So hopefully you’ve finished your holiday gift shopping by now. But if you haven’t, I have a few ideas for last minute gifts that are actually meaningful…and don’t involve kidnapping!

• Homemade meal delivery: Commit to making 1 homemade meal per month and delivering it to your friends doorstep. Either schedule the day ahead of time or plan to make something freezer friendly that they can heat up after a busy day.
• Houseplants: I really think anyone would be happy to get a plant as a gift! If you aren’t sure if the gift recipient has a green thumb, opt for something like a succulent, snake plant, or pothos which are all pretty low maintenance.
• Gift cards: A lot of people see gift cards as impersonal, but I think matching the right gift card to the right person can be a great gift. For example, if someone I know loves makeup and skincare I wouldn’t try to pick something out for them, I would get them a Sephora or Ulta gift card so they could pick exactly what they want. I remember being a kid who loved reading and a bookstore gift card was like gold to me. The option to wander through the store and pick exactly what I wanted to read was both an experience and a gift.
• Build your own gift basket: Pancake mix, coffee, maple syrup, a fun spatula in a mixing bowl for a breakfast themed gift basket. Or make a game night basket with microwave popcorn, hot chocolate, a cozy blanket and a board game.
• Fancy salt or spices: As someone who loves cooking, I can’t tell you how much I love getting fancy ingredients as gifts. I’ve gotten spice kits from Penzey’s or flavored salts. And I’ve used every last bit of them!

Things I don’t recommend unless you know the person well:

• Alcohol: The holidays can be an especially difficult time for people who don’t drink as indulging becomes the norm. And because you can’t always be sure of the internal battles people are facing, best to avoid this potential landmine.
• Perishable food: It’s the holidays, people are likely going to have limited space in their fridges and freezers. Try not to gift something that will just end up being a burden. If there’s a really great frozen treat you want to share…consider sending a gift card for the amount and a picture of the treat. Then they can order it when it works best for them.
• Public experiences: This year everyone has different comfort levels about going out into the world. Any other year I’d say gifting experiences is a great idea, but don’t give someone a membership to a museum if you don’t know that they’ll feel comfortable using it in the first half of 2021.
• Home decor items: Home decor is a super personal thing for most people. Even if we find something that we know would go perfectly in someone’s home…they might already have it exactly how they want it. And then they might feel guilty for not displaying the item you gave. Or worse, think that they have to bring it out every time you come over!
• A bunch of little things: Sometimes when we can’t think of a gift, we find ourselves in the bargain section of Target picking out a bunch of little things just so we have something to give. I think most adults would rather not get more stuff that they have to find room for in their homes. But that could just be me!