Lindsay Roberts, editor of The Gift Insider, recommends "experience gifts" and excursions as meaningful presents that can be purchased at the last minute.

Every December, we find ourselves looking for a few gifts alongside the hordes of last-minute shoppers. So we asked Lindsay Roberts, editor of The Gift Insider, to share her best ideas on thoughtful presents that seem anything but last-minute (even though they are)!

The Gift Insider site has helpful ideas and allows you to search based on the gift recipient, his or her interests, occasion, type of gift and price range. Roberts recommends “experience gifts” — from wine-and beer-making classes to the opportunity to be a fighter pilot for a day. They make a lasting impression and are perfect for last-minute shoppers, since you can simply print the gift certificate out yourself or have it emailed directly to the recipient.

Cloud 9 Living offers all kinds of experiences, including dining and biking tours, stock-car ride-alongs, golf outings, sky diving, hang gliding — almost anything you can think of (and a few we wouldn’t have imagined, like private ninja lessons). Prices range from about $40 for a dune tour to $100,000 to spend a day with a Hollywood icon or enjoy a private concert with a favorite musician. XperienceDays.com also has an array of gift experiences throughout the country: food-truck tours, art classes, private cooking classes, surf lessons, dragster rides, wine tastings and more.

“For the person that has everything, giving an ‘experience’ is a great creative solution,” says Roberts. Both Cloud 9 Living and XperienceDays.com offer certificates for credits toward an experience of the recipient’s choosing. If you do choose a specific activity as a gift, we suggest packaging the certificate creatively. For example, we know someone whose family delivered his stock-car-race experience certificate via a battery-operated remote-control car.

Roberts also suggests providing fun clues. “Keep them guessing and give them something to open by putting together a gift bag with little trinkets that are unique to where they are going and what they will be doing there.” For example, a trip to Costa Rica could be packaged in a beach bag with suntan lotion and a stuffed monkey toy.

If you’re the creative type, Roberts suggest that you craft your gifts. “We’re huge fans of DIY and one-of-a-kind gifts,” she says. “Check out some DIY sites that have tutorials and then visit your local craft store or use items you already have around the house,” she says. Roberts recommends P.S.—I Made This…, Instructables and Design Sponge.

If you’re not crafty, however, a few days before Christmas probably isn’t the time to start. Gift cards are always an option, although Roberts considers them too impersonal and suggests planning a theme experience for your recipient instead — a weekend getaway, a spa day or an outing in your area. Roberts, a Chicagoan, loves the idea of a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off date, “complete with ditching work or school, renting a classic car, eating at a luxe lunch spot” and a trip to the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. She adds that singing “Twist and Shout” in a parade is optional.

Last-minute gifts don’t have to seem last minute, Roberts says. To make the gift more personal, she says, “Add a note that explains why you thought they would love it.” For a subscription to an “of-the-month” club, she recommends the following: “Because you love [insert gift type] so much, I thought it would be fun to receive a gift every month, instead of just once.”

And don’t forget that VIVmag can be delivered straight to a friend or loved one’s inbox six times a year! (And through Dec. 31, when you buy a gift subscription, you get a year’s subscription for yourself, too!) Do you have any do’s (or don’ts) for the last-minute gift crowd?

Photo credit: Courtesy The Gift Insider

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