30 Great Last-Minute Christmas Gifts

Whatever the cause—traveling, power outages, irresponsibility—who among us hasn’t been caught with a dying phone and no outlet? That’s why the tiny, powerful Zendure SuperMini 20W charger makes such an appealing gift. It got a nod in testing for both its exceptional charging capabilities (it revives an iPhone about three times on one charge) and its size and shape (about the size of a deck of cards). It also comes in a handful of great colors, like pink, purple, and royal blue.

A person who doesn’t have a smartwatch might appreciate a regular one, and the classically styled Timex Weekender Watch checks all the boxes. The 38-mm silver brass case is about the size of a silver dollar, which is a great size on wrists big and small. We love the olive woven strap, but there are lots of options, and the strap is easily replaceable. Other bells and whistles: a glow-in-the-dark face and an ability to withstand quick plunges.

After about age 18, sitting on the ground just isn’t what it used to be. The foldable, 1-pound Crazy Creek The Chair is the answer to the problem of stiff joints, sore backs, and dirty bums. The adjustable nylon straps make it easy to adjust the sitting angle and back support, and the carrying handles make it a cinch to tote. For added convenience, it stores flat for travel. It’s a great take-along for sporting events, backyard hangouts, and concerts. Anyone with a larger body may feel more comfortable in The Original Chair, which is usually about $20 more but also bigger and sturdier.

Wirecutter’s resident tea fanatic uses the squat glass Hario ChaCha Kyusu “Maru” Teapot to brew her cuppa every day. It holds 24 ounces (or 3 cups), and though it’s not insulated or heated or remote-controlled, it does have a very generous brewing basket that allows the leaves to float and unfurl, releasing their flavor more fully. The only real drawback is finding a place to put the dripping basket if your tea lover doesn’t want the pot to steep too long. (Of course, a small plate or saucer takes care of that in a jiffy.)

The inexpensive Hanes Men’s Full-Zip EcoSmart Hoodie is the ideal extra layer—not too cold, warm, or fussy. Soft and cut generously, it’s good for exercising, lounging, or just going about the day. The 50/50 cotton/polyester blend holds color and texture better than 100% cotton but still feels breathable. It comes in six sizes, up to 3XL, and 11 colors (there are even more if you opt for the women’s version; its color and sizing are slightly different but the cut is the same). Staff writer Samantha Schoech has the men’s version in gray and the women’s in bright pink, and they’ve been in heavy rotation between her and her teen daughter over the past year and counting.

Thick and transparent with a secure zip closure, these food-grade Stasher Reusable Silicone storage bags remain a perennial Wirecutter favorite. Made to replace the ocean-unfriendly disposable plastic bag, these work for toting lunch to school or work, freezing leftovers or sauces, or packing toiletries. They come in lots of sizes, but some users complain about them staining or getting “sticky” and attracting too much lint or crumbs to the exteriors. And if you’re worried they’re a little unglamorous for a gift, two members of our gift team have presented them to various friends and family, all of whom were delighted.

Yes, the Davek Elite Umbrella is on the expensive side. But it’s also an elegant statement piece reminiscent of cinema in the ’40s, as well as an exceptionally well-made piece of downpour-ready gear. It has a stitched leather handle, a high-quality fiberglass frame, and a 44-inch microfiber canopy. Its ribs are made to turn inside out and then spring back into shape, no worse for wear, plus there’s a lifetime guarantee to back it all up. It’s not the lightest or the most easily stashed, but it is one of the best.

In a category where the competition is fierce, the Boy Smells Hinoki Fantôme Candle is our favorite warm and woodsy fragrance. Our testers found the scent complex and comforting, and even a little elusive, thanks in part to the rare Hinoki cypress, which has an almost dirt-like elegance. The evergreen notes are balanced with cardamom, jasmine, and moss for an overall aroma that’s not unlike wandering into an enchanted forest. The fact that the sleek black vessel looks straight from a chichi boutique (and not the depths of Amazon) is a huge plus, too.

You could think of these Glerups Wool slip-ons as slippers for non-slipper people, and here’s what that means. The open-heel body is constructed from a single weft of felted wool, so they’re not at all schlumpy and instead look polished—polished enough to open the door for UPS, to walk to the lobby of a building, or to wear while having a friend over for lunch. We’ve long recommended Glerups in our slippers guide, and staffers still rave about how their pairs are holding up after years of scuffing around. And they’re notably breathable enough for year-round use, even in Los Angeles or the Northeast.

