24 Online Gifts That Won’t Feel Like You Bought Them At The Last Minute
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Whether you’re far away from your loved one, or you waited until the last minute yet again, virtual gifting doesn’t have to feel impersonal just by its no-shipping-required status. We assure you that digital gifts aren’t just for procrastinators or those who don’t know what to get their remote coworker — in fact, an online gift can be even more personal than just sticking a couple bucks in a greeting card and calling it a day.
While there are plenty of electronic gift cards out there, when it comes to virtual gift ideas, you can also get creative and give the gift of a unique experience like a special virtual cooking class, or consider one of the best subscription boxes and services, which can offer curated products and bundles of just about anything you know your giftee already loves.
One of the best parts of sending a digital subscription service or online gift certificate is that you can tailor it to their interests, so it won’t scream “the clock was running out when I bought this”. Send your record-collecting dad a vinyl subscription, or help your thrill-seeking friend plan their next outdoor excursion. You can also adjust the amount you want to spend, so you can easily stick to your budget.
Our editors have gathered up the best online gifts for everyone else on your list that won’t feel like a last minute impulse-buy. Don’t stress about holiday store hours or shipping delays — most gifts on this list will send instantly to their inbox right after you hit “buy”.
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Vinyl Me Please Subscription
Image Credit: Vinyl Me Please Subscription Know an audiophile with a killer setup who wants to expand their collection? Give them something to look forward to with a Vinyl Me Please subscription, a record-of-the-month club that ships exclusive LPs straight to their door. You can gift a three-month, six-month, or 12-month membership, and members can choose the genre they want from there, from classics to new releases alike.
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MasterClass Subscription
Image Credit: MasterClass Give the gift of up close and personal access to some of the world’s most famous thinkers and artists with a MasterClass subscription. The virtual platform offers over 200 online courses, from experts to celebs (think: “Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting” and “Tom Morello Teaches Electric Guitar.”)
Memberships start at $10/month. Each pass gets your giftee unlimited access to every course on the site. They can start and stop each class on their own schedule and download workbooks for offline reading.
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StubHub Gift Card
Concerts are getting more and more expensive, meaning a loved one might be priced out of seeing an artist they love. If you want to give a helping hand for them to see any type of show, send this StubHub gift card.
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57Hours
Image Credit: 57 Hours / Facebook Can’t take your giftee on a road trip to their next hiking destination, or the idea of white-water rafting just gives you the chills? Check out 57hours. The site specializes in high-intensity experiences (think skiing, rock climbing, surfing) all over America. You can book a half-day trip or multi-day excursion for the thrill-seeker in your life, and every experience has been vetted by 57hours for experienced, safe instruction.
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Audible Membership
Image Credit: Amazon Audible offers a ton of value, and looks great (on you) as a last-minute gift. Subscriptions start at just $14.95 a month, the library of books is absolutely massive, and the interface is great (most audiobook lovers will know how important that is). Right now, you can take advantage of the best Audible deal of the holiday season and gift them their first three months of listening for just $0.99 — now it’s really the best time of the year
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The Sill Gift Subscription Box
Image Credit: The Sill Nothing says “I care about you” like a new addition to a plant parent’s collection. The Sill has a wide variety of houseplants to choose from for anyone with a green thumb, and they’re the perfect size for safe shipping. This highly-giftable bundle offers three-, six- or twelve-month subscription box plans, with options for easy-care plants (for those over or under-waterers out there), pet-friendly varieties and orchids.
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ResortPass Gift Card
Image Credit: ResortPass Does your giftee really need a relaxing vacation, but doesn’t have the time to get out of town? Give them a way to escape without having to leave their city with a ResortPass luxury daycation gift card. This will be their ticket access the best luxury hotel and resort amenities, from lounging poolside, to taking a self-care day at a high-end spa. It can be redeemed for over 900 hotels and resorts across 250+ cities.
They can spend their gift card at some truly standout destinations — we recently tried a daypass at the TWA Hotel and took an après swim in their outdoor “pool-cuzzi” while planes took off into the sky right nearby. From tranquil spaces, to family-friendly places, they can do it all without having to get on a plane to seek a vacay.
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Uncommon Experiences
Image Credit: Uncommon Experiences For your friend with a new hobby every week, Uncommon Experiences offers digital classes on everything from astrology to tarot readings to cooking warm soup for the winter — all taught by experts. All you have to do is pick the date, fill in your giftee’s info and they’re good to go. Uncommon Goods will send an email with the video call link before the class begins.
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Apple Gift Card
Image Credit: Apple If you’re looking for a super-easy gift, consider sending an Apple Gift Card, a present that helps your giftee get access to everything from an Apple TV+ subscription to thousands of mobile games from the App Store. They can use this to order physical Apple gear (if they’re hungry for the newest tech and have been eyeing the latest AirPods), or subscribe to many different subscription services. Set your price (from $15 to $500), email them the digital card, and kick back your feet knowing that they’ll get to choose what they really want this year.
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In Good Taste Virtual Wine Tasting
Image Credit: In Good Taste For the burgeoning sommelier on your list, a virtual wine tasting is a great activity for anyone who isn’t able to fly out to Italy, France, or California to try the blends themselves. Sign your gift recipient up for their own In Good Taste event, or make it a group activity for your own virtual wine tasting room and get those bottles popping!
