Truly LAST MINUTE THOUGHTFUL Christmas gifts

Since I am always running a day late
and a dollar short, I thought I'd share some last minute gift ideas
to people who are in the same boat as I.

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I've read some suggestions on different design/decor type blogs
and they are absolutely ridiculous in MY world.
Suggestions like giving a plant to someone because they "have everything"
or buying them some other knick-knack...
that kind of thing drives me crazy.

First, let me address this plant idea.
If they LOVE plants, then by all means, get them one.
But if you've never seen a plant in their home,
don't do it.
Most likely they have a brown thumb
OR pets.

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Many plants are toxic to pets,
so think before you buy.

OK, here's my ideas.
First, before you leave the house,
sit down with a pen and paper or your smart phone
and THINK.

Write down each person's name
and leave a space for ideas.
I think the object is to only write down 2-3 ideas.
If you write down too many, if you are like me,
it will make you indecisive when you get to the store.

Now think about the person
and what they need AND would actually like to have.
I'll use my own family (because none of them ever read my blog.)

But first I'm going to give a three examples of gifts I've received.
One of which was very thoughtful
and the other two, nice but...
And what we all really want to give, is "thoughtful" gifts
isn't it?

First, the thoughtful one-
I received a box a couple of years ago from a client
that contained a pair of very nice warm gloves and hand lotion.
In the winter, my hands are always cracked and dry from being outside
and also from constantly putting them in dish water.
She had also tucked inside the box a very cute card that she had obviously carefully chosen.
The card had an illustration of dachshunds playing in the snow
and the client's pets, who I take care of, are of course dachshunds.
Inside was a gift card to Starbucks and she had written a note about wanting me
to enjoy a hot drink in the cold weather and she had signed her dogs names to the card.
I love Starbucks but they are not in my budget so I really appreciated being
able to treat myself to a hot beverage.

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To me, this was the perfect Christmas gift
and obviously I still remember it.

Now to the other gift I received from a client.
A BIG box of fudge.
Now that was super nice of them
and looking at me,  I suppose they figured out that I enjoy sugar but...
it was really the last thing in the world I needed.
Luckily I was having a "strong" day and carried it up front
so my co-workers could have some too!
LOL!

Another gift I got was from a good friend.
I had mentioned how much I loved a mug she had gotten me several years back
and how I use it every single morning.
It's a HUGE mug that can hold 2 cups of coffee
and on it is a photo of a Golden Retriever puppy.
PERFECT Gift for ME.
So, this year she got me another mug,
???
A one cup size mug that had a dog motif and very cute but...
I don't really need it.
What was she thinking????????
I mean, it was sweet of her to give me a gift
but I have a BIG mug that I love!
(She doesn't read my blog either, so I feel safe posting this.)

So, this is what I'm trying to get at.
I think if we just sit down for a minute and THINK,
just let that panicky time running out feeling go
and think....

This is what I came up with.
My sister said not to get her anything.
She didn't need more stuff.
But, yeah... it's Christmas
and because she is always misplacing her gloves
I got her another warm pair that she can keep in her car.
Also, because she has to go out in all kinds of weather, to go to work
I bought some cute little ear muffs because she usually forgets her hat too.

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For my BIL, a very hard man to buy for,
I bought him fishing lures off of Amazon
for trout fishing.
That's what he does in Vermont when they go up there.
A cheap gift but something he will actually use.

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A word about Amazon.
They have EVERYTHING!

and while I bought several gifts at Target
(this last Sunday I went, around dinner time, after everyone had mostly gone home from a day of shopping, I hate crowds but these gloves were 30% off! and might not be there for long)

I got about half of the gifts from Amazon.
Amazon has free two-day shipping, if you are in their Prime program.
The fee pays for itself if you buy a lot throughout the year, which I do.
I order my dog potty pads from there, monthly.
Sometimes I will order cat food from there too.
....and my paint water-pens and micro pens and of course BOOKS about everything!
and Amazon is usually much cheaper than the store!
I'm extremely fortunate that my sister put me on her Prime account
and SHE pays that fee! LOL!
That's the best bargain EVER!

So there's another good idea, I think,
an AMAZON gift card, which they will NEXT day to you!
and then your person can choose whatever they really want.

OK, more gift ideas.
My oldest niece who is an Artist who travels all over the country
and has gone to England and France a few times too for artist retreats...
I got her a travel sketchbook and a micro pen.

My middle niece was complaining how she cuts up her legs when shaving, every time!
So I got her a gift box of a nice shaver with shaving lotion and body cream
and then I picked up $3.00 super fuzzy purple socks.
She loves purple socks.

My youngest niece,
I bought her a best selling dog book

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(that I might end ordering one for myself! LOL!)
and then I included a block of the Sculpey clay
that she uses for her little creations.
(I'm going to do a post soon about the creatures she creates and her Etsy shop)

Finally, every year my sister and I go in on a gift certificate for our Step-Mom
and her hubs to a dinner theater.
They both have said how much they enjoy going
and they probably wouldn't have gone in the beginning it they hadn't had the gift certificate
and now it's kind of a tradition now.

So that's my suggestions.
I don't think a gift needs to BIG
or a lot of them.
I don't think that's what Christmas is about.
Not for me anyway.
I like a simpler Christmas.
One that doesn't leave you with a BIG credit card bill in January.

Final note:
If you can't think of the right thoughtful gift
and the person has a pet,
you can't go wrong in giving them something for their pet.
In fact, that kind of gift makes me happiest of all!
It tells me the person really knows ME
and was super thoughtful!

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