The 12 best last-minute Christmas gifts for 2025 that will arrive by December 24
We’re almost out of time — the holidays are just about here, and if you’re still doing your holiday shopping, you’re not alone. Between wrapping things up at work before some well-deserved time off and making sure you have everything you need to host family and friends, it can be hard to find the time to go shop for some gifts. And if you’re going to physical stores right now, you’re probably being met with half-empty shelves. But the internet remains an option, even this late in the game: you still have time to buy holiday gifts online.
USPS, UPS and FedEx have laid out their holiday shipping deadlines for 2025. At this point, we recommend picking up small, affordable gifts that will ship quickly from retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target so you have plenty of time to wrap them up nicely and make it look like you had everything well-planned from the start. Here are the best last-minute Christmas gifts you can get right now and still have in time before the holidays.
Best last-minute Christmas gifts
This is one of the most useful gadgets I purchased this year, and it’ll make a great gift for anyone regardless of the climate they live in. It’s a powerful handheld fan that can also be worn around the neck, or folded to sit on a desk or table, keeping you cool hands-free. It has five different speed settings and a nifty little display in the middle of the fan that shows how much battery life is left. All summer, this fan never left my bag and saved me many times from the sweltering heat of New York City, and made things a bit more bearable during multi-hour outdoor events. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor
Who said charging accessories must be boring? Clearly it wasn’t Ugreen, since they came out with an adorable line of Uno chargers with quaint little digital faces that light up whilst you’re powering up. The 65W fast-charger is a good middle-of-the-road option: it’s strong enough to charge smartphones, handheld consoles and some tablets without being too big or expensive. It has two USB-C and one USB-A port that allow you to charge three devices at once, and the extra-cute magnetic “shoes” it comes with makes it easy to store and find amongst the rest of your accessories. — V.P.
Read more: The best fast chargers
Listen, I’ve tried to keep all sorts of plants alive over the years. Working from home, you think it would be easy — but any plant enthusiast, successful or not, will tell you it’s not as simple as you think. If you have a wannabe horticulturalist on your list, this Lego set will not only be fun for them to put together, but it will also give them a taste of that green satisfaction that they crave. The set comes with two adorable little Lego plants — a baby dracaena and baby pilea — and two interchangeable pots in which they live. Once assembled, they can live on your giftee’s desk, nightstand or shelf, always smiling down upon them and never wanting for more water. — V.P.
One of 8BitDo’s newest controllers, the Ultimate 2C will be a great companion for anyone that has a Switch 2. It connects via Bluetooth to Nintendo’s new console and features Hall Effect joysticks, rumble vibration and six-axis motion control. It also supports custom mapping if you want to make it more personalized, but really the best things about it are its overall design and quick, reliable connection. It feels great to hold for long gaming sessions — much better than holding Joy-Cons in the Nintendo-provided grip — and it maintains a strong wireless connection with the Switch 2 without fail. I personally picked up two of these so my husband and I can more comfortably battle it out in Mario Kart World. — V.P.
Read more: The best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories
Chipolo makes some of our favorite Bluetooth trackers and the Pop only improves upon previous models. It can tap into both Apple’s and Google’s finding network, making it even better at keeping track of your stuff, wherever it may be. It also uses that finding network when you need to locate your lost wallet, coat or bag to pinpoint its location with better accuracy. For when you know your stuff is nearby, the Chipolo Pop’s chime is louder than an AirTag and it has 12 different cute tones you can choose from. And mercifully unlike AirTags, there’s a built-in keyring hole on each device. — V.P.
Read more: The best Bluetooth trackers
I’ve never been a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles, but the pieces of art the Magic Puzzle Company makes for you to assemble are a delight. For starters, each has gorgeous and distinctive artwork — while there are a variety of artists who’ve contributed to the company’s puzzle lineup, they all feel related, packed with color, whimsy and a bunch of secrets you’ll notice as you build. The puzzle pieces themselves are high-quality and solid, something that goes a long way towards making a puzzle fun to put together.
