The clock is ticking. Even with free 1- and 2-day shipping from the likes of Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart, out-of-stock warnings and post-December 26 shipping dates means that procrastinators are starting to come up empty for last-minute holiday shopping binges. Meanwhile, what if you forgot about one of your holiday parties and don’t want to arrive empty-handed? What if an extra guest shows up for Christmas dinner and you need an instant gift?
Quick fix: Why not support your friendly neighborhood small business? Bet you can find some great last-minute gifts there. Beyond that, all you need is an internet connection and your printer to make gifts materialize out of thin air.
Read more: CNET’s Holiday Gift Guide — fantastic tech gifts at any budget.
The gift of reading
Why stop at a single book or magazine subscription when you can gift someone a virtually unlimited supply?
Scribd, for example, costs $9.99 per month, a price that includes unlimited access to Scribd’s library of e-books, audiobooks, sheet music, magazine and news articles and more. You can give a three-month gift subscription for $25, six months for $50 or a year for $100.
The gift of listening
If you know someone who still consumes music old-school — LPs, CDs and so forth — it’s time to introduce them to the joys of unlimited on-demand listening.
In other words, give them the gift of Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, Google Play Music, Spotify or another subscription service. And what a gift that is: All the music of the world (more or less) at their fingertips, with options for offline listening, playlist sharing and more.
Not sure which one to choose? Check out CNET’s roundup of the best music-streaming services. Know for sure you want to give Spotify (which, if you’re curious, would be my pick)? Here’s how to give Spotify as a gift.
The gift of watching
I’ve been a Netflix subscriber for as long as I can remember, so I’m always shocked to find that some folks don’t have the service. How else, then, can they watch Black Mirror, BoJack Horseman, Glow, Godless, Maniac, Stranger Things, The Crown and countless other TV gems that can be found only there?
Yeah — you need to help these people out. Here’s how to gift Netflix for the holidays, including the all-important e-gift option.
Oh, they already have Netflix? Then how about Hulu? The Limited Commercials plan costs just $6 per month, so a mere $25 gift card would be good for about four months.
You can buy physical cards in just about any store, but if you want something you can print, you’ll need to head to PayPal for a Hulu e-gift card. Hulu proper, curiously, doesn’t offer them.
The gift of Prime
Amazon
At the risk of sounding like an Amazon shill, I can think of few better internet-based gifts than a subscription to Amazon Prime. I mean, talk about the gift that keeps on giving: For an entire year, the recipient gets to experience the joy that is free 1- or 2-day shipping on most of what Amazon sells.
But that’s just for starters. They also get a considerable roster of additional benefits, including things like streaming movies and TV shows, unlimited photo storage and freely accessible libraries of music and ebooks. That’s a lot of stuff for your $119. (Too steep? There’s also a three-month option priced at $39.)
The gift of gift cards
Sure, you can run into your nearest any-retail-store-on-the-planet to grab a gift card, but that works only if you’re about to see your recipient in person. If you need a gift card delivered, head to eGifter, which offers a huge selection of “cards” that arrive instantly via email. You can even include an online greeting card, invite others to chip in and add a photo or video for a more personalized touch.
The gift that comes every month
Don’t forget the ever-popular subscription-box option! Cratejoy’s Geek & Gaming section can help you pick the perfect monthly delivery for your favorite tech-minded friend or family member and has boxes for lots of other categories as well.
Obviously the first box won’t arrive in time, but you can print a here’s-what’s-coming certificate and give them something to look forward to.
And there you have it! Six awesome gift options that you can print and wrap (or email) in seconds. If you know of any other great last-minute gifts, share ’em in the comments. In the meantime, happy holidays to you and yours from me and mine.
Read more: Best last-minute gifts for 2019: Gift cards, Netflix, Disney Plus and more
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Avoid the mall with these last-minute gift ideas
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Note: Originally published earlier. Updated to reflect new ideas and/or information.