It’s that time of the year…you know, the time when you realize Christmas is just a couple of days away and you have a gift or two that you accidentally overlooked! Christmas is literally around the corner. That’s why you are looking for last minute frugal Christmas gift ideas!
Last minute can often mean costly. But it doesn’t have to! Once you get some ideas on ways that you can pull off the last minute frugal Christmas gift ideas, then you will be able to pull off Christmas and still stay in budget.
There are often two ways in which one needs last minute frugal Christmas gift ideas:
- You thought or knew you had the majority of it done for weeks now. Then you begin wrapping and taking inventory (after they were all hidden for the season) and discover that you forgot something. It’s easy to do in the busyness of the season.
- The second scenario is that you planned to get your shopping done and be all ready, but Christmas snuck up on you and you realize that it is around the corner and panic mode sets in!
In our our day and age, you don’t have to leave home, but can take care of the issue right here, right now and no one will know that you weren’t the super stellar Santa everyone that think you are!
Well, we have come to the rescue again this year with our traditional Last Minute Frugal Christmas Gift Ideas list for you, a whole couple of days before Christmas.
We are going to give you three parts to this last minute frugal Christmas gift ideas list.
- Fast and frugal homemade gifts
- Gift cards and online gifts for less (don’t pay full price!)
- An idea for nabbing last minute toys for cheap (the stores will not be the place for last minute, frugal gifts).
Fast and Frugal Homemade Gifts for those last minute frugal Christmas gift ideas
Crafty gift ideas
There are several last minute gift ideas that you can make and pull together fast!
- Quick crochet with fancy yarn. My two teen girls realized they were missing a couple of presents – so one daughter crocheted a pink scarf for her little sister in 1-hour flat with that fancy yarn called Sashay yarn. She’s slower since she is a beginner – but she was finished in 1-hour and it is beautiful! You can pick up the yarn today with the 40% off coupon at the craft stores to save quite a bit of money. In our case, dshe already had the yarn in her crochet stash.
- A fun little stocking stuffer, quick teen gift for teens to give or a gift in a pampering gift basket is this cute Chapstick idea with printable gift tags!
- My other daughter made an animal shaped pillow for her little brother. With a sewing machine, it took her 15-minutes and she made it from fabric scraps that we had around our home. Sewing something simple, yet homemade is a great gift idea!
- You can even take the basic onesies and make for adorable little dresses for a little girl in your life! These can be done in 10-minutes with the 10-Minute DIY Onesie Dress Tutorial.
- Homemade personal care like sugar scrubs, coffee scrubs, etc. We have shared a number of these in our DIY gallery, so you can scroll through and see, but you can also make these really cool lotion massage bars!
- Several years ago, we shared some fast last-minute gift ideas like fleece scarves and fleece blankets that are no-sew and can be made in a matter of an hour or two. The instructions and ideas are HERE.
- This post also shares ideas for making gift baskets using your stockpile. These are still effective and useful today and in fact, I made gift baskets last year from my stockpile on Christmas Eve for some last minute gifts. Using your stockpile to make gifts and gift baskets. We have already talked about how the practical, yet pampering products. Razors, body wash, etc. So many ideas in using your stockpile from your super couponing skills to gift to someone. We share about this here.
- Many, many more ideas! Check out the DIY gallery for other ideas, many of which can be done in a few hours. Plus, we shared this list of 20 Handmade Mother’s Day gift ideas that are a huge hit for any gift giving reason.
- We have also share Christmas specific handmade Christmas gift ideas. You can find 23 Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas to help you make something special fast and affordably.
Foodie gift ideas
Food gifts are always a huge hit! We have shared so many ideas over the past several years, but we will share a few links here, but you really need to check out our Recipe Gallery for more ideas. Just click on the links below for these foodie ideas. These can all be made very quickly!
Give the gift of breakfast with Cranberry Spice Jam and Cinnamon Chip Biscuits! It even has printable gift tags.
As a nice little gift for friends, neighbors and in a gift basket addition for a bigger gift, make Christmas Potpourri. It even has printable gift tags too!
Another amazing jam recipe is the Sparkling Holiday Jam recipe. It only takes 20-minutes and is a delicious gift on it’s own or in a foodie gift basket with strawberry and cranberry! It also printable gift tags too!
Give the gift of a Christmas dinner with this One Pan Christmas Casserole! What a blessing and treat that would be. I know this would be a gift I would love because it is an all-in-one dinner, plus I can throw it all away, making clean-up easy too!
Basically, you put all of the ingredients in a disposable pan, include the recipe card and they quickly mix it all up and bake it in the pan. Then, they can just toss everything! It’s a great gift idea! Don’t forget to print the included printable gift tags as well!
This is just a sampling of ideas. Each year, we seem to be making gifts at the last minute for someone. Many of these ideas have been created by our kids too…and many of those have been posted before in our DIY gallery HERE. And our Recipe Gallery HERE (if you want a foodie gift idea). The listed items above only scratches the surface – so be sure to browse the ideas.
How to Get Discount Gift Cards, Magazines and Even the Gift of Stocks for less last minute frugal Christmas gift ideas
Of course, gift cards are the classic way to give a last minute gift. You don’t have to leave home to do it! We are going to share the most popular gift card idea, along with how you can give any other gift card for less and even gift “FREE STOCKS,” yes, in the stock market for anyone, including children!
