Holiday Gift Guide: Last Minute Shopping

I would like to say I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. However, I am a planner of the worst sort, and I got most of my holiday shopping done in November.

Online of course.

But I understand there are many out there who wait until the last minute. Is this you? Never fear! I have a list of GREAT last minute Christmas gifts you
can send - all you need is your recipient's email address. No wrapping paper or trips to the mall needed - these gifts are all online!

Digital Audiobooks/Albums

Audiobooks, my savior during horrible traffic jams, are a great gift to give someone you know that has to commute. Audible.com, an Amazon company, is an audiobook rental website that allows you to buy a monthly subscription (one or two books a month) or an annual plan (12 to 24 books).

My favorite place to get audiobooks, the Pottermore Shop,  has all the Harry Potter books on audio at a discounted price that you can send to your friends or family via email. Go ahead, make someone's Christmas a little more magical.

This also works with iTunes albums. You can send out a Christmas album of your choosing, or even better, get someone that new Beyonce CD. Because lets be honest, Beyonce > Christmas music.

eGift Cards

The most obvious and easy last minute gifts, eGift Cards allow you to email  a gift card to that certain coworker you know that is always online shopping.

Some of my favorite gift cards include:
Barnes & Noble
Best Buy
Apple Store
Etsy
Amazon 

Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, Amazon Prime...


For those pesky brothers/sisters that keep using your account. Or for that neighbor that is always in their pajamas every Friday night.

P.S. I'm that neighbor.



Monthly Box Subscriptions

For those people in your life that don't have time to shop, I recommend get a monthly box subscription, such as Birchbox ($10/month) for the glamazon in your life, or the Barkbox ($19-$29/month) for the lazy dog lovers on your list.

Have a friend that marches to the beat of their own drum? They would probably love Skoshbox ($12/month), a monthly delivery of Japanese candy and snacks delivered to their door. Or, for that DIY diva in your life, Lullubee ($125/month) sends a crafting kit in the mail.

The Gift of Blog

With more and more people sharing their opinions, experiences and stories these days, I would recommend you give someone the gift of a creative writing space and help them set up a blog. How? Here are a couple of ideas:

Buy them a domain name on Godaddy.com, starting at $12.99/month. GoDaddy also offers packages to help people set up their website and improve their website's search rankings.

Have a blog beginner? Help them set up a blog on Blogger or Wordpress, and then give them a gift DesignerBlogs.com, which will help them set up the look and feel of their blog.  They can either get a custom web design starting at $300, or can choose from pre-made blog templates for only $15.
certificate to

Just be careful who you give this to. The world does NOT need another gif-only site.

And if all else fails, go to the grocery store. Buy wine. Can't go wrong with that!

Going to the Movies

Whether its staying in with a bag of popcorn or going out to the theater, horray for Hollywood! I love movies, especially anything that involves Pixar, Disney, happy endings and brightly colored shiny things to hold my attention.

Nobody claimed I wasn't a seven-year-old trapped in a 23-year-old's body.

However, the movie experience can be made even MORE enjoyable through...what, class? Anyone? Bueller?

That's right, technology! There are so many apps and websites that will make sure you get the right movie-going experience or chose the right movie. After all, movies are like, $20 now. It would almost cost you the same to see a bad movie as it would to buy a plane ticket and go throw tomatoes at the director/screenwriters house.

I'm just saying.

To start, you need the basics of movie-going apps. Apps like Fandango (Windows, Android & iOS) will tell you what is playing in a theater near you. It will also let you preview the movie and buy movie tickets right from your phone. So when the midnight premiere of the new Superman/Batman movie with Ben Afflek goes on sale, you will be able to buy tickets before everyone else!
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Just kidding, no one will be there.

Speaking of bad movie decisions, Rotten Tomatoes by Flixster (Windows, Android & iOS) is a movie rating app that shows you what the critics think about a certain movie (is that an actual job? movie critic?) to what rating actual moviegoers gave it. Save yourself some time and read what other people say about the movie you are thinking of seeing. Just watch out for the spoilers!

RunPee (Windows, Android & iOS) wins the award for Most Useful App That No One Actually Knew They Needed. Seriously. Turn this app on at the start of your movie, and it will tell you the best times to go use the little girls/boy's room. It will tell you how much time you have to make it there and back, and will give you a synopsis of what you missed while you were gone. I always have to pee during movies (darn you, 40-0z jumbo soda!) so this app is the best invention, hands down.

We all know the feeling: "O darn. That guy, that was in that movie...the guy with the hair....and the teeth! You know the one I'm talking about!" Breathe easy, my friend, and iMDB that ish (Windows, Android &iOS). It has saved me many a times from only remembering the name of that actor/actress 30 minutes after the conversation has ended, believe you me.

Not sure what to Netflix? Try Movie Twist (Android & iOS). This app allows you to type in the name of a favorite movie and will recommend other movies that are similar to that one. Or click "explore" and tell the app how much of the following characteristics you want in your movie: loving, funny, violent, thrilling or clever; and it will also give you great recommendations.

Except "White Men Can't Jump". Stop giving me that recommendation, darn it!

For those who want a different movie watching experience, Chill is a website that was created for those lesser-known filmmakers to exploit their talents, allowing users to rent and watch their movies, and then support their projects. Chill is equal parts Kickstarter and Pinterest for movies, and some movie projects even have a merchandise store, so you can wear your support. It is definitely worth taking a look at on a slow Friday night.

Also, I need this.


What are some of your favorite movie apps? Comment below to let me know!