Great Last Minute Gift Tips

Advice On Last Minute Gifts

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

Q: Dear April Masini,

Life has been crazy lately and the last thing I have time to do is to go shopping. However, my friends keep inviting me to their birthday celebrations and I'm usually halfway there before I realize I don't have a gift for them. Do you have any advice for last minute gifts that I can grab on the run?

Sincerely,

Last Minute Gifter

A:

Dear Last Minute Gifter,

Who hasn't done it? Shopped for a last minute gift on the way to the party or the dinner or whatever the event is. We all have. But there is an art to the last minute gift. Read on for tips:

How to buy a last minute gift:

*Think out of the box. It doesn't have to be a bottle of wine or champagne. It can be anything!

* Gift cards and gift certificates are great gifts because they let the gift recipient decide how, where and when to buy. But the gift card doesn't have to be from a department store or chain. It can be from a restaurant on the way to the party. Or a nail salon -- manicure/pedicure anyone? Even a dry cleaning gift card will be appreciated.

*Lottery tickets. Give twenty-five, fifty or a hundred. The gift may be worth a laugh, or a yacht!

*Passing a health club? How about a gift card for a yoga class or a visit with a personal trainer?

*And drum roll please... Stop at a gas station and buy a gift card to fill their tank... Trust me, that's a last minute gift that will be greatly appreciated by any guy or gal with a car -- especially these day!

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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