Just like real snowflakes, each piece in the Ateco Plain Edge Snowflake Cutter set—from our guide to the best holiday baking gear—is entirely different. And the resulting cookies have a pleasant, winter wonderland aesthetic, no matter what holiday your recipient celebrates. They also come in a pleasing stout tin; simply add a festive ribbon, and the whole package feels very merry. If you aren’t giving gifts during the holidays, the hexagon set has a cool year-round appeal—perfect for these Ellsworth Kelly–inspired confections.

A watering can that’s cute enough to live in plain sight is a win-win for plants and owners. The Qilebi Indoor Watering Can, one of our favorites from testing, has a long spout, so it can easily reach under a decades-old jade. But it also comes with a removable rose accessory, which produces a light shower, perfect for hydrating a collection of outdoor pots. The smooth plastic vessel comes in an array of pleasing tones, and it looks more expensive than it is. And the recipient will appreciate the watering can’s clever design, including an angled fill hole that prevents spills.

There is a vast land between the person who owns a bread machine and the one who whips up homemade loaves in a stately Dutch oven (like the one we mention farther down). For the person who craves the satisfaction of a steamy, uneven crumb but doesn’t have the space (or time) for a breadmaker or Dutch oven, we offer this unassuming silicone bowl that does it all. Just open up the vessel and follow one of the included simple recipes for mixing. Then, to create an excellent oblong loaf, close up the bowl and pop it in the oven. The Lékué Silicone Bread Maker is small and pliable enough that it can tuck in even the most crowded storage cabinets, so you needn’t feel guilty about giving a single-use kitchen implement. Do ignore the somewhat preposterous Euro-influenced recipe booklet; this no-knead recipe works perfectly.

Whether your recipient is a serious athlete or an achy desk dweller, or just loves to get loose, a massage gun would make a thoughtful and appreciated gift. The Therabody Theragun Prime lets the user change the grip and angle for better leverage and pressure. This model offers five speeds, 30 pounds of force, and four head attachments. Over time, the app learns from the user’s activity, suggesting and demonstrating different massage techniques and exercise ideas.

For budding crafters or professional modelers, a 3D pen offers a fun way to create three-dimensional sculptures from drawings. If you’re not familiar with the technology, elastic filaments feed into the pen, where they melt and then extrude from the tip in a thin string of gooey plastic. By holding the stylus as you would a regular pen and drawing in any direction—including, with practice, straight up into the air—you can create 3D objects. After testing 10 such pens, we chose the easy-to-use 3Doodler Create+ as our favorite: Even without much skill, your gift recipient can use it to draw a simple 3D box, or they can pick from hundreds of stencils to create designs such as flowers, costume masks, or a little Eiffel Tower.

A longtime Wirecutter staff favorite, Weleda Skin Food is a rich moisturizer for the face and body that beauty experts stand by. With soothing viola tricolor, calendula, and chamomile, it hydrates and protects skin against the driest weather and toastiest heaters. And since it’s free of parabens and phthalates—and is not tested on animals—your gift recipient will feel good about using it, too.

Whether your loved one commutes across town or shuffles to their home office in the living room, the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug is the best travel mug for keeping their drinks hot and preventing leaks. In our tests, the Zojirushi kept liquids significantly hotter than any other mug we tried, even after eight hours in the harsh environment of a freezer. Your gift recipient’s morning java will still be piping hot by the time they get to work—or by the time they find it in the kitchen after leaving it there hours earlier. Either way, they’ll no longer have to suffer the disappointment of a cold sip of coffee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that the earth laughs in flowers. And we tend to agree: The Bouqs Co., Wirecutter’s favorite online flower-delivery service, offers fresh, stylish arrangements in packaging that is superior to the packaging of other services we tried. Even better, many bouquets can be guaranteed for next-day delivery in most major and minor US cities.

No matter how ergonomic the office chair, toiling over a laptop will do a number on anyone’s back. And if your gift recipient works on their feet or with their hands, aches and pains surely creep up for them, too. Give them a spa massage, and they’re knot-free for a day—but give them a self-massage tool, and they’ll be knot-free for a lifetime. And granted, the Thera Cane Massager can’t light a candle, turn on an Enya album, or step on someone’s back. But it can reach nooks and crannies where knots may be hiding—for a great DIY massage.

With a Dutch oven, your gift recipient can roast and braise meats, boil pasta, sauté vegetables, and even bake a sourdough loaf (if their quarantine hobby stuck). The Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven is the top pick in our guide to the best Dutch oven. Its enamel coating makes it less temperamental to clean than unfinished cast iron, and the light interior allows you to see whether the food has browned. And it comes in more than a dozen colors, so this Dutch oven is a colorful accent piece for the stovetop.

