{"id":4540,"date":"2012-12-18T15:20:13","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T20:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elfster.com\/blog\/?p=4540"},"modified":"2023-03-29T10:33:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T14:33:12","slug":"last-minute-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elfster.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/18\/last-minute-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Minute Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve all been busy elves over the last few weeks. No matter which holiday you\u2019re celebrating, it\u2019s a time for family, goodwill, and renewal of relationships. Then all of a sudden, a knock comes at the door, the phone rings, or an email arrives. Last minute visitor, party, or family member has been dropped on you, and you don\u2019t have a present! Not to worry, Elfster has you covered with some simple ideas.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4094\/4880745142_25f4f8897e_m.jpg\" \/><br \/>\n1. Grab a Gift Card<br \/>\nMany gift cards have no expiration date, so if you need to buy two or three ahead of time just in case, you\u2019re not losing out if nobody comes to claim them.\u00a0 Elfster has a number of gift card suggestions on our card list at http:\/\/www.elfster.com\/gifts\/search\/?q=gift%20card<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2487\/4160625028_67a1a5160f_m.jpg\" \/><br \/>\n2. Be Crafty<br \/>\nAre you a crafts person?\u00a0 Is your recipient?\u00a0 Consider giving them something home made &#8212; it takes a bit of time, but feels heartfelt.\u00a0 Or you can give them crafting materials; every crafter gives a little cheer inside when they receive their favorite material, thread, wool, or a book of new designs.\u00a0 No time before the holidays to whip something together shouldn\u2019t stop you.\u00a0 Give your friend or family member an IOU for one handmade item (of their choice) and work out a time to make it after the holiday season is complete.\u00a0 The thought means more than having the gift immediately.\u00a0 If you\u2019re in a real pinch, there\u2019s always Etsy! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.etsy.com\/giftcards\">http:\/\/www.etsy.com\/giftcards<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4026\/4430688780_ddefd2645b_m.jpg\" \/><br \/>\n3. Don\u2019t Fake It, Bake It<br \/>\nPreparing some baked goods ahead of time then freezing them, or using a recipe that\u2019s \u201cno bake\u201d means you can churn out some delicious baked goods on a moment\u2019s notice.\u00a0 Schools and clubs often do baking mix drives during the holiday season, which can also save you loads of time &#8212; all the dry ingredients are pre-measured, so you only need to add eggs or milk and pop the pan into the oven.\u00a0 You can send your unexpected guest home with an extra baggie of delicious treats so they remember the visit&#8230;and remember to call ahead next year!<\/p>\n<p>4. Re-Gifting<br \/>\nDid you know in the US there\u2019s actually a national regifting day every year?\u00a0 Seven years strong and counting, regifting is a way to both reduce the waste created by the holiday insanity, and to save a bit of money.\u00a0 If your friend or relative has ever said to you \u201cI just love your [item], I wish I had one&#8230;\u201d they\u2019re a great candidate for a regifting, providing you can part with your treasure.<\/p>\n<p>If there\u2019s any ideas you liked here today, add them to your wishlist at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elfster.com\/wish\/\">http:\/\/www.elfster.com\/wish\/<\/a> !\u00a0 You can search for an existing item, add a link, or even just enter text to let people know what you\u2019re wishing for this year.<br \/>\nWhat do you do when a last minute guest arrives and you need a gift?\u00a0 Feel free to share with us in the comments below, on our Facebook at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/elfster\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/elfster<\/a>, or Tweet us @elfster<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">We\u2019ve all been busy elves over the last few weeks. No matter which holiday you\u2019re celebrating, it\u2019s a time for family, goodwill, and renewal of relationships. Then all of a sudden, a knock comes at <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elfster.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/18\/last-minute-gifts\/\" title=\"Last Minute Gifts\">[read more]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2743,"featured_media":6123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[533,532,531],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-christmas","8":"category-gift-giving","9":"category-holidays"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Last Minute Gifts - Good Cheer | Elfster Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Last Minute Gifts - Good Cheer | Elfster Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We\u2019ve all been busy elves over the last few weeks. No matter which holiday you\u2019re celebrating, it\u2019s a time for family, goodwill, and renewal of relationships. 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