#1 – Amazon Gift Card
Sometimes you just need a fast gift, from home, no shipping…like an idea for RIGHT NOW! But you want to at least try and get the best possible deal, price, plan for that absolute last minute gift now. That is exactly what we have and what we have shared with you in this post!
One great idea that you might want to consider is “Print Your Own” gift cards for Amazon.com! We have done this before and love it as you have a full card (see how it prints so you can fold it) with a personalized greeting and gift card for your recipient. Plus, your recipient is able to choose just the perfect gift! Amazon gift cards are a top gift card pick. This gift card allows your recipient to buy anything and everything they could possibly want and save money over buying the same item at another store! So your gift card amount will go further, which is a “frugal Christmas gift idea” when you can get more for your money!
To get started making your own gift card, CLICK HERE to go to the Amazon gift card center!
Don’t forget they also offer mp3 downloads, Kindle books, movie downloads and many other great options as well.
#2 Discount Gift Cards (plus a promo to get another $5 off any card!)
Buy Gift Cards Online for a discount and use the link for another $5 off!
One of our favorite places to get gift cards is from CardPool HERE. You can get them for up to 35% off. They do mail physical gift cards, so you can print a picture of the gift card….but they do sell electronic gift cards that are emailed to you right away and then you can print and give as a gift and/or email to your recipient! Either way, outside of Amazon gift cards, these are the best option as you can get a gift card to anywhere for a nice discount. We have used this site exclusively for our own gift cards and gift cards we gifted!
Plus, if you are a first time customer, you will also get $5 off any gift card order when you order with this promotion link HERE! No coupon code needed, the link has the automatic $5 off discount!
Note that this discount gift card site is very popular all year round. It’s ESPECIALLY during Christmas season (and last minute Christmas season), so they do sell out of gift cards fast.
#3 – Give the gift of Stocks in the Stock Market (PLUS a FREE $5 in stocks for you!)
This has become one of our favorite last minute gifts. It can be worth so much more than just simply a gift card!
Consider gifting stocks through a company called Stockpile that allows you to buy fractional stocks. This means you can own a piece of any company! We wrote a detailed article about this a couple of days ago called What is Stockpile. Find out how to give the gift of stocks and get a free $5 for yourself!
We are going to give our nephew a gift of stocks in addition to the other items we have for him this year. 
#4 – Get money back on last minute purchases with free, same-day in-store pickup!
Many stores are offering same day pick-up in the local store when you order online. This has changed the face of last minute Christmas shopping. Now you can shop from home, get some extra cash back and pick it up in-store the same day.
Don’t forget about Amazon Prime Now as well. Shop on Amazon and it will be delivered to you in 2-hours in certain cities.
So, shop online and use a cashback service like Ebates HERE and TopCashBack HERE to get 1.5-15% of your purchase back in CASH! Plus, the links shared include a bonus of $10 extra cash back on your first purchases through these sites! You can get a total of $20 back in cash just for shopping online! How exciting is that!?! Not that rewarding you for waiting until the last minute is a good idea, but you get rewarded anyway. 🙂
Buying a gift online from your favorite stores through Ebates or TopCash Back will let you not only get cash back but if you are a new member, you will also get you a $10 gift card through Ebates after your first $25 purchase or $10 cash from TopCashBack after your first purchase of $10 or more. Make sure to CLICK HERE to sign up for Ebates (its FREE and easy) and CLICK HERE to sign up for TopCashBack to get money back on your last minute online purchases.
#5 – Give a Magazine Subscription for 85% off!
Finally, you can consider getting a great deal on popular magazines! Amazon offers subscriptions to every magazine. Pretty much every one of them is discounted and dozens are even offered for $0.99 for the year! You may just find a great magazine deal that would fit any interest. These will fit someone on your list with interests including photography, gardening and more! Anything!
Head to Amazon HERE for the many, many discounted and $5 magazine subscriptions!
Just wrap up the magazine confirmation as a fun way to present it! Even more fun is to go buy a single issue off the newsstand and wrap it with the printed confirmation.
Frugal Toys, Brand name clothing and more for the last minute frugal Christmas gift ideas
Finally, there are ways to create an amazing and memorable Christmas, even without a lot of time or resources. It does not have to be an expensive season or a financially draining time-period. That’s why we’ve shared How To Have A Nice Christmas When You Are Broke. And it’s not just for the broke, but for those that want to simply have a very affordable Christmas. You can adopt these ideas in the last minute.
Consider shopping last minute at the thrift stores or in your classifieds for used toys, gaming systems, name brand clothing and electronics so that you can give a nice Christmas affordably. We have done this for years and have had incredible Christmases on a dime. There are so many people selling their gently used items online and in thrift stores right now so they can make an extra buck and clean out their homes before Christmas. Use this weekend to take advantage of that!
Emilia
I like when the gift is thought out to the details, so I don’t like to buy it at the last minute, and most often I choose everything in advance. In addition, it is important for me to choose a gift according to the interests of a loved one, so that it becomes truly valuable for him. I found some amazing gifts for runners here that my husband will definitely appreciate.
makuha223
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