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Craftsy Subscription
Image Credit: Craftsy For the craft-lover in your life, Craftsy is like a cross between Masterclass and a Pinterest board — your giftee can learn how to make just about anything, with over 2,000 classes including embroidery, sewing, knitting, baking, you name it. Even though you can gift a monthly membership for $113, the hands-on element is unmatched (and hey, maybe you’ll reap the benefits of their hard work on the next holiday occasion!).
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Delta Gift Card
Image Credit: Best Buy For the travel lover, this Delta gift card is an ace-in-the-hole gift. It’s a much better idea than trying to book them airline tickets in secret, as they’ll obviously want to sort out the details themselves.
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Discord Nitro Subscription Gift Card
Image Credit: Amazon If you’re looking for a better way to stay in touch with friends that’s not a boring iMessage groupchat (yawn), there’s nothing more fun chatting and hanging out with friends on Discord with Nitro. If you haven’t heard of it, Discord is an IMing and social platform where you can start your own private “server” community, harking back to the early days of the internet.
By gifting a Nitro subscription, your recipient will enjoy awesome perks like HD streaming for virtual movie nights, custom emoji anywhere, bigger file sharing up to 500 MB, profile personalization, and so much more. When your friend gets Nitro access, it’s like a gift for your entire group’s server.
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Airbnb Gift Card
Image Credit: Airbnb While you could preemptively book the guy’s trip or family vacay, let’s face it, you’re not a travel service — for the avid traveler in your life, consider a gift card to Airbnb. The gift card can be used for one of Airbnb’s thousands of stays, or they can put the card towards an Airbnb experience at their destination of choice. Bon voyage!
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Havenly Online Design Services
Image Credit: Havenly Know someone who just moved apartments, needs a major need of a room makeover, or just someone who watches entirely too much HGTV? Treat them to a virtual design package from Havenly. One of Havenly’s designers will work with them one-on-one to create an interior design plan online, including a 3D rendering of their chosen room or small space.
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Stitch Fix Gift Card
Image Credit: Stitch Fix While gifting someone clothing can be hit or miss depending on whether you nail their personal style, give them a wardrobe-refresh shopping spree with their personal stylist. Stitch Fix is a subscription service that’ll send new outfits to their door each month based on their style of dress and price range. It’s a great gift for your favorite fashionista, or conversely, anyone who just hates the slog of in-store shopping. Gift cards range from $20 to $2,000.
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Bokksu Snack Box Subscription
Image Credit: Bokksu For your friend who just got back from abroad, or anyone scanning travel sites for their next flight to Japan, this is the gift for them. With Bokksu, each month they’ll receive a package filled with tasty Japanese snacks and treats, from the more traditional, to konbini convenience store favorites. There’s a newly-themed curation of treats each month, and you can pick from a one-, three-, six- or twelve-month subscription.
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The Bouqs
Image Credit: The Bouqs Fresh flowers are always a good gift idea, and The Bouqs makes it much easier to get to your loved one. They have a great selection and deliver flowers smoothly the next day or even the same day.
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Headspace
Image Credit: Headspace Whether they want to improve their sleep, learn to meditate, or manage anxiety, Headspace is one of the easiest, best ways to do it. Membership gets your loved one access to a huge collection guided audio meditations. All are quick and highly-produced, and the app has some clever features to help you stay on top of any meditation or sleep goals.
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Therabox Self Care Box
Image Credit: Cratejoy For the stressed (i.e. most of us) give them a moment to pamper themself with this monthly self-care subscription box from Cratejoy. Each box comes with a “mood-boosting” activity, and up to eight wellness-focused gift items, including essential oils and face masks. Encourage more “me-time” and choose from a one-, three-, six- or twelve-month subscription.
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Goldbelly Gift Card
Image Credit: Goldbelly Goldbelly lets you ship foods from certain small businesses around the country. So, if your giftee fell in love with a bakery in New York but lives in California, they can have those pastries shipped with Goldbelly. If you want to give that luxury as a gift, give them a Goldbelly gift card.
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Preply
Image Credit: Preply I recently dusted the cobwebs off my French using Preply, and I haven’t stopped recommending it since. The online service matches you with a tutor who can give you one-on-one lessons over video calls. This means you’re actually communicating in another language, and it doesn’t cost much either at around $10-$20 a lesson.
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Super Chewer Subscription Box
Image Credit: Barkbox If you know a pet parent whose adorable pup has teeth of steel and tears through just about every toy they’ve ever been given, then you need to gift them (and their pooch) a Super Chewer box. Every box comes with two toys made for superior durability and an em, enthusiastic play style, along with two full-size bags of treats that you can customize for allergies and diets. Gift them one box starting at $40 curated to each month’s theme (some past themes have included doggy Ski Lodge, and Fall Festivities), or set Fido up for a few months with a monthly subscription.
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FreshDirect Gift Card
Image Credit: FreshDirect FreshDirect is an easy way to get your online groceries delivered to your doorstep (without having to trek all the way to the store). We love it for scoring everything from fresh produce to even wine and spirits right from our phone. Better yet, FreshDirect makes one of the best gift ideas for any occassion, thanks to the brand’s easy-to-order digital gift cards. All you have to do is enter the email for your giftee and they’ll get a surprise in their inbox instantly.