This story is part of Holiday Gift Guide 2021, our list of ideas, by topic, by recipient and by price, to help you discover the perfect gift.
The holidays can be incredibly hectic — especially with the looming supply chain crisis leaving shelves empty this year. It might be tough to find a gift for everyone on your list, but you’ve got options as long as you have the internet.
If you don’t have much time left to buy something for a friend or colleague, these are a few great last-minute holiday gift ideas that you can purchase online and then send over email: music streaming service subscriptions, gift cards, subscription boxes and more.
Need more ideas for gifts this holiday? Check out these 13 personalized gifts worth buying early, the best Black Friday deals for next week and a holiday gift guide from CNET editors for 2021.
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Last-minute gifts you can share any time
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Read more: Great gifts that will arrive in time for Christmas
Established Titles
What’s cooler than buying someone a star? Buying him or her an actual square foot of land in Scotland and the accompanying lordship or ladyship that goes with it. Each plot purchased comes with a personalized title certificate (delivered via email within 24 hours) and unique plot number. This conservation-minded effort also promises a tree planted for every order.
This is such a fun, unique gift. Who wouldn’t want to be “officially” designated a lord or lady? At this writing, there’s an early Black Friday deal happening, offering up to 80% off.
Read more: CNET’s Holiday Gift Guide
Xtreme Xperience
Nothing beats the gift of experience, right? If you know someone who’s always craved the thrill of blazing around a racetrack at breakneck speed, you can give them exactly that. Gift vouchers start at $69 for the ride-along option, with driver options starting at $169. For a limited time, you can get up to 30% off thanks to their Black Friday deal.
The service sets the recipient up in a select supercar at one of 35 racetracks across the US.
Scribd
Why stop at a single book or magazine subscription when you can gift someone a virtually unlimited supply?
Scribd, for example, costs $10 a month, a price that includes unlimited access to Scribd’s library of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and more. You can give a 6-month gift subscription for $50 or a year for $100.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Unlimited on-demand music is one of the true technological joys of the 21st century. So give someone the gift of Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, Google Play Music, Spotify or another subscription service. And what a gift that is: All the music of the world (more or less) at their fingertips, with options for offline listening, playlist sharing and more.
Not sure which one to choose? Check out CNET’s roundup of the best music-streaming services. Know for sure you want to give Spotify (which, if you’re curious, would be my pick)? Here’s how to give Spotify as a gift.
Netflix
I’ve been a Netflix subscriber for as long as I can remember, so I’m always shocked to find that some folks don’t have the service. How else, then, can they watch Squid Game, The Crown, You, BoJack Horseman, Black Mirror and countless other TV gems that can be found only there?
Yeah — you need to help these people out. Here’s how to gift Netflix for the holidays, including the all-important e-gift option.
Oh, they already have Netflix? Then how about Hulu? The Limited Commercials plan costs just $7 per month, so a mere $25 gift card would be good for about three months. Don’t want to purchase one through PayPal? You can find actual Hulu gift cards in just about every drug store and supermarket.
Disney/Screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET
Amazon
At the risk of sounding like an Amazon shill, I can think of few better internet-based gifts than a subscription to Amazon Prime. I mean, talk about the gift that keeps on giving: For an entire year, the recipient gets to experience the joy that is free one- or two-day shipping on most of what Amazon sells.
But that’s just for starters. They also get a considerable roster of additional benefits, including things like streaming movies and TV shows, unlimited photo storage and freely accessible libraries of music and ebooks. That’s a lot of stuff for your $119. (Too steep? There’s also a three-month option priced at $39.)
CrateJoy
Don’t forget the ever-popular subscription-box option! Cratejoy’s Geek & Gaming section can help you pick the perfect monthly delivery for your favorite tech-minded friend or family member and has boxes for lots of other categories as well.
Obviously the first box won’t arrive in time, but you can print a here’s-what’s-coming certificate and give them something to look forward to.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Sure, you can run into your nearest any-retail-store-on-the-planet to grab a gift card, but that works only if you’re about to see your recipient in person. If you need a gift card delivered, head to eGifter, which offers a huge selection of “cards” that arrive instantly via email. You can even include an online greeting card, invite others to chip in, and add a photo or video for a more personalized touch.
And there you have it! Awesome gift options you can print and wrap (or email) in seconds. If you know of any other great last-minute gifts, share ’em in the comments. In the meantime, happy holidays to you and yours from me and mine.
Watch this:
Avoid the mall with these last-minute gift ideas
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Originally published previously. Updated to reflect new information.
