23 last-minute gifts you can send by email
Wait, Christmas is how many days away? Hanukkah ends when?
If the holidays (or an important birthday) crept up on you this year, chances are you've waited until the last minute to buy gifts. Not to worry — the perfect present is just an email away.
We offer you a list of gift cards, subscription services, and e-books for the special people in your life who you didn't mean to forget about. Send your co-worker a thank-you Starbucks gift card, or present your grandma with an audiobook she'll love.
These gifts can all be downloaded by email or redeemed on mobile, which makes for the most convenient holiday shopping you've ever experienced.
1. iTunes gift card
A good ol' standby, an iTunes gift card is always appreciated. Your recipient can download any music — from Justin Bieber to Michael Bublé — to their iTunes and subsequent mobile devices.
2. A music subscription
Send the gift of unlimited music with a subscription to Pandora for $9.99 per month, available in the U.S., Canada, and Brazil.
3. Food and groceries
Perfect for college students who would otherwise splurge Christmas cash on video games and skydiving, food and grocery gift cards will ensure your loved ones are well-fed — or caffeinated, if you go the Starbucks route. Or try Whole Foods e-gift cards for a healthier option.
4. Local gift cards
And when we say "local," we mean it. Services like GiftRocket and Giftly allow you to tack on a gift card to almost any local business. (Trust us, we pulled up our favorite local, hole-in-the-wall deli, and we are forever believers.)
GiftRocket also allows you to purchase universal gift cards that deposit a designated amount of cash into your recipient's bank or PayPal account.
5. TaskRabbit
Does your mom need help taking the Christmas lights down? Is your brother having trouble designing his website? Send them each a TaskRabbit gift card by email, which they can redeem for services in their area. TaskRabbit continues to expand, but for now the company serves 43 metro areas across the U.S. and U.K.
6. E-books
E-readers are already incredibly popular. If you know a friend or family member who owns one (or is about to get one as a gift), send that person the gift of reading. Buy Kindle books by clicking the "Give as Gift" widget on each Kindle Store book page. The same goes for the NOOK Book store. Both services send ebooks by email. Simple as that!
7. Audible
Send audio books for grandma's long car rides via Audible. Either give the gift of monthly subscriptions or select individual books, both sent by email.
8. Video streaming service
For your movie buff buddies, give the gift of on-demand entertainment by emailing them subscriptions to Hulu Plus or Netflix, both of which are available for purchase in monthly increments.
9. Airfare
Buy your kids their next flight home, or contribute to a friend's honeymoon plane ticket by emailing airline gift cards. Major airlines like Southwest and United participate in digital gift giving.
10. Major online retailers
You can't go wrong with e-gift cards to these major retailers — they've got something for everybody: Best Buy, Amazon, and Gilt.
11. Skincare
Lots of people care about their skin, so a skincare gift card isn't a bad idea. Unless they're extremely close to you then you probably don't know their skin sensitivity levels or what type of scents they prefer in a lotion so you can't go wrong with picking up gift cards for Kiehl's or Murad.
12. Home Improvement
Home Depot is one of the largest home improvement stores in the U.S. and has a wide variety of supplies from appliances and power tools to patio furniture and home decor. You can help your friend or loved one get a jumpstart on replacing that old bedroom dresser or retiling the bathroom wall with an e-gift card to Home Depot.
13. Wine
The only thing better than a good bottle of a wine is a free bottle of wine. Let your recipient choose from thousands of wines and must-have accessories with a Wine.com email gift card.
The site will email your recipient all the information they need and will mail a physical gift card inside a special greeting card to make a good gifting impression.
14. Fitness
Gift the gift of fitness. ClassPass memberships offer thousands of fitness classes in 39 cities across the U.S., from sweaty hot yoga to best-in-class boxing. Whether your recipient is a long-time lover of ClassPass or is brand new to working out, this gift is a great way to help them reach their fitness goals. Best of all, you can input whatever amount you want so your friend can find a class for whatever budget.
15. Rides
Who doesn't like a free ride from point A to point B? Consider these e-gift cards from Uber and Lyft.
16. Movie tickets
Streaming is great and all, but nothing compares to the in-theater experience. We bet the cinephile in your life would love to go see a free movie or two. Fandango e-gift cards give users access to theaters around the country including Regal, AMC, Cinemark, Carmike, and many others.
17. Cosmetics
Fragrance lovers and budding beauty bloggers will love this instant gift card to Sephora. Plus, shoppers who use a $50 or more gift card will be given a free 45-minute custom make over.
18. Airbnb
Help your bestie book her next family vacay, group trip, or romantic getaway with an email delivery gift card from AirBnB. With a little help from you, your friend can use Airbnb to explore over one million homes in some 34,000 cities, like Paris, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, and New York.
19. Gaming
Games bring people together. Why not get the gamer in your life a digital gift card to Gamestop that he or she can redeem both online or in-store at Game Stop locations across the country.
20. Amazon Prime
Every giftee could use an Amazon Prime Membership. Prime gives them access to free two-day shipping on over 100 million items along with thousands of movies and TV shows. It also includes access to millions of songs and e-books.
Give a one-year membership for $99 or a three-month membership for $38.97 on Amazon.com, although prices will jump as of May 11.
Subscription boxes
Instantly send a gift subscription service to any loved one. The only catch is that Cratejoy will need the recipient's mailing address, so prepare for that additional step. But with a wide selection personality types to choose from, we promise it's worth it. Here are a few of our favorites:
21. Planner Girl Provisions
We all have that one extreme organized person in our lives who's great at strategizing and planning ahead. This person appreciates bullet journals, special office supplies, and daily planners to help them make their dreams a reality. This planner addict box is perfect for them. It's personalized based on the months and season and will deliver them stationary, bookmarks, sticky notes, and much more.
22. Basic Man
Simple guys aren't hard to shop for, just get him something simple. (Duh!) This Basic Man box will send him a new t-shirt, pair of boxer briefs, and a pair of socks each month. Doesn't get more simple than that.
23. Jackie's Chocolates
Chocolate lovers will melt over this subscription box. It comes in three different sizes ranging from a quarter pound to a whole pound of handmade artisan chocolates. You'll score major points (and save BIG) if you get them the annual subscription so your recipient can indulge in creamy truffles, chewy caramels, and crunchy nuts month after month.
As Director of Special Projects, Nicole Cammorata helps guide Mashable's editorial innovations, licensing programs, and specialty series. Previously, she was the site's Executive Editor and its very first Shopping Editor before that. Nicole is also Mashable's resident gifting expert and gets a thrill out of helping readers find the perfect present. She received a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an MFA in fiction writing from The New School. She lives in Maine with her husband, their three young children, and a backyard full of flowers.