But my favorite part is the fact that once you finish the main puzzle, you’re not done. Each has sections that can slide around after you’re done, which opens up a new middle area to be filled in with a bonus section of pieces. This new addition seamlessly fits into the puzzle and expands on its story. It’s hard to describe, but it’s unlike anything I’ve seen in other puzzles. I’m pretty agnostic about my puzzle-makers, but I am itching to get my hands on more from the Magic Puzzle Company and explore their secrets. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor
For those who often end up wanting to read on a red-eye flight or in the hotel room before bed, a book light like this one from Glocusent should be a nice stocking stuffer. It’s a slim and affordable little light that clips on securely without scuffing up your pages and includes various brightness and light temperature settings, which makes it easier to see what you’re reading without overwhelming your eyes in the dark. The whole thing charges over USB-A and comes with a helpful battery life indicator, plus it’s available in a few cute colors. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter
You can’t go wrong when you give a PopSocket as a gift, and the Kick-Out accessory just makes the original even better. First off, these are MagSafe compatible, so they’ll snap magnetically and securely to the backs of iPhones. Second, in addition to giving them that classic PopSocket grip many of us have come to love (and require) while holding our phones, these kick out and swivel to act as a stand. They make it much easier to prop up your phone in portrait mode, which can be critical when FaceTiming with friends or taking a selfie at the right angle. — V.P.
One can never have too many charging accessories, so you can’t go wrong gifting a device like this Anker 313 wireless charging stand. This unassuming stand delivers up to 10W of wireless power to all Qi-compatible phones, and your giftee can set their phone on it either in portrait or landscape mode to power up. That way they can continue watching that show on Netflix or video chatting with friends without missing a beat to power up. The stand even accommodates phone cases as well, making it even easier for them to drop their handset on it and forget about it while it recharges. — V.P.
Yes, you can get a decent pair of wireless earbuds for $25. JLab’s Go Air Pop+ are a good pick thanks to their lightweight design, decent isolation, IPX4 water resistance and at least eight hours of battery life on a single charge. Not only do their onboard touch controls actually work quite well, but JLab also has a feature that lets users swap between three different EQ presets directly from the earbuds themselves. The included charging case adds another 24 hours of use and they have a built-in charging cable so your giftee has one less thing to worry about losing. — V.P.
If you have a tech-lover in your life who hasn’t yet started their own smart home ecosystem, a smart plug is a good place to start. Amazon’s Smart Plug in particular has a low barrier to entry: plug it in, follow an easy setup process in the Alexa mobile app and turn a “dumb” device into a smart one. It’s made even easier by Alexa voice commands — using the mobile app or an Echo device they already have, they can ask the voice assistant to turn off that bedroom lamp before they go to bed or turn on the coffee machine to get it percolating in anticipation of their morning cup of joe. Plus, the Alexa app lets them set schedules and routines for the plug, so that new smart gadgets can run in the background of their lives without missing a beat. — V.P.
Read more: The best smart plugs
The Blink Mini 2 makes a great gift for that person in your life who may have just moved out into their own place or has a busy schedule and would like to keep a better eye on their home while they’re out. This compact security camera records 1080p video, supports two-way talk and can alert them when motion is detected in its line of sight. Unlike the original Blink Mini, this second-gen model can be placed outside with the right adapter, and the new built-in LED spotlight helps it record clearer video in the dark. All of those features are ready to use once the Blink Mini 2 has been set up, no additional subscription required. But if your giftee ends up liking the system, they can consider paying for a Blink subscription to get access to smart alerts, unlimited cloud storage for up to 60 days and more. — V.P.
Read more: The best security cameras
Holiday shipping deadlines for 2025
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USPS: Ground Advantage — December 17, Priority Mail Express: December 20
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UPS: Three-Day Select — December 19, Next Day Air — December 23
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FedEx: Ground Economy — December 15, First Overnight — December 23
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Amazon Prime: December 23
Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.