Wirecutter’s many coffee snobs—er, aficionados—love the AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker (and they’re a hard bunch to please). Though it looks like a futuristic beverage syringe, the AeroPress is easy to make drinks with: Wherever someone has access to good ground coffee and hot water, the AeroPress can have them sipping a great cup of joe in two minutes. They simply put the grounds and hot water in and push the syringe into a cup, much like they would the plunger of a French press.

As any beauty-supply-store devotee knows, sometimes the most luxurious finds come in the least ostentatious packaging. Such is the case with the Japanese Salux Beauty Skin Cloths. They don’t look like much, but we were amazed by their ability to slough off dead skin and wake up the whole body. They’re also thin enough for easy folding but long enough to reach your gift recipient’s back and shoulders. Each three-pack Salux set includes a pink cloth, a yellow cloth, and a blue cloth for extra-cheery exfoliation sessions.

Even the most high-tech cooks rely on treasured printed recipes and books. The recipient will get wonderful use out of a stand that props up their cookbook so they can easily refer to their favorite recipe (and save it from sticky-fingered stains). The adjustable Clear Solutions Deluxe Large Cookbook Holder has a heavy base and a large acrylic splatter shield that supports easy page-turning. It’s on the larger side, but it folds flat for storage.

Our favorite Bluetooth speaker can play music anywhere your loved one needs it—an outdoor porch hang, a hum-along shower, a solo bedroom-karaoke session. With a natural sound and a cool design (plus several fun color options), the UE Wonderboom 3 is built to survive almost any adventure. In our tests, it even tolerated a 5-foot drop and a dunking in 1 meter of water.

For those who are ready to graduate from lackluster premade popcorn but don’t want to deal with space-hogging air poppers or mess-making stovetop methods, a dedicated microwave bowl might be just the thing. A favorite among the popping methods we’ve tried, the W&P The Popper silicone bowl is dishwasher safe and collapses to about 2 inches for easy storage. Package it alongside a bag of kernels plus novel seasoning, and you’re giving your loved one the perfect movie night.

If your loved one likes to cook but is still using a drugstore-purchased pepper grinder (or—the horror!—is not spicing at all), give them a Peugeot Paris u’Select Pepper Mill. This sleek pepper mill looks cute on a table or countertop and also grinds like a dream. The Peugeot has been a niche favorite since its introduction more than a century ago. And it’s one of Wirecutter’s pepper mill picks, thanks to its ease of use, even grind, and classic look.

Self-education

For the insatiable scholar, yearlong access to MasterClass will prove to be an invaluable gift. Your giftee will be able to take a variety of virtual classes with famous instructors: cooking from Gordon Ramsay, skateboarding from Tony Hawk, writing from David Sedaris, acting from Natalie Portman (and so on and so on). MasterClass features plenty of big-name celebrities, as well as lesser-known experts in their fields.

Monthly reading

If you’re shopping for a bookworm, a book subscription box will send them a new literary delight every month. For those who want an element of control—without getting overwhelmed with options—we like Book of the Month, which offers subscribers a choice among five to seven recently released hardcovers. The picks are always books released that month so there’s no danger of only seeing stuff they’ve already read. The books often include the month’s most anticipated titles from big-name authors in different genres.

Superb cinema on demand

A subscription to The Criterion Channel provides access to some of the most critically acclaimed films of all time, with a library that dates back over 100 years and spans every corner of the globe. It’s the perfect gift for the movie lover in your life who has burned through Netflix’s offerings or who would enjoy diving into a comprehensive collection of titles worthy of any MFA student. The channel also categorizes its selections in creative ways—think double features paired with expert commentary, movies directed by women, and films focused on Black characters. For a great bonus gift, a Criterion Channel gift card will enable the recipient to buy physical copies of their favorite films, postcards, or a Criterion-logo T-shirt.

News at your fingertips

Yes, we’re biased, but an All Access gift subscription to The New York Times would make a terrific gift for anyone whose New Year’s resolution is to brush up on current events. The All Access subscription includes all of the paper’s award-winning reporting contained in the news, as well as Games, Cooking, Audio, and Wirecutter.

A global snack subscription

For the dedicated nosher with an international palate, consider giving them a Universal Yums subscription box, filled with snacks from around the globe. Each box contains an assortment of sweet and savory treats from a different country, plus a booklet that includes recipes, trivia, and games. Universal Yums has been a Wirecutter favorite for years, as well as several staffers’ go-to last-minute gift. (Note that prices vary based on delivery frequency.)

We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.

This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.