​Get Last-Minute Gifts That Are Outside the Box​

Give an experience

Approach gift giving by moving away from things and investing in experiences, recommends Kris Bordessa, author of Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art of Self-Reliant Living.

“We're all kind of drowning in stuff, and why not take the holidays to cut back and start focusing a little bit more on meaningful giving, rather than giving stuff because we feel like we have to have a box under the tree,” Bordessa says.

In pre-pandemic times, Bordessa would suggest planning small trips or weekend outings for loved ones, but with COVID-19 challenges, she recommends buying gifts of fun classes or activities that last beyond the holiday season.

A zoo pass for children or concert tickets for teens who want to see their favorite band or comedian can be great for grandchildren. Adults might enjoy a voucher for a round of golf, a massage or a day trip to the spa.

Last year, Bordessa enrolled her mom, who is Portuguese, in a specialty online cooking class.

“I gave her a cooking class to learn how to make a specific type of pastry that they're famous for in Portugal,” Bordessa says. “She loved it.”

Bordessa also recommends what she calls hybrid gifts — that is, a small gift to open on the holiday that offers an activity beyond the gesture. This works especially well with children, who may have expectations of ripping open colorfully wrapped boxes during the holiday.

For a child, “I might give them a basket of some really cool seeds for different flowers, or vegetables that they could grow…,” she says, “and then, in the springtime, offer to help them plant a garden.”

Shop secondhand

One way to purchase in the moment and be sustainable at the same time is to shop in antique and secondhand stores. Shopping secondhand can lead to hidden treasures.

Some vintage and antique shops may have an online component that highlights the items in the store, but, ultimately, going into your local shop is the fastest way to get gifts.  

Nonprofit consignment stores, such as Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity’s Restore, offer used items, like furniture, books and clothing. If you have time, check out garage sales and flea markets, too. Secondhand-clothing stores, like thredUP and Poshmark, which offer used or gently worn clothing (including designer brands), can be a good place to peruse, though this late in the game, it might be hard to get items delivered ahead of the holiday.

While technology makes it easier to shop this season, purchasing from secondhand stores helps the environment and provides a sustainable alternative to new items. 

Tiffany Olson, a trend expert at Mercari, an e-commerce company that has a mobile marketplace for consumers to buy and sell secondhand items, says everyone should consider shopping for secondhand goods now and after the holiday season.  

Shopping secondhand can save your household from clutter. U.S. households have an estimated $580 billion worth of products that they’re not using, which calculates to roughly $4,500 per household, according to the 2021 Reuse Report from Mercari.

“You can imagine items that people have in their garages, attics and storage units that they're not using,” Olson says.

Whether you’re shopping for vintage clothes, used toys, or smartphones and other devices, Olson says people can find some great presents while shopping on platforms like Mercari, Facebook Marketplace and Ebay.

“I have two twin girls at home, and I've been buying gifts for them for the holidays, like vintage toys that I used to have,” Olson says.

Mikaela Cohen is a digital news and features intern for aarp.org. She is a graduate student at the University of Georgia, where she has covered business and culture news for The Red & Black Newspaper, a local publication.