumping-off point, you can peruse some of their existing itineraries for inspiration — including the “Get Lost,” which brings patrons to unknown, uncharted destinations and charges them with exploring their way through them. Best Christmas present ever?
Sugarwish
You simply buy the experience, and your recipient then gets to pick from a whole selection of premier products, like candy, cookies, snacks, coffee/tea or even dog treats.
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